Early Childhood What the Research Says

Early Education Pays Off. A New Study Shows How

By Sarah D. Sparks — March 29, 2022 4 min read
Image of a teacher and preschool students.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The benefits of early-childhood education can take a decade or more to come into focus, but a new study in the journal Child Development suggests preschool may help prepare students for better academic engagement in high school.

Researchers at the nonprofit ChildTrends, Georgetown University, and the University of Wisconsin tracked more than 4,000 children who started kindergarten in Tulsa, Okla., public schools in 2006. Some 44 percent of the students participated in the Sooner State’s universal state-funded preschools, which include partnerships between school districts and early-learning organizations. Another 14 percent of the students had participated in federal Head Start programs, and the rest did not participate in either program.

Early benefits of preschool participation on students’ math and reading scores mostly faded away by the time students reached high school—a common fade-out problem seen for early education. But Amadon and her colleagues found that students who had participated in Tulsa’s state-funded preschool programs were more likely to attend school regularly and take more-challenging courses than those who participated in Head Start or did not receive early-childhood education.

“The fact that students were attending school more days, the fact that they were enrolling in different types of courses indicates some sort of different engagement in and commitment to their education and their schooling,” said Sara Amadon, a senior research scientist for the nonprofit ChildTrends and lead author of the study. “It didn’t translate to GPA or test scores, but, you know, we also know that GPA and test scores are just one part of the puzzle of persistence and engagement through high school. Those behavioral indicators are also really powerful predictors of graduation.”

The results come as the Biden administration continues to press for universal, publicly funded preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion spending bill for fiscal 2022 that included more than $584 million in additional support for child care and early learning programs, including Head Start, Early Head Start, and the Child Care and Development Block Grants. However, the new study suggests state-supported programs may have more-stable benefits than Head Start in the long term.

Overall, students showed no significant differences in cumulative grade point averages or scores on ACT or SAT college placement exams, regardless of whether or not they participated in preschool. There were two exceptions: Native American students performed better in English/language arts on college placement exams, and Hispanic students had higher GPAs, if they attended preschool than if they had not.

Moreover, compared with children who had not attended early education, alumni of Tulsa’s universal preschools challenged themselves more academically: They were significantly more likely to take an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate class, and less likely to fail a high school course in general, than students who had not attended preschool. (By contrast, there was no significant difference academically for students who had participated in Head Start or no early education.)

Better attendance habits later on for preschool participants

In part, this could be because students who attended Tulsa’s universal preschools developed better attendance habits early—and kept them throughout their academic careers.

Students who had attended Tulsa’s preschools were significantly less likely to be chronically absent in high school—defined as missing 10 percent of school days or more—than their classmates who had not attended preschool. On average, preschool alumni missed 1.5 fewer days a year than those who hadn’t attended.

On average, students who had attended Head Start programs instead were also slightly less likely to miss school, but showed no other academic or engagement advantages.

Students of color who had attended preschool were particularly likely to be more engaged in school later on. For example, Hispanic students who had attended preschool attended 2.8 more school days on average in high school compared with Hispanic students who had not attended preschool or who had attended Head Start.

Amadon said the study also highlights the need for educators and school leaders to plan for additional supports for students entering school during the pandemic, who may have had less access to early-childhood education.

“When we think about the upcoming pre-K classes, [education leaders should] make sure they are giving that extra push to ensure that all students are accessing pre-K ... doing a little more outreach, especially to the neighborhoods and communities that you know have families that were hard hit by the pandemic or struggled to find child care” and early education, she said.

The study is part of an ongoing research project tracking the long-term effects of early-childhood education. The next study in the project will focus on differences in college-going among these students.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
(Re)Focus on Dyslexia: Moving Beyond Diagnosis & Toward Transformation
Move beyond dyslexia diagnoses & focus on effective literacy instruction for ALL students. Join us to learn research-based strategies that benefit learners in PreK-8.
Content provided by EPS Learning
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Cohesive Instruction, Connected Schools: Scale Excellence District-Wide with the Right Technology
Ensure all students receive high-quality instruction with a cohesive educational framework. Learn how to empower teachers and leverage technology.
Content provided by Instructure
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
How to Use Data to Combat Bullying and Enhance School Safety
Join our webinar to learn how data can help identify bullying, implement effective interventions, & foster student well-being.
Content provided by Panorama Education

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Early Childhood EdReports Expands Curriculum Reviews to Pre-K
Non-profit EdReports will review pre-K curricula to gauge its alignment with research on early learning.
2 min read
Boy raises his hand to answer a question in a classroom; he is sitting on the floor with other kids and the teacher is sitting in front of the class.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Early Childhood The State of Teaching Young Kids Are Struggling With Skills Like Listening, Sharing, and Using Scissors
Teachers say basic skills and tasks are more challenging for young students now than they were five years ago.
5 min read
Young girl using scissors in classroom.
E+ / Getty
Early Childhood Without New Money, Biden Admin. Urges States to Use Existing Funds to Expand Preschool
There's no new infusion of federal funds for preschool, so the Biden administration is pointing out funding sources that are already there.
4 min read
Close cropped photo of a young child putting silver coins in a pink piggy bank.
iStock/Getty
Early Childhood Preschool Studies Show Lagging Results. Why?
Researchers try to figure out why modern preschool programs are less effective than the landmark projects in the 1960s and 70s.
7 min read
Black female teacher and group of kids coloring during art class at preschool.
iStock / Getty Images Plus