TKW Consulting

Yesterday, we talked about the increasing demands of kindergarten and the need for improved school readiness. This article talks about some of the reasons that quality preschool or school readiness not only needs to be done to accomodate increased kindergarten requirements, but is beneficial to the children and their success in life.

Research has proven time and again that investing in preschool pays for itself many times over. Children who participate in high quality early learning programs are better prepared for kindergarten, especially kids at risk for school failure, such as children in poverty, children of color and children with English as a second language.

And when children in kindergarten are ready to learn, they can build a foundation for learning that pays dividends throughout their school experience. Research indicates that down the road, these children will have higher CSAP scores, will be less likely to be held back a grade or to need special education and will be more likely to graduate from high school and continue on to further education.

The benefits of investing in preschool have been shown to continue past high school graduation, with at-risk students who attended preschool less likely to be involved in criminal activity and likely to earn more money over their lifetimes than they would have otherwise.

The Perry Preschool Study done by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation is the longest running study of the impact of high quality preschool, having followed program participants through age 40.

When comparing the program group (children who received high quality preschool) with the no-program group (children who received no preschool), researchers found that 65 percent of the program group graduated from high school compared to 45 percent of the no-program group.

At age 40, 60 percent of the program group earned above $20,000 compared to only 40 percent of the no-program group. And 36 percent of the program group had been arrested more than five times, compared to 55 percent of the no-program group.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:14 PM