Don't Expect Big Gains From Pre-K

I support the broad outlines of President Obama’s proposal for universal pre-kindergarten. Unlike many other social programs, early childhood interventions have a long and successful track record. However, I would caution that we should not expect large gains in student achievement from universal pre-K. The reason is simple: many children already attend high-quality pre-K programs.

This does not mean that universal pre-K is a bad idea, or that pre-K programs don’t work. Research shows that disadvantaged children from rural areas with spotty existing coverage benefit greatly from expansions in pre-K. A recent study of public pre-K in Texas, which is aimed toward poor children and those with limited English proficiency, finds relatively large academic benefits, even though the program itself is not considered “high quality.” We know that pre-k programs yield large benefits when they replace an environment of relative deprivation. Yet the lion’s share of new enrollees in public pre-K would come from existing programs.

So what might we expect from universal pre-K? For a good roadmap, look no further than the grade above it: kindergarten. Fifty years ago, less than 20 percent of age-eligible children were enrolled in kindergarten. Today, kindergarten is close to universal. A careful study of the rollout of universal kindergarten by Elizabeth Cascio of Dartmouth College found little evidence of long-run benefits for students. She argues persuasively that free public kindergarten “crowded out” enrollment in Head Start and other programs, which may have led to its lack of impact.

To read more, please visit the New York Times.