How effective are early childhood programs?

Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School

A recent study, attempts to answer this question by examining the effects of two North Carolina early-childhood programs on students’ educational outcomes in elementary school. This study looked at the impact of state funding allocations to programs in each of 100 counties across 13 consecutive years in South Carolina. These findings indicate that North Carolina’s investment in early childhood programs is associated with improved educational outcomes for students in terms of math and reading scores, reductions in special education rates, and diminished incidence of grade retention. Importantly, these effects don’t appear to fade during the elementary grades.

Dodge, K. A., Bai, Y., Ladd, H. F., & Muschkin, C. G. (2016). Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School. Child

Development.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.12645/full