Longitudinal Effects of the Arkansas Better Chance Program: Findings from Kindergarten and First Grade

By Jason T. Hustedt, W. Steven Barnett, and Kwanghee Jung
May 2008

During the 2005-2006 school year, the National Institute for Early Education Research began a longitudinal study of the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) prekindergarten program. The goal of this work is to estimate the effects of state-funded pre-K in Arkansas on children's language, mathematics, and literacy skills through fourth grade.

In this report, the authors present data about classroom quality in the ABC program and examine children's language, mathematics, and literacy scores at three key points in time: the beginning of kindergarten, the end of kindergarten, and the end of first grade.

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