Benefits of Preschool for All
Research on the Benefits of Preschool Education: Securing High Returns from Preschool for All Children
January 10, 2006 New York, NY W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D. National Institute for Early Education Research www.nieer.org
Why Preschool for all Children?
Investing early can yield high returns and is pro-growth School failure is not just a problem for children in poverty Universal programs are more costeffective than targeted programs
Benefits of High Quality Pre-K
Higher test scores Better social skills Less grade repetition & Spec. Ed. Higher graduation rates Increased earnings Less crime Less teen pregnancy, abortion, smoking
Barnett, W. S. & Masse, L. N. (In press). Early childhood program design and economic returns: Comparative benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian program and policy implications, Economics of Education Review.
Three Benefit-Cost Analyses with Disadvantaged Children
Chicago High/Scope Year began 1985 1962 Chapel Hill, NC Chicago, IL Ypsilanti, MI Location Sample size 111 1,539 123 Matched Design RCT RCT
neighborhood
Abecedarian 1972
Ages Program schedule
6 wks-age 5
Ages 3-4
Ages 3-4 Half-day, school year
Full-day, year Half-day, round school year
Barnett, W. S. & Masse, L. N. (In press). Early childhood program design and economic returns: Comparative benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian program and policy implications, Economics of Education Review.
Perry Preschool: Educational Effects
Program group No-program group
Special Education (Cog.)
15% 34% 49% 15% 66% 45% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Age 14 achievement at 10th %ile +
Graduated from high school on time
0%
Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., Weikart, D., Barnett, W.S., & Epstein, A. (1993). Significant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27. Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation No. 10. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Perry: Economic Effects at Age 27
Program group No-program group Earn $2,000 + monthly 29% 7% 36% 13% 41% 20% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Own home
Never on welfare as adult 0%
Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., Weikart, D., Barnett, W.S., & Epstein, A. (1993). Significant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27. Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation No. 10. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Perry Preschool: Economic Effects at 40
Program group No-program group
Earned > $20K
60% 40% 76% 62% 76% 50% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Employed
Had Savings Account
0%
Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40 (Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 14). Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Perry: Arrests per person by age 27
Felony Misdemeanor Juvenile
Program
0.7
1.2
0.5
2.3 arrests
No program
1.5
2.5
0.6
4.6 arrests
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., Weikart, D., Barnett, W.S., & Epstein, A. (1993). Significant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27. Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation No. 10. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Perry Preschool: Crime Effects at 40
Program group No-program group 36% 55% 33% 48% 14% 34% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Arrested > 5X
Violent Crime
Drug Crime
Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40 (Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 14). Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Abecedarian : Academic Benefits
Program group No-program group
Special Education
25% 48% 31% 55% 67% 51% 36% 13% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Grade Repeater
HS Graduation
4 Yr College
0%
Campbell, F.A., Ramey, C.T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J. & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian project. Applied Developmental Science, Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 42-57.
Abecedarian Reading Ach. Over Time
105 100
READING SCORE
95 90 85 80 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 AGE (Years)
TREATMENT CONTROL
Campbell, F.A., Ramey, C.T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J. & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian project. Applied Developmental Science, Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 42-57.
Abecedarian Math Achievement Over Time
105
TREATMENT CONTROL
MATH SCORES
100 95 90 85 80
8 10 12 14 16 18
20
22
AGE (Years)
Campbell, F.A., Ramey, C.T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J. & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian project. Applied Developmental Science, Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 42-57.
CPC: Academic and Social Benefits at School Exit
Program group No-program group
HS Graduation
50% 39% 14% 25% 23% 38% 17% 25% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Special Education
Grade Repeater
Juvenile Arrest
0%
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J.A., Robertson, D.L., & Mann, E.A. (2002). Age 21 cost-benefit analysis of the Title I Chicago ChildParent Centers. (Discussion Paper no. 1245-02). Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty. Available on line at http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp124502.pdf
Economic Returns to Pre-K for Disadvantaged Children
Cost Perry Pre-K Abecedarian Chicago $16,264 $36,929 $ 7,417 Benefits $277,631 $139,571 $ 52,936 B/C 17.07 3.78 7.14
Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40 (Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 14). Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation; Barnett, W. S. & Masse, L. N. (In press). Early childhood program design and economic returns: Comparative benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian program and policy implications, Economics of Education Review; Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J.A., Robertson, D.L., & Mann, E.A. (2002). Age 21 cost-benefit analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. (Discussion Paper no. 1245-02). Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty. Available on line at http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp124502.pdf
Why not Target Pre-K?
