Pre-K

The importance of early childhood education

Evidence shows that early, formal education helps prepare young children for kindergarten.  Yet very few families can afford full-time quality nursery school.  Without governmental and nonprofit support, children from low-income families bring a statistically significant lower level of readiness to the k-12 system than their more resourced peers. But do early education interventions – like State-funded pre-kindergarten programs – effectively even the playing field for all children, no matter what race or SES background? 

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Life Gaps

Children who attend formal pre-K programs . . . . .

Demographics of families of children in government-funded programs vs. private nursery programs.  Differences in facilities, staff quality.

Research Gaps

Teacher training on implicit racial and SES bias.  Long-term effectiveness and scalability of early childhood education programs. 

Cost-Benefit Considerations

Costs and investments in early childhood and pre-K education.

NIEER, State(s) of Head Start:

“Head Start programs currently serve less than 40
percent of the number of 3- and 4-year-olds in
poverty and less than 5 percent of the number in
poverty under age 3. Programs serve less than 20
percent of low-income 3- and 4-year-olds and less
than 3 percent of low-income children under the
age of 3.”p.5
“Federal funding for Head Start (including Early Head
Start, AIAN, and MSHS) was more than $8.42 billion
in 2014-2015.” The program needs almost three times that amount to meet need. p.6
“Head Start and Early Head Start combined funding
per child increased slightly from $8,369 in 2007 to
$8,801 in 2015 when adjusting for inflation” p.6
– the effects of Head Start have been found to be small and diminishing over time such that one 5-year follow-up found almost none of 49 factors to show any lasting cognitive or behavioral benefit [Barnett, Science 2011, p. 976]

