New Study Shows Full-Day Pre-kindergarten Helps Kids Do Better In Literacy and Math; Closes Gap Between Rich and Poor
City Council Speaker Quinn Lauds Preschool Study; Joins Educators for Report Release at Manhattan Preschool

Date: May 16, 2006

New York, NY - A study released today shows that children who attended a full day public preschool performed better on literacy and mathematics tests than children in a traditional 2.5 to 3-hour public preschool program, and achievement gains continued at least until the end of first grade.

The study also showed that high quality, full-day prekindergarten narrowed the educational gap between disadvantaged children and those from more affluent homes.

The study, conducted by The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) and funded in part by The Pew Charitable Trusts, was released at a preschool in Manhattan today by NIEER director W. Steven Barnett and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

"This study confirms what parents and education experts have been saying for years: To give our kids the best possible chance to succeed, we must start with full-day pre-kindergarten," said Speaker Quinn. "This is an attainable goal that will have a dramatic impact on the lives of our kids and assist our city's working families. Additionally, extending pre-K hours saves the City money down the road by reducing the need for remedial education services. Any way you look at it, we simply cannot wait to provide our children with the full day of pre kindergarten they need and deserve."

Barnett said, "Results of this study indicate that students who are far behind at entry to preschool can develop vocabulary, math and literacy skills that approach national norms if provided with a full day preschool program that maintains reasonable quality standards. Extended hours and days of preschool education seem to have dramatic and lasting effects when the program is high quality."

The findings are particularly significant, Barnett said, because the study is the first randomized trial of the benefits of extended day preschool.

Barnett, Kenneth B. Robin and Ellen C. Frede authored the study, Is More Better? The Effects of Full Day vs. Half Day Preschool on Early School Achievement.

A total of 339 children, mostly from low-income, minority families in New Jersey, participated in the study. Eighty-five children were randomly assigned to attend an 8-hour a day, 10-month program. Most of the others attended traditional half-day, 9-month preschool programs. All children were tested in the fall and spring of their preschool and kindergarten years. A smaller group was tested at the end of their first grade year.

The preschool programs, both full- and half-day, were rated as of reasonable quality. Teachers were required to have BA degrees. Classrooms had a low ratio of children to teachers. Comprehensive curricula were implemented.

The study found that:

Extended day preschool improves children's learning in literacy and mathematics. By spring of the preschool year, the children who attended the extended-day program significantly outperformed children in the control group on a battery of four important tests of literacy and mathematics. Near the beginning of the year, the children in the full day program tested almost five points higher than the others, but by the end of the year they tested nearly nine points higher.

The learning gains of children in the extended day preschool were sustained through kindergarten and beyond. By the spring of their kindergarten year, the extended-day children tested 11 points higher than the children from the more traditional preschools. By the end of first grade, the difference still was growing, reaching 13 points.

Due to their accelerated rate of improvement, children in the treatment group had achieved the national mean on one test and were close on two others. The study said:

Quality early education compensates somewhat for disadvantaged circumstances. Tests showed that the impact of family and child background characteristics on learning was weaker at the end of first grade than at earlier assessments. Achievement of Latino children no longer differed significantly on any measure from national averages.

The study acknowledged that preschool policy makers across the nation face costly decisions about operating hours within the limitations of available resources. Currently, most state preschool programs follow the academic year and offer about 180 days of service. In Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, preschool programs operated year-round. Between 1997 and 2003, the study said, the percent of children in full day, 5 days per week federal Head Start programs nearly doubled to 46 percent.

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The National Institute for Early Education Research (www.nieer.org), a unit of the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, supports early childhood education policy by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research. NIEER is supported through grants from The Pew Charitable Trusts and others.

The Pew Charitable Trusts serves the public interest by providing information, advancing policy solutions and supporting civic life. Based in Philadelphia, with an office in Washington, D.C., the Trusts will invest $204 million in fiscal year 2006 to provide organizations and citizens with fact-based research and practical solutions for challenging issues.