Dr. Arthur J. Reynolds
University of Minnesota

Although the positive effects of early childhood development programs have been widely disseminated, less attention has been given to the accumulated evidence for programs across the entire period of early childhood. This review summarizes evidence on the effects and cost-effectiveness of programs and services from ages 3 to 9. The major focus is preschool programs for 3- and 4-year olds, full-day kindergarten, school-age programs including reduced class sizes, and preschool-to-third grade interventions.

Participation in preschool programs was found to have relatively large and enduring effects on school achievement and child well-being. High-quality programs for children at risk produce strong economic returns ranging from about $4 per dollar invested to over $10 per dollar invested. Recent evaluations of state-funded prekindergarten programs show positive and educationally meaningful effects on school readiness skills for both at-risk and not-at-risk children. Policy analyses from state and national perspectives estimate returns of at least $2 per dollar invested for targeted programs and at least $2 per dollar invested for universal access programs.

Relative to half-day kindergarten, the positive effects of full-day kindergarten have been found to be relatively small and generally do not last for more than a year. While no formal economic analyses have been conducted, the economic return per dollar invested would be expected to be close to zero, especially if benefits are limited to achievement.

Among school-age programs, preschool plus school-age interventions (PK-3) for children at risk are linked to higher levels of school performance into adolescence. The Child-Parent Center PK-3 Program shows a return of 6 to 9 dollars per dollar invested. Class size reductions show evidence of positive effects with economic returns of roughly 3 dollars per dollar invested. School-based social skills training can yield returns of over 3 dollars per dollar invested while the treatment-focused program Reading Recovery shows only short-term positive effects.

Key principles of effectiveness include the establishment of a coordinated system of services beginning at age 3 and continuing to the early school grades, teaching staff that are well trained and compensated, preferably with earned bachelor’s degrees and appropriate certification, comprehensive family services, emphasis on the direct acquisition of school readiness skills and performance, and commitment to on-going evaluation and assessment.

Four policy recommendations are discussed:

1. Increase state and federal investment in high-quality, evidence-based early childhood development programs
2. Use results of cost-benefit analysis to prioritize investment options
3. Develop funding mechanisms to support the implementation of programs in a more timely manner
4. Increase investments in research and development for evaluating programs.

Click here to read the full paper.

Powerpoint available here.