From short-term to long-term, social-emotional to academic, the benefits of high-quality preschool are tremendous and well documented. The need for preschool is great but access is limited.

Below you will find some of the most prominent studies:

• Key Preschool Studies
• Educational Benefits of Preschool
• Economic Benefits
• Social Benefits
• Workforce Issues
• Lack of Access to Preschool in California
• National Pre-K Landscape
  

First, check out some key studies that make the case for high-quality early learning:

• The Effects of Universal Pre-K on Cognitive Development (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University, 2005)
  In a study comparing Oklahoma children who have completed one year of preschool with those just entering preschool and those who didn't attend preschool, the authors conclude that Oklahoma's universal preschool program has succeeded in enhancing the school readiness of a diverse group of children.
  
  
• High/Scope Perry Preschool Project Through Age 40 (Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press, 2004)
  Researchers have tracked the same group of low-income Michigan preschoolers for 37 years, and counting. They calculate a return of $17 for every dollar invested and report that children who attended an effective program were more likely than those who did not to graduate from high school and be more prosperous as adults, among other benefits.
  
  
• The Effects of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children's School Readiness in Five States (Rutgets, NJ: NIEER, 2005)
  This NIEER study of effective preschool programs in five states (Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia) finds that children attending state-funded pre-k programs improve significantly in early language, literacy, and mathematical development regardless of ethnic or socio-economic background.
  
  
• Effects of a School-Based, Early Childhood Intervention on Adult Health and Well-being (Journal of the American Medical Association 161:730-739, 2007). 
  Arthur Reynolds and a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin followed more than 1000 low-income children who attended the high quality Chicago Child-Parent Center Preschools, tracking their development over 20 years and comparing them to children who did not attend preschool. Preschool participants were more likely to graduate from high school, and less likely to need special education, be held back a grade, or get in trouble with the law.
  
  
• The Children of the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study Go to School (Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1999)
  High-quality child care positively affects children's cognitive and social skills through the second grade, according to a major national study by researchers at four universities. Children who attended quality preschool programs scored better on math, language and social skills development through the early elementary years than children in poor-quality programs.

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Educational Benefits of Preschool

• Praise for Preschool: California Kindergarten Teachers Say all Children Will Benefit (Oakland, CA: Preschool California, November 2005)
  More than 9 out of 10 kindergarten teachers in California say it is important for children to go to preschool before they start kindergarten, according to a new statewide poll of California public school kindergarten teachers. The poll, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for Preschool California, found near-unanimous support for quality preschool among kindergarten teachers, no matter where they teach or for how long they have been in the profession.
  
  
• Fulfilling the Promise of Preschool (Washington D.C.: National Association of State Boards of Education, October 2006)
  This NASBE study recommends that state boards of education leverage their existing authority — over K-12 system standards and teacher licensure — to vertically align the pre-kindergarten system with the rest of public education.  The report also encourages state boards to collaborate with other state agencies, both to transform disparate preschool service providers into a more cohesive network and move toward preschool for all children, in an incremental and phased-in shift that serves low-income and at-risk children first.
  
  
• Kids Can't Wait to Learn (Oakland, CA: Preschool California, 2004)
  This Preschool California report pulls together statewide and national research on brain development, economics, education and demographics, as well as voter surveys and expert testimonials.  All of it points to preschool opportunity for all as one of the smartest and most strategic investments California can make in its children, its economy and its future.
  
  
• Analysis of the 2007-2008 Budget Bill: Perspectives and Issues - Prop. 98 Roadmap (Sacramento, CA: Legislative Analyst's Office, February 2007)
  In Chapter 5 of the report entitled Major Issues Facing the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's Office veered from its usual analysis and response format when it said the projected increase of $6.6 billion in Prop. 98 funding over the next 5 years gives the California Legislature a unique opportunity to effect policy changes that will create lasting benefits to our K-12 schools and community colleges. Featured prominently in LAO’s Prop. 98 Roadmap is a proposal to provide preschool for all low-income 3- and 4-year-old children in California.
  
  
• Master Plan for Education (Sacramento, CA: California Assembly and Senate, 2000).
  The Master Plan’s School Readiness Working Group recommended that California “give every child the best possible start in life and in school” by providing quality preschool for all. The plan recognizes that the strength of California’s K-12 system relies in part on the preparation of students entering that system.
  
