Are Early Education Programs Worth the Investment?
Early education programs, like public pre-kindergarten, are generally popular among parents and educators alike. But when communities invest in such programs, are they getting their money’s worth?
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There’s a lot of research on the effects of early education. A recent report on Georgia’s pre-k program showed it significantly improves students’ school readiness. Steve Dolinger is the president of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. He says some studies show such programs can also have long-term benefits.
“We find that students who have been involved in early education have a higher percentage of graduation rates from high school, they earn a higher income later in life, and they typically are not in special education programs,” Dolinger says.
Other studies go even further, suggesting universal pre-k programs, like Georgia’s, can also have an economic impact. Those suggestions include higher per capita earnings and a $7 return on every $1 invested.
But there’s a different body of research that shows those economic effects aren’t certain.
Russ Whitehurst, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, says the economic impact of such programs isn’t clear.
“What we see is a tremendous financial benefit for families, and that’s important, but not the impacts on students’ school readiness or school outcomes, which are usually part of the thinking behind investing in these programs,” he says.
Whitehurst says there’s evidence the effects of Georgia’s lottery-funded program fade out in elementary school.
“What we’ve found in two independent evaluations of the Georgia program is that there’s little to no impact on 4th grade test score performance, and that’s what you’d look for as an intermediate outcome,” Whitehurst says.
Bobby Cagle is the commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning. He says it’s important to examine the totality of the research. More simply, Cagle says, program effectiveness comes down to quality.
“Depending on your program design, depending on the way that you deliver the subject matter, you can make it more likely or less likely that students retain,” Cagle says.
Whitehurst agrees that quality is the key factor. He says one of the best ways to ensure high quality is to hire and retain good teachers.
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