Targeting is costly and imperfect
Head Start misses most poor children About half of Head Start children not poor
Benefits do not stop at the poverty line
Many non-poor have similar problems Benefits decrease gradually with income Georgetown study of UPK in OK
Benefits greater when all children exposed to Pre-K
Barnett, W. S., Brown, K., & Shore, R. (2004). The universal vs. targeted debate: Should the United States have preschool for all? Preschool Policy Matters, 6. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University.
Could universal Pre-K produce similar benefits for the middle class?
Middle class children have fairly high rates of the problems that preschool reduces for low-income children. Reducing these problems could generate large benefits.
Income Lowest 20% 20-80% Highest 20%
Retention 17% 12% 8%
Dropout 23% 11% 3%
US Department of Education, NCES (1997). Dropout rates in the United States: 1995. Figures are multi-year averages.
Cognitive Readiness Gap
Abilities Scores
Abilities of Entering Kindergarteners by Family Income-National Data, Fall 1998 (reported by NIEER from ECLS-K)
60.0
55.0
School Readiness Gap
Reading Math
50.0 General Knowledge 45.0
40.0
Low est 20% 2nd Low est 20% Middle 20% 2nd Highest 20% Highest 20%
Fam ily Incom e
Barnett, W. S., Brown, K., & Shore, R. (2004). The universal vs. targeted debate: Should the United States have preschool for all? Preschool Policy Matters, 6. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University.
Social Readiness Gap
Social Scores
Social Skills of Entering Kindergarteners by Family Income (NIEER Analysis of ECLS-K)
9.80 9.60 9.40
School Readiness Gap
9.20 9.00 8.80 8.60 8.40 8.20 8.00
Lowest 20% 2nd Lowest 20% Middle 20% 2nd Highest 20% Top 20%
Social Skills
Family Income
Barnett, W. S., Brown, K., & Shore, R. (2004). The universal vs. targeted debate: Should the United States have preschool for all? Preschool Policy Matters, 6. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University.
Is State Pre-K/UPK Effective?
Two new rigorous studies Large scale, state wide programs One year of quality public Pre-K at 4 Effects at entry to Kindergarten Universal and targeted programs Standardized tests Look at effects by income
Oklahoma’s Universal Pre-K
3,028 children in Tulsa public schools Rigorous RD design Gains for all SES & ethnic groups Literacy and Math gains
Smaller than Perry and Abecedarian Similar to CPC
Larger gains for minority and poor children
Gormley, W.T. and Gayer, T. Phillips, D., & Dawson, B. (2005). The effects of universal pre-k on cognitive development. Developmental Psychology, 41(6), 872-884.
NIEER Evaluation of 5 State Pre-K Programs
5,071 children in 5 States OK and WV are universal MI, NJ, & SC targeted Gains from Pre-K in all 5 states Gains in language, literacy & math All children gain, low-income gain more
Barnett, W.S., Lamy, C. & Jung, K. (2005). The Effects of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children’s School Readiness in Five States. NIEER Policy Report. Available at http://nieer.org/docs/index.php?DocID=129 .
Extra Benefits from Serving All
Disadvantaged children found to gain more when they have mixed SES peers in Pre-K Positive peer effects in kindergarten and beyond will be larger if all attend Pre-K
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B. (2004). The final report: Effective pre-school education. Technical paper 12. London: Institute of Education, University of London; Belfield, C. & McEwan, P. (2004). An economic analysis of investments in early childhood education in Massachusetts. Retrieved November 2005 from http://strategiesforchildren.org/images/pdfs/BelfieldMcEwanReport.pdf
High Quality Preschool Programs Needed to Produce Benefits
Well-educated preschool teachers Adequate teacher compensation Small classes and reasonable teacher:child ratios Strong supervision High standards and accountability
Espinosa, L. M. (2002). High quality preschool: Why we need it and what it looks like. Preschool Policy Matters, Issue 1. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research; Barnett, W. S. (2003). Better teachers, better preschools: Student achievement linked to teacher qualifications. Preschool Policy Matters, 2. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.
Comparison of Plausible Returns to Targeted and Universal Pre-K
Cost Targeted
50% accur. $12.5 80% accur. $12.5
Benefits $ 79.9 $ 96.0 $213.2
NPV $ 67.4 $ 83.5 $150.8
Universal $62.4
(80% enrolled)
Barnett, W. S. (2004). Maximizing returns from prekindergarten education. In Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Research Conference: Education and economic development (pp. 5-18). Cleveland, OH: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Conclusions
Quality Pre-K is pro-growth Quality Pre-K is effective response to NCLB All children can and should benefit UPK more cost-effective than targeting Must be intensive, quality program