High Quality pre-kindergarten Programs Help Promote Later Academic Success

According to a 1995 report by the National Center for Education Statistics:

"Attending Head Start, pre-kindergarten or other center-based pre-kindergarten programs is linked with higher emerging literacy scores in 4-year-olds. The increase..remains significant when other child and family statistics are controlled. This benefit of pre-kindergarten attendance accrues to children from both high-risk and low-risk backgrounds."

Moreover, rigorous research studies of three high-quality pre-kindergarten programs show that low-income children who attend pre-kindergarten perform at higher levels than those who do not. Children attending high-quality programs such as, the Perry pre-kindergarten Program, Abecedarian, or Chicago Child-Parent Centers had one or more of the following outcomes:

Lower special education rates.

Lower grade retention rates.

Higher achievement test scores.

Higher high school graduation rates.

Higher post secondary enrollment rates.

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