The debates over the 2003 reauthorization of Head Start highlighted a controversy about the devolution of federal early education policy. At the center of the debate is the concern that state control of early education programs will reduce the quality and effectiveness of federal support for children living in poverty, and their families. The…

The emergence of publicly subsidized preschool raises important policy questions about the role of market forces and, in places where competition to provide these services exists, presents a setting in which the effects of competition on educational outcomes can be tested. We test neo-institutional hypotheses concerning the effects of competition…

The Georgia Prekindergarten Program was established in 1993 to provide the state's 4-year-olds with high-quality preschool experiences. Beginning in the 1996-1997 school year, a sample of 3,639 children enrolled in 1 of 203 randomly selected Georgia prekindergarten classes was selected for a 5-year longitudinal study. The study examined how…

The Georgia Prekindergarten Program was established in 1993 to provide the state's 4-year-olds with high-quality preschool experiences. A five-year, longitudinal study examined the ways in which differences in prekindergarten services received by 3,639 Pre-K 4-year-olds affected them during their first 3 years of elementary school and assessed the…

The Georgia Prekindergarten Program was established in 1993 to provide the state's 4-year-olds with high-quality preschool experiences. The Early Childhood Study followed the development of young children attending programs funded through the Prekindergarten (Pre-K) Program or Head Start and children eligible for the Pre-K program attending…