Suh Ruu Ou

School-Based Early Childhood Education and Age-28 Well-Being: Effects by Timing, Dosage, and Subgroups

A little bit of preschool goes a long way. Advances in understanding the effects of early education have benefited public policy and developmental science. Although preschool has demonstrated positive effects on life-course outcomes, limitations in knowledge on program scale, subgroup differences, and dosage levels have hindered understanding. We report the effects of the Child-Parent Center Education Program on indicators of well-being up to 25 years later for more than 1400 participants. This established, publicly funded intervention begins in preschool and provides up to 6 years of service in inner-city Chicago schools. Relative to the comparison group receiving the usual services, program participation was independently linked to higher educational attainment, income, socioeconomic status (SES), and health insurance coverage, as well as lower rates of justice-system involvement and substance abuse. Evidence of enduring effects was strongest for preschool, especially for males and children of high school dropouts. The positive influence of four or more years of service was limited primarily to education and SES. Dosage within program components was mostly unrelated to outcomes. Findings demonstrate support for the enduring effects of sustained school-based early education to the end of the third decade of life.

Predictors of Educational Attainment in the Chicago Longitudinal Study.

The authors investigated a comprehensive set of predictors of high school completion and years of completed education for youth in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, an ongoing investigation of over 1500 low-income, minority children who grew up on high-poverty neighborhoods. The study sample included 1286 youth for whom educational attainment could be determined by age 20. Predictors were measured from birth to high school from participant surveys and administrative records on educational and family experiences as well as demographic attributes. Results from regression analyses indicated that the model explained 30.4% of the variance in years of completed school. The model also predicted accurately 73.3% of youths’ observed high school completion status and 72.6% of their high school graduation status. The strongest predictors of educational attainment were maternal educational attainment, school absences and mobility, grade retention, and youth’s educational expectations. Findings indicate that students’ expectation and school mobility are targets of intervention that can promote children’s educational persistence.

Age 26 Cost–Benefit Analysis of the Child‐Parent Center Early Education Program

Using data collected up to age 26 in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, this cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) is the first for a sustained publicly funded early intervention. The program provides services for low-income families beginning at age 3 in 20 school sites. Kindergarten and school-age services are provided up to age 9 (third grade). Findings from a complete cohort of over 1,400 program and comparison group participants indicated that the CPCs had economic benefits in 2007 dollars that exceeded costs. The preschool program provided a total return to society of

The Effect of Early Childhood Intervention and Subsequent Special Education Services: Findings from the Chicago Child-Parent Centers:

10.83 per dollar invested (18% annual return). The primary sources of benefits were increased earnings and tax revenues and averted criminal justice system costs. The school-age program had a societal return of

Paths of Effects From Preschool to Adult Well-Being: A Confirmatory Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Program

3.97 per dollar invested (10% annual return). The extended intervention program (4-6 years) had a societal return of

Grade Retention, Postsecondary Education, and Public Aid Receipt.

8.24 (18% annual return). Estimates were robust across a wide range of analyses including Monte Carlo simulations. Males, 1-year preschool participants, and children from higher risk families derived greater benefits. Findings provide strong evidence that sustained programs can contribute to well-being for individuals and society.

Do GED Recipients Differ from Graduates and School Dropouts?: Findings from an Inner-City Cohort.

This article explores patterns of special education services during the elementary grades among children who participated in either the Child-Parent Center (CPC) Preschool Program or other early childhood programs in the Chicago Public Schools. The study sample included 1,377 low-income, racial minority children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Controlling for family background characteristics that might affect educational performance, children who participated in Child-Parent Center preschool had a significantly lower rate of special education placement (12.5%) than the comparison group (18.4%), who participated in an alternative all-day kindergarten program. The estimated impact of CPC preschool intervention was best explained by the cognitive advantage hypothesis. This article provides support for the long-term impact of the CPC preschool intervention on special education outcomes.

Early childhood intervention and educational attainment: Age 22 findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

The current study investigated the contribution of 5 hypotheses to the estimated effects of preschool in the Child-Parent Centers on occupational prestige, felony arrest, and depressive symptoms in adulthood in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. An alternative-intervention, quasi-experimental design included over 1,400 low-income participants (93% of whom were Black) who attended preschool for 1-2 years or the usual early educational intervention and were traced to age 24. LISREL analysis of 5 hypotheses (cognitive advantage, family support, school support, motivational advantage, and social adjustment) indicated that while each individually accounted for part of the estimated direct effect of preschool on adult well-being, the best fitting model across outcomes included indicators of all 5 hypotheses. The full model completely accounted for the direct effect of preschool on occupational prestige and official felony arrest, and 79% on depression symptoms. Key mediators included cognitive skills at school entry, school quality in the elementary grades, juvenile arrest, and school completion. The identified processes may help establish, strengthen, and sustain effects in other programs and settings.

Alterable Predictors of Educational Attainment, Income, and Crime: Findings from an Inner-City Cohort

Using data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), an ongoing investigation of a panel of low-income minority children growing up in an inner city, this study investigated whether retention is associated with participation in postsecondary education and public aid receipt. The study sample included 1,367 participants whose data were available for grade retention and educational attainment by age 24. Findings from both regression and propensity score matching indicated that grade retention was associated significantly with lower rates of participation in postsecondary education. Late retention (between fourth and eighth grades) was linked more strongly to lower rates of post-secondary education than early retention (between first and third grades). There was no significant association between retention and public aid receipt.

Association of a Full-Day vs Part-Day Preschool Intervention With School Readiness, Attendance, and Parent Involvement

The differences in income, crime, health, mental health, and substance use among high school dropouts, GED recipients, and high school graduates are investigated. The study sample is drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), an ongoing investigation of a panel of low-income minority children who grew up in the inner city. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, early cognitive skills, and participation in postsecondary education, results indicate that there are significant differences between dropouts and GED recipients, and between GED recipients and high school graduates in the five aspects of quarterly income equal to or above average, life satisfaction, future optimism, symptoms of severe depression, and substance use.