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Improving Systems, Practices, and Outcomes

Long-Term Impacts to Children, Families and Society

The Carolina Abecedarian Project (2014)

The Carolina Abecedarian Project is a carefully controlled scientific study of the potential benefits of early childhood education for children from low-income families.

Participants received full-time, high-quality educational intervention in a childcare setting from infancy through age 5. Each child had an individualized prescription of educational activities that focused on social, emotional, and cognitive areas of development, with a particular emphasis on language. The children's progress has been monitored with follow-up studies conducted at ages 12, 15, 21, and 30. Adult findings demonstrate that important, long-lasting benefits are associated with the program.

In High-Quality Early Education and Care Bring Health Benefits 30 Years Later, FPG shares that children who participated in the Carolina Abecedarian Project from birth until age 5 enjoyed better physical health in their mid-30s than peers who did not attend the childcare-based program Significant measures also indicate that better health lies ahead for these individuals. The findings were published in Science in 2014.

  • Campbell, F., Conti, G., Heckman, J. J., Moon, S. H., Pinto, R., Pungello, E., & Pan, Y. (2014). Early childhood investments substantially boost adult health. Science, 343(6178), 1478–1485. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1248429

The Healthy Child: Assembly Required (2015)

This video features a talk given by Kathleen Gallagher at TEDxUNC 2015 as she describes the journey of 100 North Carolina babies born into poverty, whose life trajectories were altered by their participation in the Abecedarian Project. FPG's press release The TED Talk They Keep Talking About: The Power of High-Quality Early Ed has additional information about the event.

Simulation Results Suggest That Improving School Readiness May Yield Long-term Education and Earnings Benefits (2022)

This brief from Child Trends describes the Social Genome Model and its application to simulate the long-term effects of preschool interventions later in the lives of children who receive these interventions. The brief describes simulated findings for five outcomes and share effect sizes across racial, ethnic, and sex groupings. The results indicate that interventions during the preschool years that help young children become more healthy and ready for school and life could pay dividends in the long run. Results also suggest the value of ongoing interventions and support once children enter school.

Puzzling It Out: The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects (2017)

Brookings Institute Report looks at the characteristics of effective pre-k programs, the role of pre-k curricula, the benefits of universal pre-k compared to more targeted programs for children at risk, cost-benefit studies, financing, and more. It includes a consensus statement developed by a group of leading pre-k researchers and experts who came together to review the current evidence on the impact of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs.

Early Childhood Education (2015)

This Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group paper summarizes the literature on early childhood education and childcare, considering the evidence from means-tested demonstration programs, large-scale means-tested programs and universal programswithout means testing. The evidence from high-quality demonstration programs targeted toward disadvantaged childrenshows beneficial effects, with returns exceeding costs.

The Effects of Two Influential Early Childhood Interventions on Health and Healthy Behaviors (2015)

This National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) report examines the long-term impacts on health and healthy behaviors of the Perry Preschool Project and the Carolina Abecedarian Project, finding that both interventions have statistically significant effects on the healthy behavior and health of their participants. Treatment effects are particularly strong for males. Health outcomes affected vary by intervention.

  • Conti, G., Heckman, J., & Pinto, R. (2015). The effects of two influential early childhood interventions on health and healthy behaviors. https://doi.org/10.3386/w21454

Getting the Facts Right on Pre-K and the President's Pre-K Proposal (2013)

This policy report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) examines what the research evidence shows in answer to the following four questions:

  1. Does high-quality pre-K have lasting benefits?
  2. What is the evidence for the $7 to $1 return on investment for preschool?
  3. Do non-disadvantaged children benefit from pre-K, and is a targeted or a universal approach to preschool more effective?
  4. Are large-scale public pre-K programs, including Head Start, effective?

The author finds that when all of the evidence is considered, large-scale public programs have succeeded in producing meaningful long-term gains for children and not just disadvantaged children. The size of those gains depends on the quality of the program.

