Public Preschool Predicts Stronger Third-Grade Academic Skills
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| Title: | Public Preschool Predicts Stronger Third-Grade Academic Skills |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Anna D. Johnson (ORCID |
| Source: | AERA Open. 2024 10(1). |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) |
| Contract Number: | 1R01HD09232401A1 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education Preschool Education Elementary Education Grade 3 Primary Education |
| Descriptors: | Public Education, Preschool Education, Outcomes of Education, Predictor Variables, Grade 3, Elementary School Students, Low Income Students, Social Services, Federal Programs, Program Effectiveness, Mathematics Skills, Reading Skills, Language Skills, Student Characteristics |
| Geographic Terms: | Oklahoma (Tulsa) |
| Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: | Head Start |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals |
| ISSN: | 2332-8584 |
| Abstract: | Public preschool boosts academic skills in kindergarten, but little is known about whether that boost lasts to third grade because many studies stop directly assessing children after kindergarten. The current study tests for sustained associations between preschool attendance and an array of repeatedly measured, directly assessed language and math skills; we do this separately for public pre-K and Head Start, the two major publicly funded preschool programs. We draw on a large, racially diverse sample of children from families with low incomes in Tulsa, OK (N = 689, M[subscript age at 3rd] = 8.5 years). Using propensity score weighting, we compare children who attended school-based pre-K or Head Start to those who did not attend preschool. Both school-based pre-K and Head Start attenders outperformed preschool nonattenders on numeracy in third grade. There was weaker evidence of a sustained preschool advantage on language and literacy skills, and no evidence that associations differed by preschool program. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1455108 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Public preschool boosts academic skills in kindergarten, but little is known about whether that boost lasts to third grade because many studies stop directly assessing children after kindergarten. The current study tests for sustained associations between preschool attendance and an array of repeatedly measured, directly assessed language and math skills; we do this separately for public pre-K and Head Start, the two major publicly funded preschool programs. We draw on a large, racially diverse sample of children from families with low incomes in Tulsa, OK (N = 689, M[subscript age at 3rd] = 8.5 years). Using propensity score weighting, we compare children who attended school-based pre-K or Head Start to those who did not attend preschool. Both school-based pre-K and Head Start attenders outperformed preschool nonattenders on numeracy in third grade. There was weaker evidence of a sustained preschool advantage on language and literacy skills, and no evidence that associations differed by preschool program. |
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| ISSN: | 2332-8584 |
