From the abstract: "The number of children attending prekindergarten (pre-K) in public elementary schools has substantially increased in the last two decades. Yet, limited research has associated school-level characteristics with pre-K achievement. Data collected from 2389 pre-K students (43% with Spanish as a home language) in 147 public schools across four U.S. states were combined with nationally available school-level data. Distal school-level characteristics were related with reading, language, or math scores during pre-K. Moderation by Spanish as a home language was explored. Two-level hierarchical linear models were employed, which included random intercepts for schools and controlled for multiple covariates, including children's pretest scores from the fall of pre-K. School-level characteristics were generally not associated with residualized gains in reading, language, or math scores, except for school-level teacher absenteeism being associated with lower language scores, but only for students with Spanish as a home language. Implications and future directions are discussed."