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Quality Does Make a Difference

• A new analysis of data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) concludes that low-income children's participation in high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs – between birth and age five – is associated with higher math and reading scores at fifth grade. Interestingly, for math achievement, this trend is observed even for children from families earning about 300 percent of the federal poverty threshold. The research also concluded that the more quality programs low-income children attend before age five, the closer their achievement comes to that of their more affluent peers. The article is accessible using a two-step process (this sets a required session cookie which is deleted when you exit their website). First open the Wiley homepage by clicking here; http://www3.interscience.wiley.com Leave the website open and then click here: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122597261/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
• In New Jersey, NIEER researchers have tracked more than 650 children through second grade, some of whom participated in a high-quality pre-k program for one or two years while others did not. The study suggests that children who attended high-quality pre-k retained an advantage through second grade in math, comprehension and vocabulary skills. Additionally, children who enrolled in pre-k for two years did significantly better than those who only participated for one year. Read more at http://nieer.org/pdf/apples_second_grade_results.pdf
• NIEER recently released findings from its third study of the New Mexico Pre-Kindergarten Initiative. Consistent with previous studies conducted during the program's first two years of operation, the current analysis found that children who attended state pre-k in the 2007-08 school year made significantly larger gains in early math and literacy skills than their peers who had not participated in the program. These results show that as New Mexico's pre-k program doubled in size between 2005 and 2008, it maintained its effectiveness. Read more at http://nieer.org/pdf/NewMexicoRDD0909.pdf

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