,,The Effects of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children's School Readiness in Five States

The Effects of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children's School Readiness in Five States


 

Publication Date: December 2005

Publisher: National Institute for Early Education Research

Author(s): Kwanghee Jung; W. Steven Barnett; Cynthia Lamy

Research Area: Education

Keywords: early education; state-funded programs ; low-income families

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This study estimated the effects of five state-funded preschool programs on entering kindergartner’s academic skills using a rigorous research design. Receptive vocabulary, early literacy and math skills were assessed in a sample of 5,071 children from Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia. The study found that these state-funded preschool programs have statistically significant and meaningful impacts on children’s early language, literacy and mathematical development, with some evidence of an enhanced program effect for print awareness skills for children in low-income families.