HeckmannEquation.org: Health Research

This collection features Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman's work to to better understand the long-term benefits of investing in early care and education for disadvantaged children and their families. It includes a variety of tools, videos, videos in Spanish, speeches, and more.

Highscope Perry Preschool Project (2012)

The Perry Preschool Project developed a high-quality educational approach over 40 years ago focusing on 3- and 4-year-olds at risk for school failure. The longitudinal study found that adults at age 40 who had the preschool program had higher earnings, were more likely to hold a job, had committed fewer crimes, and were more likely to have graduated from high school than adults who did not participate in the program.

How Much Could We Improve Children's Life Chances by Intervening Early and Often? (2014)

This brief from the Center on Children and Families (CCF) at the Brookings Institute finds that well-evaluated targeted interventions can close over 70% of the gap between more and less advantaged children and can greatly improve social mobility and enhance the lifetime incomes of less advantaged children. The findings also suggest that these interventions would have a positive ratio of benefits to costs for the American taxpayers.

Informing Investments in Preschool Quality and Access in Cincinnati: Evidence of Impacts and Economic Returns from National, State, and Local Preschool Programs (2016)

In this report, the RAND Corporation examines the research evidence on the short- and long-run effects of high-quality preschool programs for participating children and their families and the associated costs and economic returns. A discussion about the impacts for universal versus targeted programs and for programs of varying intensity is included.

  • Karoly, L.A., & Whitaker, A.A. (2016). Informing investments in preschool quality and access in Cincinnati: evidence of impacts and economic returns from national, state, and local preschool programs. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1461.html

Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education (2013)

This research brief provides a non-partisan, thorough review of the current evidence on why early skills matter, which children benefit the most from preschool, the short- and long-term effects of preschool on children's school readiness and life outcomes, the importance of program quality, and the costs versus benefits of preschool education. The brief was funded by the Foundation for Child Development and produced in collaboration with the Society for Research in Child Development. An executive summary is also available.

  • Yoshikawa, H., Weiland, C., Brooks-Gunn, J., Burchinal, M., Espinosa, L., Gormley, W. T., Ludwig, J., Magnuson, K., Phillips, D., & Zaslow, M. (2013). Investing in our future: the evidence base on preschool. Society for Research in Child Development, Washington, D.C. https://www.fcd-us.org/the-evidence-base-on-preschool

Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Large Public Early Care and Education Programs (2014)

This brief from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) describes the short- and long-term impacts of large public Early Care and Education programs in the U.S. for children before kindergarten entry, including what key features of programs lead to the best outcomes and how to sustain program benefits as children grow older. It does not include the many smaller ECE programs, including model or demonstration programs in the U.S. and abroad, that have also been evaluated.

Start Early to Build a Healthy Future: The Research Linking Early Learning and Health (2014)

This report from the Ounce of Prevention Fund summarizes new research on what children need to get a healthy start in life and the positive effects of nurturing relationships, safe and secure environments, access to nutrition, health-promoting behaviors, and enriching early learning experiences. The authors provide policy and practice recommendations for supporting children's lifelong health through quality early care and education programs, as well as improved coordination and integration across agencies involved with young children and their families.

  • Fisher, B., Hanson, A., & Raden T. (2014). Start early to build a healthy future: the research linking early learning and health. Ounce of Prevention Fund. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED570103

Starting Early: Education from Prekindergarten to Third Grade (2016)

This The Future of Children article reviews the evidence on pre-K effectiveness and provides recommendations for what can be done to ensure that children retain the benefits of pre-K through the early elementary grades.

Supporting Young Children with Disabilities (2016)

This article from The Future of Children reviews effective ways to support development and learning among young children with disabilities, including language and social skills interventions, preschool curricula, instructional and other practices, and multi-tiered systems of support. It also examines a critical policy issue: the inclusion of young children with disabilities in regular education classrooms, finding that high-quality instruction in general education classrooms is a major factor in good educational outcomes for children with disabilities, and for their successful inclusion from preschool to third grade. It also finds improving the quality of general education benefits all children, not just those with disabilities.