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Improving Systems, Practices, and Outcomes

Long-Term Impacts to Children, Families and Society

The Carolina Abecedarian Project

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.

Early Childhood Investments Substantially Boost Adult Health

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.

Reexamining the Carolina Abecedarian Project using an antiracist perspective: Implications for early care and education research

This 2022 article uses an antiracist lens to reexamine The Carolina Abecedarian Project, concluding that whereas the study has many strengths, the study's "colorblind" approach and deficit-model orientation limit its ability to inform practice and policy for promoting positive developmental outcomes in the population of Black children represented in the sample. As these limitations remain prevalent in contemporary early care and education research, implications for future research are discussed.

  • Bruno, E.P., & Iruka, I.U. (2022). Reexamining the Carolina Abecedarian Project Using an antiracist perspective: implications for early care and education research. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 58, 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.09.001

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

This 2022 brief from Child Trends, Simulation Results Suggest That Improving School Readiness May Yield Long-term Education and Earnings Benefits, 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.

The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects

Brookings Institute Report on The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects 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 Puzzling it out: The current state of scientific knowledge on pre-kindergarten effects — 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

This Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group paper on Early Childhood Education 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

This 2015 National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) report on The Effects of Two Influential Early Childhood Interventions on Health and Healthy Behaviors 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

This 2013 policy report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) on Getting the Facts Right on Pre-K and the President's Pre-K Proposal 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.

The Heckman Equation

HeckmanEquation.org 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.

See also: HeckmanEquation.org — Topic: Health Resource

HighScope Perry Preschool Project

HighScope's 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?

This 2014 brief from the Center on Children and Families (CCF) at the Brookings Institute asks How Much Could We Improve Children's Life Chances by Intervening Early and Often? The authors find 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.

Fact Sheets on the Importance and Outcomes of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families

These two 2011 fact sheets from the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) on the The Importance of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families and The Outcomes of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families provide a brief overview of the Part C program and facts from the research on early brain development, the importance of intervening early, the outcomes of early intervention, and current unmet needs. They are meant to be used as a tool to communicate with policymakers, pediatricians, families, and community leaders about the importance of high quality services for infants and toddlers with or at-risk for developmental delays and their families.

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

In this 2016 report on Informing Investments in Preschool Quality and Access in Cincinnati: Evidence of Impacts and Economic Returns from National, State, and Local Preschool Programs, 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

This 2013 research brief from on Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education 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.

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

This 2014 brief from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) on Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Large Public Early Care and Education Programs 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

This 2014 report from the Ounce of Prevention Fund, Start Early to Build a Healthy Future: The Research Linking Early Learning and Health, 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.

The Future of Children

In a 2016 issue of The Future of Children, the article Starting Early: Education from Prekindergarten to Third Grade 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.

Another article of interest for the early intervention and early childhood special education community is Supporting Young Children with Disabilities, by Kathy Hebbeler and Donna Spiker, co-directors of the Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy).