Jennifer Bundy, The Associated Press, December 6, 2005
Publicly funded preschool programs that have well-paid, college-educated
teachers improve children's language development and math skills,
according to a study in Michigan and four other states.
The fact that preschool helps prepare children for kindergarten is not
surprising. But many people argue that only model preschool programs are
effective and that government cannot replicate those programs' success on
a large scale.
"This study just says that's wrong," said Steve Barnett, one of the
researchers on the study conducted by the National Institute for Early
Education Research at Rutgers University.
The study, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, was being released Tuesday
during a meeting of the National Association of Early Childhood
Specialists in Washington, D.C.
Researchers looked at 5,071 randomly chosen students in state-funded
preschool programs in Michigan, West Virginia, New Jersey, Oklahoma and
South Carolina.
The students were examined on vocabulary, early math skills, understanding
of print concepts and phonological awareness, an indication of whether
children can blend sounds into words.
The effect of state-funded preschool on children's ability to blend sounds
into words was not statistically significant.
The Rutgers study did not compare the effects of quality preschool
programs on children of different economic backgrounds. However, "All
groups of kids gained. There is some evidence the gains were bigger for
more disadvantaged kids," Barnett said.
And the research indicated preschool makes a difference in topics like
reading and math readiness that affect children's later school
achievement, Jones said.
Barnett said the five states were picked for the study because
administrators there wanted their programs reviewed by an outside
organization.
"They all have relatively high quality programs," he said in a conference
call with reporters.
All five states require preschool teachers to have a four-year college
degree, specialized training in early childhood development and all pay
those teachers well.
"A lot of state preschool programs are not of high quality," Barnett said.
"There are a lot of programs that don't require teachers to have degrees.
From our perspective, it was important to show what would happen if states
did it right, if they had adequately funded the programs to hire good
teachers."
