Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School

Researchers studied nearly 1 million North Carolina students who attended state-funded early childhood programs between 1995 and 2010, and followed them through fifth grade. The study found that early childhood programs in that state resulted in higher test scores, a lower chance of being held back in a grade, and a fewer number of children with special education placements. Effect sizes grew or held steady across years. Positive effects held for both high- and low-poverty families, suggesting spillover of effects to nonparticipating peers. When the researchers broke the students down into subgroups by race and income, they found that all of those groups showed gains that held over time.