By Madeleine Webster

In 2001, Oklahoma became one of the nation’s first states to implement a universal pre-K program. Since then, a large and growing body of evidence has told us that early childhood education (ECE) programs improve school readiness and reduce achievement gaps.

Yet, until now, research on the long-term benefits of ECE has been sparse. In a new report published by the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management in December 2017, ECE researchers have demonstrated that on average, the Tulsa pre-K program had positive impacts on middle school math scores, enrollment in honors courses and grade retention.

Another recent study also found that high-quality pre-K can reduce placement in special education by 8 percent, decrease grade retention by 8 percent and increase high school graduation rates by 11 percent.

Conversely, a 2015 study of Tennessee’s voluntary pre-K programs found that while children coming from ECE programs earned higher achievement scores in kindergarten, these students did not test higher than their non-ECE attending peers by first grade, and tested below their peers by the third grade…

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Madeleine Webster is a policy specialist in NCSL’s Education program.

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