From economics to neuroscience, education to public policy, a vast body of research demonstrates that early education matters. Early childhood provides a window of opportunity to dramatically shape a child’s brain when it is rapidly developing.1 In early childhood, children develop the linguistic, cognitive, social and emotional building blocks for later development.
By the time they enter kindergarten, children who attend preschool are already ahead in early reading and math skills. That educational boost continues through K-12 and into adulthood, researchers who have followed children for decades found. Economic analyses show high-quality preschool saves our schools and our state money, and provides long-term benefits to our children and communities.
- Early experiences – particularly from the time children are born to the first day of kindergarten – shape whether a child’s brain develops a strong foundation for the learning, health and behavior that follow.2
- The principles of neuroscience indicate that early preventive intervention will be more efficient and produce more favorable outcomes than remediation later in life.3
- Babies’ brains require stable, caring, interactive relationships with adults – programs that foster these relationships benefit healthy brain development.4
Educare
- Providing low-income infants, toddlers and preschoolers with high-quality early care and education improves vocabulary skills, literacy skills and school preparation, according to evaluations of Educare centers.5
- Children enrolled at Educare of Chicago score better on measures of language, vocabulary and concept skills compared to their peers.6
The Abecedarian Project
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Children from low-income families who receive early education in a high-quality setting from infancy through age 5 were better prepared for school.
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Compared to a control group who did not receive services, participants:
- had higher cognitive test scores from the toddler years to age 21;8 and
- scored higher on reading and math achievement tests from the primary grades through young adulthood.9
Oklahoma
- Oklahoma’s high-quality, state-funded preschool program produced significant cognitive gains beyond those that would naturally occur in one year.10
- Children who attended the preschool program showed gains in early reading and math skills of:
- 52% in letter and word identification;
- 27% in spelling; and
- 21% in applied problems.
- Low-income, Latino and African American children showed the greatest gains.
Chicago Child-Parent Centers Program
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Children who attended high-quality preschool did significantly better in K-12 than children who did not, according to a longitudinal study of nearly 1,000 low-income African American children in Chicago Public School’s large-scale preschool program.
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Preschool participants:
- scored better on reading and math achievement tests through ninth grade;11
- were less likely to be placed in special education;12
- held back a grade;13 and
- were more likely to graduate high school.14
Perry Preschool Project
- Early interventions for disadvantaged children are more economically efficient and produce higher returns than remedial programs to help teenagers and young adults catch up later on, according to James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics.16
- Cost-benefit analyses of high-quality preschool show it generates $7 to $16 for every dollar spent, yielding significant dividends in the form of government savings on welfare, education and criminal justice and increased earnings for participants. The Chicago Child-Parent Centers generated $7 in benefits for every dollar invested. The Perry Preschool Project shows a larger return on investment - $16 per dollar spent - because researchers tracked participants for a longer period of time, allowing more benefits to accrue.17
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Sources
1 Knudsen, E. (2006). Early Influences on Brain Architecture: An Interview with Neuroscientist Eric Knudsen. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Perspectives.
and National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2007). The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture.
2 Harvard University Center on the Developing Child. In Brief: The Science of Early Childhood Development.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ounce of Prevention Fund. Early Returns on Educare in Chicago: A Report to Investors.
6 Educare (2008). Educare: Promising Early Returns.
7 FPG Child Development Institute. Early Learning, Later Success: The Abecedarian Project.
8 Ibid.
10 Gormley, W., Gayer, T., Phillips, D. & Dawson, B. (2004). The Effects of Oklahoma’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program on School Readiness. Georgetown University’s Center for Research on Children in the U.S.
11 Reynolds, A. (1995). One Year of Preschool Intervention or Two: Does it Matter? Early Childhood Research Quarterly 10.
and Reynolds, A. et. al. (2002). Age 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24.
12 Reynolds, A. et. al. (2001). Long-term Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest. Journal of the American Medical Association 285.
13 Ibid.
14 Reynolds, A. (1995). One Year of Preschool Intervention or Two: Does it Matter? Early Childhood Research Quarterly 10.
and Reynolds, A. et. al. (2002). Age 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24.
15 Schweinhart, L. et. al. (2005). Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40. Yipsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
16 Hechman, J. (2006). Investing in Disadvantaged Young Children is an Economically Efficient Policy. Committee for Economic Development, 2006.
17 Ibid. p. 131 and Reynolds, A. et. al. (2002). Age 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24.
