The Research Behind What You Already Know

Frog Street - Research Hero

INTRODUCTION

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that children in these Pre-K classrooms were more prepared for kindergarten. By following children into their first year of school, the study shows how consistent classroom experiences support growth across key developmental areas.

You see these moments every day. This research offers a clear, evidence-based way to understand how that growth builds over time.

Frog Street - Classroom Impact

WHAT RESEARCHERS
FOUND

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University studied how children placed in Guilford County classrooms using the Frog Street Pre-K curriculum performed when they entered kindergarten, compared to similar children in other classrooms.

The results showed that children placed in Guilford County classrooms using the Frog Street Pre-K curriculum entered kindergarten more prepared overall. Growth was positive across all five areas children rely on at school entry: Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Cognitive Development, Social-Emotional Development (SED), and Physical Development.

Physical Development showed the clearest domain-level difference, with an effect size of +0.31. Johns Hopkins identifies this domain as central to school readiness, connecting coordination, independence during routines, and physical self-regulation to how children participate in classroom life from day one.

Children learning English showed the strongest progress. Their gains were more than twice those of the overall group, statistically significant at p < .001. This result is based on a smaller subgroup and should be held in that context. It remains a meaningful finding for curriculum serving multilingual communities.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR
YOUR CLASSROOM

Children begin to express ideas more clearly. They move through routines with greater independence. They engage more consistently with learning and with each other.

When children experience consistent, supportive classroom environments, their development builds across multiple areas at once. Skills grow together and carry forward into kindergarten.

When children learning English are supported through consistent, meaningful interaction, their confidence and communication tend to develop alongside their overall readiness.

ABOUT THE STUDY

This study was conducted by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Research and Reform in Education in Guilford County Schools, North Carolina,a large public school district serving approximately 67,000 children across 124 schools.

Researchers followed children from Pre-K into kindergarten across 9 Frog Street Pre-K schools and 41 comparison schools, studying 223 children in Frog Street classrooms and 641 children in other classrooms under everyday conditions in a diverse, multi-ethnic urban district, while also noting that Frog Street Pre-K educators were in their first and second year of curriculum implementation during the study period. Researchers also noted that Frog Street Pre-K educators were in their first and second year of curriculum implementation during the study period.

THE VALIDATION STACK

Johns Hopkins
University

Studied real classroom outcomes and showed that children entered kindergarten more prepared. This is independent research you can reference when families or colleagues ask what the evidence shows.

ESSA Tier 3
Promising Evidence

Indicates that the results meet federal standards for credible research. This is the same standard used to evaluate evidence in Title I and Head Start funding decisions.

AIR Independent
Review

Confirmed that the learning experiences support how children develop across key areas, including culturally responsive teaching and differentiated instruction.

Massachusetts
Curriculum Review

Five independent reviewers found strong support for daily classroom use and inclusive learning environments. These are the areas educators and curriculum leaders assess when evaluating curriculum quality.