Benefits for Children

High/Scope Perry Preschool Program: Study evaluates the long-term effects of the Perry preschool curriculum. . The study has followed participants in the Ypsilanti, Michigan program for low-income 3- and 4- year-old children at-risk of school failure, as well as children in a control group into adulthood. Among the findings: Participants were significantly more likely to graduate from high school (65% vs. 45%) and outperformed the non-program group on various academic measures throughout childhood and continued to exceed them in literacy tests as adults. The most recent findings show that even at age 40, the long-term benefits have continued. Participants had median annual incomes approximately $5,000 higher and were far more likely to have a savings account and own their own home. Moreover, the program group had significantly fewer arrests than non-participants.

The Carolina Abecedarian Project: This study evaluates the effects of a high quality early education program provided to low income children ages 0 to 5 in a North Carolina child care setting. Among the findings for the program: Participants have higher cognitive test scores from toddler years to age 21. They also have more years of education and higher college attendance rates.

Chicago Longitudinal Study: This study, started in 1986, tracks the effects of the Chicago Parent Centers’ early childhood intervention program that emphasizes parent involvement and the development of literacy skills. Studies show that participants who started the program in their preschool years tend to have higher achievement in school, higher rates of schooling through age 20, lower rates of school dropout, lower rates of juvenile arrest for violent and non-violent offenses, and less need for school remedial services.

The Effect of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children’s School Readiness in Five States. W. Steven Barnett, Cynthia Lamy & Kwanghee Jung. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2005). Study by NIEER of the effects of state-funded, high-quality pre-k programs in five states -- Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Children in each of these states showed significant gains in early language, literacy, and mathematical development. School readiness gains were significant for all children, regardless of ethnicity or economic background. A common factor in each of the state programs studied is that all, or nearly all, teachers have a four-year college degree and specialized training in early childhood education.

Is More Better? The Effects of Full-Day vs. Half-Day Preschool on Early School Achievement. Kenneth B. Robin, Ellen C. Frede, & W. Steven Barnett. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) (2006). NIEER working paper presents the findings of a randomized trial comparing the effects of extended-day, extended-year public preschool to half-day public preschool on children's literacy and mathematics learning. NIEER found that children who attended an extended-day, extended-year preschool program experienced greater improvement in test scores compared to peers who attended half-day programs.

Estimated Impacts of Number of Years of Preschool Attendance on Vocabulary, Literacy and Math Skills at Kindergarten Entry. W. Steven Barnett and Cynthia Esposito Lamy. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) (2006). Study by NIEER examines the effects of attending preschool for one or two years on measures of early vocabulary development, literacy and math skills in a sample of kindergarteners living in high poverty communities. Study found significantly greater increases in vocabulary scores for children who attended pre-k for two years when compared to children who attended for one year at age four, and no statistically significant difference in print awareness skills and math skills between the two groups. For all skill sets, children who attended a pre-k program for either one or two years performed significantly higher than children who did not attend. Authors conclude that there should be further study of whether improved program quality could lead to greater gains in print awareness skills and math skills for children attending pre-k for two years.

Two-way and Monolingual English Immersion in Preschool Education: An Experimental Comparison W. Steven Barnett, Donald J. Yarosz, Jessica Thomas & Dulce Blanco. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2006). Working paper by NIEER presents the findings from a randomized trial of the effects of dual language or two-way immersion (TWI) and monolingual English immersion preschool programs on children's learning. Programs used in the study were compared on measures of children's growth in language, emergent literacy, and mathematics. Authors conclude that on balance, TWI pre-k classess appear to be a cost effective and promising approach to improving the education of both English language learners and native English speaking children.

Promoting Children's Social and Emotional Development Through Preschool. Judi Boyd, W. Steven Barnett, Elena Bodrova, Deborah J. Leong, Deanna Gomby, Kenneth B. Robin, and Jason T. Hustedt. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2005). Policy brief emphasizes the importance of social and emotional development for children’s success in school; reviews the research evidence that high-quality preschool can promote social and emotional development; describes characteristics of programs most likely to benefit children; and recommends expansion of high quality programs.

The Benefits of Prekindergarten for Middle-Income Children. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2005). Report analyzes research on access to and gains made in high quality preschool programs for children from middle-income families and recommends expansion of public preschool programs to include middle-income children and the strengthening of quality standards for existing childcare and early education programs.

