Early Childhood Report Roundup

Early Learning Linked to Adult Successes

By Alexandra Rice — August 15, 2011 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Chicago children who attended a high-quality prekindergarten-to-3rd grade learning program tended to be more successful as adults than peers educated in standard preschool and elementary programs, according to a study that tracked 1,400 children for 25 years.

The study was published in the June issue of Science magazine. Researchers used the data to show how the quality of early-learning programs affected outcomes in areas such as graduation rates, socioeconomic status, likelihood of drug and alcohol abuse, and likelihood of incarceration.

Cohort members, who are 93 percent African-American and now age 28, were either enrolled in one of Chicago’s standard early-childhood-learning programs or the Child-Parent Center Education Program. The latter is a publicly financed program based in the city and regarded for its good teachers, small classes, and continuity through the early-learning years, among other features.

A research team led by the University of Minnesota’s Arthur J. Reynolds found that, overall, the more than 900 pupils enrolled in the child-parent center program had the more positive outcomes by age 28, compared with the approximately 500 children who were randomly enrolled in alternative early-learning programs. Eighteen percent more of the center’s pupils achieved moderate or higher levels of socioeconomic status; 55 percent more achieved on-time high school graduation, and 36 percent fewer had been arrested for violence. The findings were particularly bright for males and children of high school dropouts.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 13, 2011 edition of Education Week as Early Learning Linked to Adult Successes

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

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 The Expectations for Kindergarten Have Changed. How Teachers Are Adapting
Here's how three kindergarten teachers keep the fun in formative learning.
6 min read
Kindergarteners in a play-based learning class look around at the site of their forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Kindergarteners in a play-based learning class look around at the site of their forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. Across the nation, kindergarten classrooms have become more academic over the past few decades.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood Trump Allies Say the Case for Head Start Is Weak. Researchers Say They're Wrong
Head Start critics oversimplify research to justify calls for its closure, researchers said.
9 min read
A student participates in a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program at Easterseals South Florida, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
A student participates in a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program at Easterseals South Florida in Miami on Jan. 29, 2025. The organization gets about a third of its funding from the federal government. Supporters of President Donald Trump's plan to cut Head Start say it's ineffective. Advocates say they are oversimplifying key research.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Early Childhood Pre-K Programs Expand Nationwide, But Quality Falls Behind
Preschools experienced a boost in funding and enrollment nationwide, but a deeper look reveals a disparity in quality.
6 min read
Teacher Grismairi Amparo works with her students on a reading and writing lesson at Head Start program run by Easterseals South Florida, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
Teacher Grismairi Amparo works with her students on a reading and writing lesson at a Head Start program run by Easterseals South Florida on Jan. 29, 2025 in Miami. The organization gets about a third of its funding from the federal government.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Early Childhood Opinion The Trump Administration Is Sabotaging Head Start
Early-childhood education is being dismantled right in front of us. The quiet crisis comes with a heavy cost.
Yolanda Wiggins
5 min read
A child's block toy school house is partly disassembled. Field of loose blocks in the foreground. Representing losing Head Start programs.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week