After the policy changes, students lived on average 0.6 miles closer to a school with full-day pre-k, with the largest gains for high-priority groups¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Distance to full-day pre-k decreased post-policy for almost all students, and the number of full-day classrooms near home increased, especially for Black, lowest-income, and mostly-Black-neighborhood students. → Ehrlich 2020

Evidence¶

Ehrlich 2020¶

Ehrlich, S.B., Connors, M.C., Stein, A.G., Francis, J., Easton, J.Q., Kabourek, S.E., & Farrar, I.C. (2020). Closer to home: More equitable pre-k access and enrollment in Chicago. Chicago, IL: UChicago Consortium on School Research, NORC at the University of Chicago, and Start Early. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/closer-to-home

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive pre-post comparison of the two full-day access levers (Figures 10-11). Before the policy, students were unlikely to have even one full-day classroom near home; after, most had at least one. For example, 0.5 percent of Black students had one full-day classroom nearby pre-policy versus more than 2 percent after, while students in mostly-White neighborhoods saw a small drop.

"on average, students were 0.6 miles closer to a school with full-day pre-k after policy changes, compared to before (see Figure 10). In particular, high-priority student groups (Black, Latinx, lowest-income, English Learners, and those living in high-priority neighborhoods) saw the largest decreases in distance to schools with full-day pre-k."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• After the policy changes, distance to any pre-k did not change substantially for most student groups, while White and highest-income students lived farther from pre-k — related
• The number of pre-k classrooms near a student's home was positively related to enrollment, more strongly for full-day classrooms — related
• Pre-policy, the negative distance-enrollment relationship was strongest for Black students — related
• Full-day pre-k enrollment grew substantially after the policy changes, tripling for Black, lowest-income, and mostly-Black-neighborhood students — related
• Before Chicago's 2013-14 policy changes, students living farther from a school with pre-k were less likely to enroll in school-based pre-k — related
• Pre-policy, White students were far more likely to enroll in full-day pre-k than other racial/ethnic groups regardless of distance — related
• Improved second-grade outcomes were related to pre-k policy changes through greater access to full-day pre-k and subsequently improved kindergarten entry skills — related
• The pathway from full-day pre-k to better second-grade outcomes was especially strong among Black students, lowest-income students, and students living in mostly-Black neighborhoods — related
• Pre-k policy changes were associated with higher second-grade reading test scores for Black students and students in the lowest-income group — related
• Chicago pre-k policy changes expanding full-day pre-k access were related to more favorable second-grade math test scores and academic grades for most student groups — related