Effects of Preschool on Educational Achievement. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2005). This working paper concludes that education policies that expand the definition of schooling to include high quality, comprehensive early education programs are more likely to make significant progress toward closing the achievement gap than ones that focus exclusively on K-12 improvements.

The Effects of Oklahoma’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten on Cognitive Development. William T. Gormley, Ted Gayer, Deborah Phillips and Brittany Dawson. Georgetown University. (November 2004). New study of Oklahoma’s preschool program shows significant differences in key school readiness skills between children who have undergone the program and those that have yet to enter the program, controlling for age differences. For instance, the scores of prekindergarten participants on letter-word identification tests were 52% higher than the control group. Gains were most significant for Hispanic students who showed improvement of 79% on letter-word identification. All socio-economic groups showed benefits; however, benefits were greater for lower income children.

The Universal v. Targeted Debate: Should the United States Have Preschool for All? W. Steven Barnett, Kirsty Brown & Rima Shore. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2004). Policy brief makes the point that school readiness is not just a problem for low-income children. While the academic achievement gap is most dramatic between children in poverty and those with the most resources, school readiness for the majority of children can improve with better preschool education. Policy brief recommends states move toward universal preschool programs while maintaining high quality standards and providing more intensive services to disadvantaged children and children with disabilities.

Who Goes to Preschool and Why Does It Matter? W. Steven Barnett & Donald Y. Yarosz. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2004). Report finds that preschool enrollment has increased substantially in the past decade. By 2002, two-thirds of four-year-olds and more than forty percent of three-year-olds attended a preschool program. However, data show that enrollment is not even throughout all segments of the population and many who might benefit from preschool participation do not attend. Children with the least access to prekindergarten are those whose family income is just above the eligibility cutoff for targeted programs.

Early Childhood Education. W. Steven Barnett. In School Reform Proposals: The Research Evidence, edited by Alex Molnar. (2002). This book chapter presents an overview of the three major studies on the benefits of preschool education for disadvantaged children and other research evidence of how low-income children benefit from preschool.

Promoting School Readiness in Okalahoma: An Evaluation of Tulsa’s Pre-k Program. William T. Gormley and Deborah Phillips. Georgetown University. (October 2003). Study shows an increase in language and cognitive skills for children who participated in Oklahoma’s universal preschool program, with positive program effects strongest for low-income children.

Economic Benefits for Society

The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool. Committee for Economic Development (CED) (2006). Report finds that implementing preschool programs for all can be expected to generate $2 to $4 in net present-value benefits for every dollar invested and provide a boost to long-term economic growth. CED recommends that state and federal governments make access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-K an economic and educational priority, that pre-K programs meet quality standards necessary to deliver potential benefits, and that the broad economic benefits of pre-K should be considered when allocating resources in the face of competing uses and demands for funding.

Early Childhood Investment Yields Big Payoff. Robert G. Lynch. WestEd. (2005). Author calculates the impact of public investment in high quality early childhood education programs fifty years into the future on federal, state and local government budgets, the economy, the social security system and crime. Policy brief concludes that such an investment would have a substantial payoff not only in terms of improving the academic performance and quality of life for millions of children, including many who live in poverty, but also by reducing crime, making the workforce more productive and strengthening the nation's economy.

The Cost and Benefits of Universal Preschool in California. RAND Corporation. (March 2005). Unlike other studies that have explored the economic benefits of preschool for economically disadvantaged children, this study is the first to provide a detailed cost analysis for universal preschool in California, open to every 4-year-old without regard to income. Study concludes that state would yield more than $2 in economic benefit for every $1 spent by reducing the number of students held back in school, increasing the number of high school graduates and cutting the number of children who enter the juvenile justice system.

High/Scope Perry Preschool Study: Through Age 40. Lawrence J. Schweinhart, Ph. D. (2004). Study evaluates the long-term effects of the Perry preschool curriculum. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted to determine the economic return to society of the program. It was determined that there was an average return of $17.07 for every dollar spent on the program. This savings is based on reduction in crime, welfare, and remedial education, as well as an increase in the tax base due to higher earnings.