Individuals and Organizations

Resources

Barnett, W. S. (2011, August 19). Effectiveness of Early Educational Intervention. Science, 333(6045), 975–978. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.1204534
Barnett, W. S. (2013). Expanding Access to Quality Pre-K is Sound Public Policy. National Institute for Early Education Research. http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/Why%20expanding%20quality%20PreK%20is%20a%20sound%20public%20policy.pdf
Bernal, R., & Keane, M. P. (2011). Child Care Choices and Children’s Cognitive Achievement: The Case of Single Mothers. Journal of Labor Economics, 29(3), 459–512. https://doi.org/10.1086/659343
Bockstette, V., Gopal, S., & Wilka, M. (2016). Improving the Odds: Seven Principles for Investing in Early Care and Education. FSG (formerly Foundation Strategy Group). http://www.fsg.org/tools-and-resources/improving-odds
Campbell, F. A., Ramey, C. T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J., & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early Childhood Education: Young Adult Outcomes from the Abecedarian Project. Applied Developmental Science, 6(1), 42–57. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth_Pungello/publication/240519150_Early_Childhood_Education_Young_Adult_Outcomes_From_the_Abecedarian_Project/links/0f317534d44d7c4b2e000000.pdf
Campbell, F. A., Pungello, E. P., Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., Pan, Y., Wasik, B. H., Barbarin, O. A., Sparling, J. J., & Ramey, C. T. (2012). Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: An Abecedarian Project follow-up. Developmental Psychology, 48(4), 1033–1043. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026644
Dickens, W. T., & Baschnagel, C. (2009). The Fiscal Effects of Investing in High-Quality Preschool Programs (CCF Brief # 42). Center on Children and Families. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/04_preschool_programs_dickens.pdf
Duncan, G. J., & Magnuson, K. (2013). Investing in Preschool Programs. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(2), 109–132. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.27.2.109
Elango, S., Heckman, J. J., Garcia, J. L., & Hojman, A. (2015). Early Childhood Education. Http://Heckmanequation.Org. http://heckmanequation.org/content/resource/early-childhood-education
Farran, D. C., & Lipsey, M. W. (2015). Expectations-of-sustained-effects-from-scaled-up-preK-Tennessee-study_4.pdf (Vol 1, #3; Evidence Speaks Reports). Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Expectations-of-sustained-effects-from-scaled-up-preK-Tennessee-study_4.pdf
Fitzpatrick, M. D. (2008). Starting School at Four: The Effect of Universal Pre-Kindergarten on Children’s Academic Achievement (SIEPR Discussion Paper No. 08-05). Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. http://www-siepr.stanford.edu/Papers/pdf/08-05.pdf
Garcia, E. (2015). Inequalities at the Starting Gate: Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills Gaps between 2010–2011 Kindergarten Classmates. Economic Policy Institute. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED560407.pdf
Geiser, K. E., Rollins, S. K., Gerstein, A., & Blank, M. J. (2013). Early Childhood Community School Linkages: Advancing a Theory of Change. john w. gardner center for youth and their communities at Stanford. https://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/ECE%20Community%20Schools%20Linkages%20Theory%20of%20Change%20Report.pdf
Gilliam, W. S., Maupin, A. N., Reyes, C. R., Accavitti, M., & Shic, F. (2016). Do Early Educators’ Implicit Biases Regarding Sex and Race Relate to Behavior Expectations and Recommendations of Preschool Expulsions and Suspensions? [A Research Study Brief]. Yale Child Study Center. http://ziglercenter.yale.edu/publications/Preschool%20Implicit%20Bias%20Policy%20Brief_final_9_26_276766_5379.pdf
Gormley, W. T. (2011). From Science to Policy in Early Childhood Education. Science, 333(6045), 978–981. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1206150
Hong, K., Dragan, K., & Glied, S. (2017). Seeing and Hearing: The Impacts of New York City’s Universal Prekindergarten Program on the Health of Low-Income Children (Working Paper 23297). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w23297
Lee, V. E., & Burkam, D. T. (2002). Inequality at the Starting Gate: Social Background Differences in Achievement as Children Begin School. Economic Policy Inst.
Lu, Y., & Weinberg, S. L. (2016). Public Pre-K and Test Taking for the NYC Gifted-and-Talented Programs: Forging a Path to Equity. Educational Researcher, 45(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633441
Lynch, R., & Vaghul, K. (n.d.). The benefits and costs of investing in early childhood education. Equitable Growth. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://equitablegrowth.org/report/the-benefits-and-costs-of-investing-in-early-childhood-education/
Magnuson, K., & Waldfogel, J. (2016). Trends in Income-Related Gaps in Enrollment in Early Childhood Education: 1968 to 2013. AERA Open, 2(2), 1–13. http://ero.sagepub.com/content/spero/2/2/2332858416648933.full.pdf
Mashburn, A. J., Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., Downer, J. T., Barbarin, O. A., Bryant, D., Burchinal, M., Early, D. M., & Howes, C. (2008). Measures of Classroom Quality in Prekindergarten and Children’s Development of Academic, Language, and Social Skills. Child Development, 79(3), 732–749. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01154.x
Ou, S.-R., & Reynolds, A. J. (2006). Early Childhood Intervention and Educational Attainment: Age 22 Findings From the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Journal of Education for Students Place at Risk, 11(2), 175–198. http://www.cehd.umn.edu/icd/research/CLS/docs/jespar2006.pdf
Philadelphia Commission on Universal Pre-Kindergarten. (2016). Philadelphia Commission on Universal Pre-Kindergarten Final Recommendations Report. http://www.phila.gov/universalprek/Documents/Recommendations%20Report.pdf
Potter, H. (2016). Diversity in New York City’s Universal Pre-K Classrooms. The Century Foundation. https://tcf.org/content/report/diversity-new-york-citys-universal-pre-k-classrooms/
Pritzker, J. B., Bradach, J. L., & Kaufmann, K. (2015). Achieving Kindergarten Readiness for All Our Children. The Bridgespan Group & Pritzker Children’s Initiative. http://www.bridgespan.org/getmedia/2597600c-bac9-4f9e-ac6f-22a186536b71/Achieving-Kindergarten-Readiness-for-All-Our-Children.pdf.aspx
Reardon, S. F., & Portilla, X. A. (2016). Recent Trends in Income, Racial, and Ethnic School Readiness Gaps at Kindergarten Entry. Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, No. 15-02. https://cepa.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/wp15-02-v201606_0.pdf
reynolds, arthur, temple, judy, robertson, dylan, & mann, emily. (2001). Long-term Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest A 15-Year Follow-up of Low-Income Children in Public Schools. JAMA, 285, 2339–2346. http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/193816
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., White, B. A., Ou, S.-R., & Robertson, D. L. (2011). Age-26 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Education Program. Child Development, 82(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01563.x
Schanzenbach, D. W., & Cascio, E. U. (2013). The Impacts of Expanding Access to HIgh-Quality Preschool Education [Brookings Papers on Economic Activity]. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2013b_cascio_preschool_education.pdf
Stein, A., Freel, K., Hanson, A. T., Pacchiano, D., & Eiland-Williford, B. (2013). The Educare Chicago Research-Program Partnership and Follow-Up Study: Using Data on Program Graduates to Enhance Quality Improvement Efforts. Early Education and Development, 24(1), 19–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.739542
Yazejian, N., & Bryant, D. M. (2012). Educare Implementation Study Findings--August 2012. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC-CH. http://eln.fpg.unc.edu/sites/eln.fpg.unc.edu/files/FPG-Demonstrating-Results-August-2012-Final.pdf
Starting Early: Education from Prekindergarten to Third Grade (Full Journal). (2016). The Future of Children, 26(2). http://www.futureofchildren.org/sites/futureofchildren/files/resource-links/starting_early_26_2_full_journal.pdf
Pre-K 4 San Antonio. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2019, from https://www.sanantonio.gov/Pre-K-4-San-Antonio
preschool Promise. (n.d.). Retrieved May 13, 2020, from https://www.preschoolpromise.org/

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