ERIC Number: EJ1455108
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2332-8584
Public Preschool Predicts Stronger Third-Grade Academic Skills
Anna D. Johnson; Anne Partika; Anne Martin; Ian Lyons; Sherri Castle; Deborah A. Phillips; The Tulsa SEED Study Team
AERA Open, v10 n1 2024
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.
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
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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education; Elementary Education; Grade 3; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Oklahoma (Tulsa)
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Head Start
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement; Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1R01HD09232401A1