Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong link between participation in pre-K programs and both short-term student achievement and positive later-life outcomes. Existing evidence primarily stems from experimental studies of small-scale, high-quality programs conducted in the 1960s and 1970s and analyses of the federal Head Start program.…

In collaboration with the Arts Education Partnership, Education Commission of the States is turning its attention to STEAM education (adding the "A" for arts), which can promote a more comprehensive approach and provide state policymakers with more policy levers. Several states have already begun implementing STEAM education and are…

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between attendance in Georgia's Pre-K Program and children's academic and social outcomes through third grade. This report includes a sub-study that incorporates a comparison group of children who did not attend any pre-k program. This report focuses on third grade outcomes, but it also…

This report summarizes results from the Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Third-Grade Report. The study followed a representative sample of children (n=1,169) from their pre-k experience (2013-2014) through the third grade (2017-2018). Study components include: (1) Standardized child assessments that measure skills across learning domains. By…

In 2011-2012, the Georgia legislature funded a series of ongoing studies to evaluate Georgia's Pre-K Program. The 2016-2017 Georgia's Pre-K Program Evaluation focuses on the results of the fourth year of this longitudinal study, through second grade. The purpose of the current evaluation study was to examine longitudinal outcomes for children…

Propensity score matching was used to compare third-grade test scores in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies for children who had and had not participated in Georgia's Pre-K 4 years earlier. After matching, each group included 46,262 children (mean age 8.36 years in third grade). In all subject areas, children who had…

In 2011-2012, the Georgia legislature funded a series of ongoing studies to evaluate Georgia's Pre-K Program. The 2016-2017 Georgia's Pre-K Program Evaluation focuses on the results of the fourth year of this longitudinal study, through second grade. The purpose of the current evaluation study was to examine longitudinal outcomes for children…

There are currently 2 principal models of publicly funded prekindergarten programs (pre-K): targeted pre-K, which is means-tested, and universal pre-K. These programs often differ in terms of the economic characteristics of the preschoolers enrolled. Studies have documented links between individual achievement in school-age children and the…

The aim of this study is to determine if approaches to learning and academic motivation together predict grade point averages (GPAs) of students who study at Primary School Education and Preschool Education in Turkey and of students who study at Early Childhood Education in the US. The first group of participants included 166 third- and…

This report focuses on the results of the second year of this longitudinal study--the 2014-2015 Georgia's Pre-K Program Evaluation. The purpose of this evaluation study was to examine initial longitudinal outcomes related to school readiness for children and the quality of their classrooms from pre-k through kindergarten. The primary evaluation…

This executive summary presents results from a study that began in 2013-2014, and involves a longitudinal design to follow a sample of 1,169 children (139 Spanish-speaking DLLs) who attended 199 randomly-selected Georgia's Pre-K classrooms. These findings focus on results from the second year of the study, which included 1,034 of these children…

This the executive summary of the 2013-2014 study which provided the baseline year for the longitudinal study. The study included observations of teaching practices in a random sample of 199 Georgia's Pre-K classrooms and assessments of the language, literacy, math, general knowledge, and behavior skills of a sample of 1,169 children attending…

High-quality child care has been shown to improve the academic success and life adjustments of children living in poverty. During the past decade, many American states have adopted voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement (QRI) systems in an attempt to increase the level of quality in child care. Using data compiled by the National Association of…

The purpose of the 2013-2014 Georgia's Pre-K Program Evaluation was to examine the learning outcomes for children and the quality of their classrooms during Pre-K, as the baseline year of the Pre-K through third-grade longitudinal study. The primary evaluation questions addressed included: (1) What are the learning outcomes for children attending…

More than a decade after offering students universal preschool, neither Georgia nor Oklahoma has shown impressive progress in student academic achievement, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. As Congress considers whether the federal government should encourage states to offer universal preschool, the author advocates…