1. Benefits of Preschool Education
W. Steven Barnett, Director
National Institute for Early Education Research
Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey
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2. Preschool’s Benefits Increased Achievement Test Scores
Improved Behavior and Attitudes
Decreased Grade Retention
Decreased Special Education
Decreased Crime & Delinquency
Increased High School Graduation

3. Three Exemplary Studies
High/Scope Perry Preschool– a half-day program on a small scale in the Ypsilanti, MI public schools
True Experiment, n=123, follow-up to age 27
Abecedarian educational child care– a full-day year-round program in Chapel Hill, NC
True Experiment, n=111, follow-up to age 21
Chicago-Child Parent Centers (CPC)– a half-day program on a large scale in the Chicago public schools
Quasi-Experimental, n=1286, follow-up to age 18-21

4. Perry Preschool IQ Over Time

5. Perry Preschool: Educational Effects

6. Perry: Arrests Per Person by Age 27

7. Perry: Economic Benefits at Age 27

8. Abecedarian IQ Scores Over Time

9. Abecedarian Reading Ach. Over Time

10. Abecedarian Math Achievement Over Time

11. Abecedarian : Academic Benefits

12. Abecedarian: Benefits to Mothers and Children

13. CPC Academic Benefits

14. CPC Social Benefits

15. Perry: Economic Return to the Public (excludes $20,000 in economic benefits to participants)

16. Abecedarian: Economic Return

17. CPC: Economic Return

18. Cost – Benefit Analysis of Preschool for Disadvantaged Children
Cost Benefit to Society
Perry Preschool: $12,000 $108,000
Abecedarian: $35,864 $136,000
CPC: $7,000 $ 48,000
All three studies find that economic benefits from intensive, high-quality programs to taxpayers and participants combined far exceed the cost of high-quality programs (comparable to the cost of public education generally).

19. Education Challenges
Many Children Start School with Significant Academic Disadvantages
Many Social and Emotional Problems Are Evident Prior to School Entry
High School Graduation Declined 40 Years
College Graduation Rate Flat for 25 Years

20. Middle Class Children At Risk Too
Middle class children have fairly high rates of academic problems preschool reduces for low-income children.
Reducing these problems could generate large benefits.
Income Retention Dropout
Lowest 20% 17% %
20-80% % %
Highest 20% 8% %
Source:US Department of Education, NCES (1997). Dropout rates in the United States: Figures are multi-year averages.

21. Most Children Attend Preschool

22. Preschool Attendance by Mother’s Education

23. Preschool Classroom Quality is Too Low
Excellent
Good
Minimal

24. Child Care Teacher Literacy is Low

25. Conclusions
Preschool produces cognitive and social emotional gains for children (at least disadvantaged)
Quality preschool education can be a good economic investment
Most 3-4 year old children already attend some type of classroom
Access and quality must be improved if society is to obtain the returns