Evaluate pre-K programs by tracking impacts beyond kindergarten into early elementary grades¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The report's approach is to estimate the impact of an offer of admission to a pre-K program and then "explore whether any impacts persist as students advance beyond kindergarten," building on a previous study of the same schools' elementary grades. This follow-through design distinguishes persistent skill impacts from impacts on comprehension that fade, giving a more complete picture of whether early gains last. It supports decisions about whether pre-K investments yield lasting achievement benefits.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A prior or parallel study of the elementary grades to which pre-K effects can be compared
• Follow-up assessments as students advance past kindergarten

Constraints¶

• The report characterizes its persistence findings as preliminary evidence

Target Learners¶

• Pre-kindergarten and early elementary students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Reading achievement
• Math achievement

Claims¶

• Washington's ECEAP preschool students made test score gains in reading and math that persisted through 5th grade, per a Washington Institute for Public Policy evaluation [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Knechtel, V., Coen, T., Caronongan, P., Fung, N., & Goble, L. (2017). Pre-Kindergarten Impacts Over Time: An Analysis of KIPP Charter Schools. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/pre-kindergarten-impacts-over-time-an-analysis-of-kipp-charter-schools