Work

Differential Third Grade Outcomes Associated with Attending Publically Funded Preschool Programs for Low-Income, Latino Children

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined the third-grade outcomes of 11,902 low-income, Latino children who experienced public school pre-K or childcare via subsidies (center-based care) at age 4 in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Regression and propensity score analyses revealed that children who experienced public school pre-K earned higher scores on standardized assessments of math and reading in third-grade and had higher grade point averages than those who attended center-based care four years earlier. The sustained associations between public school pre-K (vs. center-based care) and third-grade outcomes were mediated by children’s kindergarten-entry pre-academic and social-behavioral skills, and, among English-language learners, English proficiency. Implications for investing in early childhood programs to assist with the school readiness of young, Latino children in poverty are discussed.

Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12663