ERIC Number: ED598848
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-May
Pages: 59
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Perry Preschoolers at Late Midlife: A Study in Design-Specific Inference. NBER Working Paper 25888
Heckman, James J.; Karapakula, Ganesh
National Bureau of Economic Research
This paper presents the first analysis of the life course outcomes through late midlife (around age 55) for the participants of the iconic Perry Preschool Project, an experimental high-quality preschool program for disadvantaged African-American children in the 1960s. We discuss the design of the experiment, compromises in and adjustments to the randomization protocol, and the extent of knowledge about departures from the initial random assignment. We account for these factors in developing conservative small-sample hypothesis tests that use approximate worst-case (least favorable) randomization null distributions. We examine how our new methods compare with standard inferential methods, which ignore essential features of the experimental setup. Widely used procedures produce misleading inferences about treatment effects. Our design-specific inferential approach can be applied to analyze a variety of compromised social and economic experiments, including those using re-randomization designs. Despite the conservative nature of our statistical tests, we find long-term treatment effects on crime, employment, health, cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and other outcomes of the Perry participants. Treatment effects are especially strong for males. Improvements in childhood home environments and parental attachment appear to be an important source of the long-term benefits of the program. [This research was supported in part by the American Bar Foundation.]
Descriptors: Experimental Programs, African Americans, Males, Adolescents, Parent Child Relationship, Teacher Student Relationship, Intelligence Quotient, Home Visits, Crime, Income, Executive Function, Longitudinal Studies, Outcomes of Treatment, Health, Attachment Behavior, Economically Disadvantaged, Adults, Inferences, Preschool Education, Young Children, Employment, Personality Traits
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Buffett Early Childhood Fund; National Institutes of Health (DHHS)
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01AG042390; R01AG05334301; R37HD065072