Moving Beyond Point in Time Estimates: Using Growth Models to Understand When PreK Convergence Happens, How, and for...

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Educational Psychology
• Early Childhood Education

Background:

• High-quality early education programs are crucial for cognitive and social-emotional development.
• Understanding the long-term impact of preschool (PreK) enrollment on skill trajectories is essential.
• Research is needed to clarify how PreK impacts diverse academic and non-academic skills through early elementary years.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the associations between high-quality PreK enrollment and children's academic, executive functioning, and social-emotional skills.
• To track the persistence of these skill associations from kindergarten through first grade.
• To analyze convergence patterns in skills between PreK enrollees and non-enrollees over time.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design tracking 422 children from kindergarten to first grade.
• Analysis of associations between PreK enrollment and growth in academic (language, math), executive functioning, and social-emotional skills.
• Comparison of skill convergence between PreK enrollees and non-enrollees at different time points.

Main Results:

• Associations between PreK enrollment and language and math skills were sustained through first grade.
• Skill convergence in language was greater in first grade than kindergarten; math convergence was greater in kindergarten.
• No significant associations were found for executive functioning by first grade, with most convergence occurring during that year.

Conclusions:

• High-quality PreK demonstrates sustained benefits for language and math skills into early elementary school.
• The impact of PreK on executive functioning appears to develop later, with convergence occurring during first grade.
• Early childhood education plays a significant role in shaping foundational academic skills, with varying developmental trajectories for different skill domains.