According to an NBER report,
…early education does increase reading and mathematics skills at school entry, but it also boosts children’s classroom behavioral problems and reduces their self-control. Further, for most children the positive effects of pre-kindergarten on skills largely dissipate by the spring of first grade, although the negative behavioral effects continue. In the study, the authors take account of many factors affecting a child, including family background and neighborhood characteristics. These factors include race/ethnicity, age, health status at birth, height, weight, and gender, family income related to need, language spoken in the home, and so on.
HatTip: Arnold Kling and Tyler Cowen.
Update: HeadStart may be a different story.
My parents enrolled me and my three siblings in pre-school programs. We weren’t eligible for the Head Start programs because of our family income, so my parents paid for our early education programs. My mom has worked with kindergarten aged kids for about 15 years now and she continually insists that she sees a difference in the abilities and behavior of those who attended pre-school. Sure, that is just anecdotal and one woman’s perception, but it makes me wonder about other benefits of the programs that the summary on the NBER report did not touch on.
One last thing, I used to get in trouble for talking too much in kindergarten and first grade. That seems to fall in line with the report. Hehe.
You, talk to much? No way!!!
Can I let you in on a little secret, you have to promise not to tell anyone though. You promise? Ok.
I failed kindergarten. En serio. Many people don’t think that is possible, but it happened with me, I was told I had to repeat it….
Alfonso, don’t leave secrets on your blog! That defeats the whole purpose?!
Nobody reads the comments, don’t worry. No digas nada.
Y nadie lee tu blog.
They seem to be saying that children in need don’t do so great when the emphasis is on Math and Reading. While higher expectations are a wonderful thing, some of these kids are much better served at this age by play base education where socialization is stressed. If you can’t learn to function properly in a school environment it seems like your chances of obtaining any academic skills are significantly reduced.
I’d be interested in their interpretation of Head Start data.
Y nadie lee tu blog.
Tu lo lees. Es todo lo que es importante para mi.