  
• Ready to Learn (Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education, 1998).
  The Universal Preschool Task Force, convened by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, published this report calling for “publicly funded universal preschool within ten years for all three- and four-year-old children in California.” This valuable document elevated preschool in policy debates and became a basis for future work on preschool for all. It is not available electronically, but copies can be ordered from CDE by calling (800) 995-4099 and asking for item number 1399 ($8.00).

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Economic Benefits

• The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool (Washington D.C.: Committee for Economic Development, July 2006)
  The business-led public policy research organization, Committee for Economic Development, details in their latest report the extensive body of research that shows the long-term socio-economic benefits of investing in high-quality, voluntary preschool for all programs.  Read CED's press release.
  
  
• American Business Leaders' Views on Publicly-funded Pre-Kindergarten and the Advantages to the Economy (Zogby International, December 2005)
  A national poll conducted by Zogby International revealed overwhelming support for publicly-funded preschool programs among senior executives of Fortune 1000 companies.  Business leaders across the nation say that quality preschool for every child will help keep America's economy globally competitive.  Read the press release.
  
  
• The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2005)
  In this groundbreaking analysis, economists at RAND project that California would get more than $2.50 back for every dollar invested in quality preschool opportunity for all, including savings from improvements to K-12. 
  
   
• County-Level Estimates on the Effects of a Universal Preschool Program in California (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2005)
  Economists at the RAND Corporation release new county-by-county data on the educational and public safety benefits we could expect to see from an investment in preschool opportunity for all.  This new study follows an earlier statewide analysis from RAND projecting a return of $2.62 for every dollar California invests in a quality universal preschool program.
  
  
• Invest in the Very Young (Chicago, IL: Ounce of Prevention Fund, University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, 2000).
  Nobel Laureate in Economics James Heckman has written extensively about the returns on public investments in quality early education programs. This six-page paper, gives a good overview of his research.
  
  
• Preschool for All: Investing in a Productive and Just Society (Washington D.C.: Committee for Economic Development, 2002)
  In this groundbreaking report, CED calls for a new compact between the state and federal governments to make free, high-quality early education available and to help close the achievement gap.  Read the CED Press Release, the Executive Summary and the Full Report.
  
  
• RAND: The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California (2005)

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Social Benefits

• School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps (Princeton, NJ: The Future of Children, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2005).
  This Princeton University-Brookings Institute- produced volume includes eight articles written by some of the nation's leading scholars on early education and the achievement gap. The articles address the size of the gap, synthesize what is known about its causes, and identify some policy solutions. See the accompanying policy brief, "Closing the Achievement Gap.”
  
  
• Science Says: Early Childhood Programs (Washington D.C.: Child Trends, 2004)
  The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy conducted a research review and reports on the success of early childhood education programs in lowering the risks of pregnancy in adolescence.
  
  
• The Brookline Early Education Project Follow-Up Study (American Association of Pediatrics, 2005)
  Researchers at Children’s Hospital and Boston College conducted a 25-year follow-up study on a community-based program from the 1960s and 1970s that provided early childhood health and developmental services for Brookline and neighboring Boston children and their families. The effects for low-income children were significant.

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Workforce Issues

• Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education (Washington D.C.: Economic Policy Institute, September 2005)
  This study by the Economic Policy Institute documents the startling decline in the last 20 years in the qualifications of preschool teachers nationwide.  The report credits this decline in part to persistent low wages and benefits.  Read the national report and the California-specific issue brief at the link above.
  
  
• Effective Preschool Curricula and Teaching Strategies (New York City, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty, September, 2006)
  This report by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) identifies ways to strengthen preschool in order to close the persistent achievement gap separating low-income children from their more affluent peers.  The report provides new insights about professional development, in-service supports, and new ways to challenge administrators. The NCCP uses these findings to urge policymakers and educators to ensure that preschool really does prepare young children to succeed in the early school years.
  
  
• The California Early Care and Education Statewide Workforce Study (Berkeley, CA: California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, August 2006)
  This very comprehensive look at California's early childhood workforce, commissioned by First 5 California, shows that only one in four early childhood teachers in this state has a bachelor’s degree, that preschool teachers are paid far below the rate of K-12 teachers, and that they have higher turnover rates.
  
