Pre-k benefits children, their families, and their communities. From improved academic outcomes to the economic savings to schools and states, the benefits of high-quality pre-k are irrefutable.
Successful Students
Pre-k increases high school graduation rates.
Chicago children who attended a pre-k program were 29 percent more likely to graduate from high school than their peers who did not have pre-k. (Source: Chicago Longitudinal Study)
Pre-k helps children do better on standardized tests.
Michigan fourth graders who had attended pre-k passed the state's literacy and math assessment tests at higher rates than their peers who had no pre-k. (Source: "State Efforts to Evaluate the Effects of Pre-Kindergarten", Yale University Child Study Center)
Pre-k reduces grade repetition.
Maryland fifth graders who attended pre-k were 44 percent less likely to have repeated a grade than their peers who did not attend pre-k. (Source: "State Efforts to Evaluate the Effects of Pre-Kindergarten", Yale University Child Study Center)
Pre-k reduces the number of children placed in special education.
Among Chicago children, those who attended pre-k were 41 percent less likely to require special education services than their peers who did not attend. (Source: Chicago Longitudinal Study)
Responsible Adults
Pre-k reduces crime and delinquency.
Chicago children who did not attend pre-k were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18 than their peers who had been pre-k participants. (Source: Chicago Longitudinal Study)
Pre-k lowers rates of teen pregnancy.
North Carolina children who attended pre-k were less likely to become teen parents than their peers who did not attend pre-k (26 percent vs. 45 percent). (Source: The Carolina Abecedarian Project)
Pre-k leads to greater employment and higher wages as adults
Forty-year-old adults in Michigan who attended pre-k as children were more likely to be employed and had a 33 percent higher average income than their peers who did not have pre-k. (Source: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project)
Pre-k contributes to more stable families.
Forty-year-old adults in Michigan who attended pre-k as children were more likely to report that they were getting along very well with their families than their peers who did not attend pre-k (75 percent vs. 64 percent). (Source: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project)
Stronger Communities
Every $1 invested in high-quality pre-k saves taxpayers up to $7.
Pre-k results in savings by reducing the need for remedial and special education, welfare, and criminal justice services, according to a number of studies. (Sources: "The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California", Rand Corporation; The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project)
Pre-k improves efficiency and productivity in the classroom.
Children who attended pre-k at Head Start centers had more advanced skills in areas such as following directions, problem-solving, and joining in activities, all of which allow teachers to spend more time working directly with children and less on classroom management. (Source: "The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey", U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Fifty years of evidence shows that high-quality, voluntary pre-k is among the best strategies for education reform. Our brief highlights findings from the latest state pre-k program evaluations that continue to document gains in key measures of student learning, including early literacy, math and vocabulary; reduced need for special and remedial education; and lower incidences of grade retention.
While reauthorizing Head Start in 2007, Congress added a new provision requiring every state to create or designate a State Advisory Council to better coordinate early education and care services. Pre-K Now has two new resources designed to help policymakers and advocates navigate the process of setting up Councils and seize the opportunities offered by them.
Families everywhere struggle to find high-quality pre-k programs for their children, but the problem is even more acute in rural areas. Pre-K Now has come out with recommendations for federal policymakers to help states meet the unique challenges of rural pre-k.
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