Yes, preschool works. Let’s make it work for more children.
Good news. America is laying to rest the question of whether preschool works for disadvantaged children, and turning its attention to making sure early childhood education works for more children from birth to age five.
State and federal elected officials from both parties are committed to working together to ensure children — especially those from low income families — have access to high quality early learning opportunities. For example, last month a bipartisan group of U.S. House of Representatives Members — Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-Texas), Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts), Rep. Richard Hanna (R-New York) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) — launched the Pre-K Caucus to promote greater access to early childhood education.
The commitment of elected officials is backed by solid research. Three recent studies analyzing the outcomes of early childhood programs find that they help disadvantaged children prepare for school and life. A new report by Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, From Best Practices to Break Through Impacts, makes the case that research on brain science, families and early skill formation show that quality birth to age five early childhood development programs are necessary for the development of disadvantaged children and work to provide lasting impacts throughout life. The report says that we know enough now to invest in programs, but that more research is needed to understand which program elements work best in which situations — something that will only happen when we’re courageous enough to invest in pilot programs, do healthy evaluations during practice, share learnings and apply the results to existing and new programs.
Similarly, a recent report by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) surveys a wide range of preschool and early childhood development programs, and it shows that all provide significant benefits to disadvantaged children. What’s more, it calls for more investment in access to public and private birth-to-five programs — not just in preschool — and proposes that we implement promising programs while conducting rigorous implementation research.
The AEI report comes on the heels of a more methodologically rigorous study by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor James Heckman and his colleagues at the Center for the Economics of Human Development. Early Childhood Development gathers in one place the effectiveness of means-tested and universal programs — including Head Start, state preschool programs and demonstrations programs such as the Perry Preschool Program and the Carolina Abecedarian Project. The results consistently show program success and the economic value of providing disadvantaged children with access to quality early childhood programs.
Clearly, we have moved past the “if’s” or “why’s” on to much deeper questions about how to scale these programs with high quality to reach more children in need. All these studies point out that the most effective programs are those providing high quality, age appropriate, comprehensive services for children from low-income families from birth through age 5.
As we enter into the era of implementation, we need experimentation, research and working experience that informs practice, fosters innovation and provides elected officials and the public with even more confidence to invest in systems and programs that work — and continuously improve. And, we must also look beyond early childhood education toward the continuity of development in the early school years. Early learning programs have proven to get disadvantaged children ready for school, but we have to make sure schools are ready for disadvantaged children and can build upon the skills they gained through early childhood education. The early childhood and K-12 communities are working on building this bridge to greater success and they need more support for their efforts.
When we know that nearly a quarter of America’s children under age six are currently living in poverty, it is penny wise and pound foolish not to invest in greater access to early childhood education. These investments should take different forms, including home visitation for new moms, parent support, and comprehensive services that include early health, nutrition, care and learning. As a country, we must do everything possible to ensure that disadvantaged children have access to high quality early care and learning opportunities, no matter what they are called, in order to effect positive outcomes in school and life.
In short, it’s time to stop debating and start moving forward with innovation, experimentation and evaluation. We can learn by doing instead of talking. We can share the results and bring promising programs to scale. And, if you need proof of that possibility, you wouldn’t be reading this on a computer or phone if Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee and Bill Gates gave up because version one wasn’t as good as their vision for version ten. Social innovation takes the same kind of vision, persistence and guts. We all need more of that given what’s at stake for our children.
Kris Perry is the Executive Director of the First Five Years Fund, a bipartisan Washington, DC-based advocacy organization working with policymakers, experts, business leaders and advocates to advance federal investment in quality early childhood education for disadvantaged children from birth to age five.