  
• Raising Teacher Education and Training Standards For Universal Preschool in California: Assessing the Size of the Task (PDF) (Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, 2004)
  The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, has documented the need for more and better trained preschool teachers.
  
  
• Low Wages = Low Quality; Solving the Real Preschool Teacher Crisis (Rutgers, NJ: NIEER, 2003).
  The National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University reports how low compensation for preschool teachers contributes to low quality for programs.
  
  
• From Capitols to Classroom, Policies to Practice: State-Funded Prekindergarten at the Classroom Level (Rutgers, NJ: NIEER, 2005).
  Researchers at Yale have evaluated the benefits of having high quality and well compensated teachers, qualified assistant teachers and the importance of lesson planning time in the preschool classroom.

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Lack of Access to Preschool in California
 

• California's Preschool Space Challenge (Los Angeles, CA: Advancement Project, February 2007)
  The study shows that California currently lacks facility space for approximately 1 in 5 preschoolers. Additionally, the findings by the Advancement Project Los Angeles reveal that the facilities shortfall disproportionately affects low-income children, children of color, children whose parents do not speak English at home and who did not finish high school – the very children who would most benefit from expanding access to preschool. 
  
  
• Paying the Price for the High Cost of Preschool in California (Oakland, CA: Fight Crime Invest in Kids, March 2006)
  The law enforcement group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California released a report showing the overwhelming number of working- and middle-class families that can't afford the high-cost of preschool in California.  The study features Statewide and County-level data on the high cost of preschool, County-level data indicating that middle-income families suffer the most, and evidence that quality preschool programs reduce crime.
  
  
• California Report Card 2005 (Oakland, CA: Children Now, 2005)
  Children Now's 2005 California Report Card assesses how well the state is meeting children’s needs. The bottom line? Not well. California receives poor marks in such areas as access to preschool and children’s health insurance, and the quality of K-12 schools. The report finds that while Americans say they want a greater focus on children, public investments in their well-being are declining.
  
  
• Public Safety Can't Wait: California's Preschool Shortage (Oakland, CA: Fight Crime Invest in Kids, 2005)
  The law enforcement group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California conducted the first-ever survey of California preschool waiting lists and reported that three out of four publicly-funded preschool programs in California are turning children away for lack of capacity to serve them.  This report also highlights recent research drawing the connection between quality preschool and improved public safety.

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National Pre-K Landscape

• The State of Preschool 2006 (Rutgers, NJ: NIEER, 2006)
  The 2006 Yearbook is the fourth in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded pre-kindergarten programs in the United States.  The Yearbook provides standardized data and ranking that enable comparison between pre-k programs in different states.
  
  
• Bright Futures: Early Childhood Developments in the States (Washington D.C.: National Governor's Association, Spring 2007)
  The NGA’s Spring 2007 issue of Bright Futures: Early Childhood Developments in the States highlights impressive efforts made by governors around the country to improve early childhood care and education opportunity for the children and families they serve.  The report features particularly impressive steps taken in Washington, Montana, Illinois, Mississippi, and a number of other states.
  
  
• Leadership Matters (Washington D.C.: Pre-K Now, April 2007)
  Pre-K Now's annual national report, Leadership Matters, shows 29 governors made preschool education a priority in their 2007 budget proposals. The report praises Governor Schwarzenegger for offering leadership in June 2006 to make more pre-kindergarten programs available to children living in areas surrounding California's lowest-performing schools. It also urges the governor to maintain steady leadership in light of California's significant needs.
  
  
• Promoting School Readiness Through Universal Preschool (New York City, NY: The Century Foundation, October 2006)
  This study by the Century Foundation finds that a growing number of states are recognizing the need for broad access to preschool education.  Included in the report is a review of 2006 State of the State addresses and budget proposals, which found that twenty-four governors mentioned early education or pre-kindergarten as a priority and proposed a combined increase in new funding of $250 million.
  
  
• The national advocacy group Pre-K Now assembled a national map showing rates of enrollment in publicly subsidized preschool programs across the country. It shows California lagging the nation in preschool availability.

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Read more about the benefits of preschool.