SUNDAY, Oct. 21, 2001 (HealthDayNews) -- Children from low-income families who enroll in preschool programs reap major academic benefits down the line, new research reveals.
In a study contradicting previous national studies, University of New Mexico researchers found that low-income children who were enrolled in programs like Head Start scored higher on reading tests much later in their schooling. They also found that those preschool kids were less likely than low-income kids without preschool experience to land up in special education programs later on.
By sixth grade, the study found, only 18 percent of 47 former Head Start students had been placed in special education programs. That compared to 33 percent of a 90-member comparison group of regular students who hadn't attended preschool programs.
In addition, the students who attended preschool scored significantly higher on reading tests, says lead study author Richard Boyle, a senior research scientist with the University of New Mexico's Institute for Social Research.
Boyle's study tracked 1,003 low-income preschool graduates in Albuquerque at various stages up to sixth grade.
He says the findings are significant because the bulk of past research on the value of preschool drew a different conclusion -- initial improvements disappeared after a few years of school.
"Quite a few national studies have found that kids from preschool perform better in kindergarten and first grade, but the improvements tend to wash out by about grade three," Boyle says. "My results showed sort of the opposite. We saw no differences in the early grades. By about fourth grade, however, the margin starts to emerge, and by sixth grade, the differences were significant."
Boyle says the specific factors that contribute to improvements need to be identified and deserve further research.
"Apparently, something about the preschool experience helps prevent the kinds of disabilities that require children to be given special education services during the later elementary years," he says.
Boyle's study should be of interest not just to the City of Albuquerque-- which funded the study and has budgeted $4.5 million this year for its 17 preschool centers that hosted 740 low-income kids last year-- but to education policy makers across the country, says Stephanie Fanjul, director of student achievement for the National Education Association.
"Quality preschool costs money, and public funds are paying for these kids since they are poor. So, I think the big message here is that the investment that the Albuquerque schools made in its preschool programs for these kids paid off tremendously," Fanjul says.
"The fact is, special education is very expensive and lasts, in most cases, for kids' entire school career. So if you look at the number of kids who did not get referred to the special education track, that means the city and government saved those dollars. And whatever they paid for that preschool program had to be less than the cost of a lifetime of special education," she adds.
The federal Head Start program has served more than 15 million children since its inception in 1965. It provides comprehensive developmental services for low-income children ages three to five, and social services for their families, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
What to Do: To read Boyle's report online, click here. For more about the Head Start program, check this Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet.
