COLLEGE PARK, MD (February, 2014) The Maryland Equity Project released an expert brief that will help policymakers consider whether to expand access to early education. While there is a substantial research base supporting the efficacy of early education, debate about its benefits continues.
The brief surveys the literature on early education and takes apart the arguments for and against universal preschool from a research perspective and sorts out conflicting information on the benefits of early education. The aim is to provide Maryland policymakers with an informed foundation for considering whether to expand access to early education.
Advances in neuroscience and developmental research on how the brain develops combined with empirical findings from four decades of program evaluation studies on early education provide a useful guide for policy development on early learning. Key findings include:
- Gaps in both cognitive and non-cognitive abilities emerge early in a child’s life, before a child enters schools. Schools have limited impact on closing these gaps, even though students who are behind show learning gains throughout their school years.
- Experiences in the early years of life are of critical importance for establishing the brain architecture that will shape future cognitive, social, and emotional development as well as physical and mental well-being.
- There is a substantial body of methodologically sound evaluations of early childhood programs that show positive impacts from participating in early childhood programs. Early childhood programs appear to improve achievement in the short term, and long-term follow studies of some programs show long-lasting, positive effects on a variety of measures of academic performance and later life outcomes.
- Cost-benefit studies demonstrate that the long-term benefits of pre-kindergarten outweigh the initial short-term costs needed to start such a comprehensive program. Studies estimating the rate of return to early childhood investments have ranged from 7-18% annually for every dollar invested. Moreover, early investments are often more cost effective than investments made later in a child’s life.
The brief includes a discussion of the implications of this research and research-based recommendations for early education policy in Maryland. Please visit the MEP website for the full policy brief.
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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact
Halima Cherif, Director for Communications, at: hcherif@umd.edu
