The Effect of a Montessori School Primary Program on Reading Readiness Skills
Amanda C. Serra
July 2003
The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to investigate a link between duration
of years spent in a Montessori school primary program (potentially ages three to six) and
first-grade reading readiness skills. A sample population (n=56) was chosen in 2003
from ten classrooms in a private Montessori school (population=300) in Baltimore.
Academic as well as social and emotional readiness was measured for each child by
teacher-designed instruments that asked for the child’s teacher to report his/her
evaluation of the individual. Results support the use of phonemic awareness incorporated
into preschool programs such as that used in this Montessori school, which yielded wellprepared students after several years in the program. Further research is warranted to
examine if the results can be generalized to other schools.