The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children. James Heckman & Dimitriy Masterov. Committee for Economic Development. (2004). Working paper presents data showing that over 20 percent of American workers are functionally illiterate and innumerate, making the U.S. less competitive in the global economy. According to the authors, illiteracy and innumeracy are more predominant in minority populations on which America must depend for growth in its future work force. The authors argue for investment in high quality early childhood education programs as an economic strategy to combat these negative labor and economic trends, citing solid research demonstrating that such programs have a strong track record of promoting short- and long-term achievement for disadvantaged children and economic benefits for society.

Developmental Education: The Value of High Quality Preschool Investments as Economic Tools. Committee for Economic Development (CED). (2004). Working paper finds that early childhood education offers greater potential returns and substantially less risk than traditional economic development projects such as providing inducements to high-profile companies, subsidizing entertainment infrastructure (such as arenas or stadiums), or creating “cluster” developments. Therefore, it argues that early childhood education should be implemented with the same energy, urgency, and funding that is currently being applied to these other, less-promising, development projects.

Early Childhood Education: How Important are the Cost-savings to the School System? Clive R. Belfield. Center for Early Care and Education. (February 2004). Study estimated a medium-term cost-savings for a universal prekindergarten program in New York of $2,591– to $9,547 per child. This savings is based on reductions in the incidence of special education placement and grade retention. The study calculates that this savings would amount to between $555 million and $828 million over the period K–12. The study compares this to the costs of the prekindergarten program and calculates that approximately 41% to 62% of the initial investment would be recovered just by these medium-term savings. However, this estimate is based on expenditures of $7,000 per child (the amount spent on kindergarten), while the expenditures for New York’s current prekindergarten program are closer to $3,000 per child enrolled

Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return. Art Rolnick & Rob Grunewald. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. (March 2003). Paper presents the case that early childhood development programs yield a higher return on investment than most other traditional economic development strategies - an estimated 16% total return on investment, with the majority of the return (12%) benefiting society as a whole.

The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-Quality Preschool Education for Low-Income Children. Jerrold Oppenheim & Theo MacGregor. Entergy. (2003). Paper advocates for the provision of preschool education programs to low-income 3- and 4-year-old children based on a cost/benefit analysis. Authors list the economic benefits and costs of high-quality preschool education and estimate a benefit/cost ratio of 9:5.

A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Abecedarian Early Childhood Intervention Project. Leonard N. Masse and W. Steven Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research (2002). This analysis of the Abecedarian Project concludes taxpayers received a four-to-one return on their investment in the early childhood program. In addition, the researchers found that both the graduates of the program and their mothers earned significantly more from employment over their lifetimes than peers who did not attend preschool.

Quality of Preschool Programs

Pre-Kindergarten in 11 States: NCEDL's Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten and Study of Statewide Early Education Programs (SWEEP). National Center for Early Development and Learning. (2005). Report on the results from a study of 240 state-funded prekindergarten programs in eleven states (CA, GA, IL, KY, NY, OH, MA, NJ, TX, WA & WI). The selected state-funded programs, when compared to other preschool settings, maintain relatively high quality standards, particularly in the areas of class size and teacher-child ratios. However, report finds that these programs still have many teachers without college degrees who are paid substantially less than public school teachers, and lower than anticipated opportunities for learning.

Head Start Impact Study: 2000-2006. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (2005). First year results of a multi-year study of Head Start's effectiveness. Study is significant because it is the first large scale national study of Head Start using an experimental design. Study found gains in 14 of 30 areas for 3-year-olds and 6 of 30 for 4-year-olds. The largest cognitive gains for both age groups were in pre-reading and parent-reported literacy skills. Three-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, showed gains in social-emotional domains. No measurable gains were found in math. Overall, study showed modest gains for children participating in Head Start, indicating a need to further improve quality standards in the program. However, study's findings are limited, since they are based on only one year of Head Start, whether at age three or four.

Who's Teaching Our Youngest Students? Walter S. Gilliam and Christa M. Marchesseault. Yale University Child Study Center. (2005). Report from the National Prekindergarten Study creates the first national portrait of the average prekindergarten teacher in state programs. Study finds that seven out of ten teachers in state-funded prekindergarten programs earn salaries in the low-income category and that one in four prekindergarten teachers does not have a bachelor's degree. Authors found that it is not uncommon for prekindergarten teachers to lack the basic credentials required by their state.