'Decades of research have shown that parental engagement and commitment to their children’s education are the most powerful factors shaping school outcomes,' writes kbstevens for usatodayopinion
In both studies, parents tried to enroll their children in a preschool program that didn’t have enough spaces for all applicants. Researchers randomly admitted some children to the program, while the others did not get in. That means the children in the “preschool” and “nonpreschool” groups all had parents who demonstrated the same level of motivation and engagement at the outset.
Both studies found the same thing: Children who attended preschool performed better on achievement tests at the end of the preschool year. But over the kindergarten year, children who had not attended caught up to those who had. And by second and third grades, children who had not gone to preschool did the same or better than those who had.
Unlike most preschool research, these two studies compared apples with apples, meaning all the children had parents who were sufficiently engaged to seek their enrollment in preschool. And both studies found that the preschool program itself had no positive impact on children’s later outcomes.The bottom line of these findings is that parents are the primary influence on school performance — not whether children start school when they are 3 or 4 years old instead of 5 years old.
A massive expansion of preschool, however well intended, won’t help the children who need help the most. If the goal is to expand the school system and provide free preschool to wealthier parents who otherwise have to pay for it, universal preschool makes perfect sense. If the goal is to boost the life chances of America’s most disadvantaged children, however, it’s a deeply misguided approach.
Katharine B. Stevens is a resident scholar and leads the early childhood program at the American Enterprise Institute. Follow her on Twitter:
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