Working Paper: NBER ID: w27913
Authors: Roland G. Fryer Jr.; Steven D. Levitt; John A. List; Anya Samek
Abstract: We present the results of a novel early childhood intervention in which disadvantaged 3-4-year- old children were randomized to receive a new preschool and parent education program focused on cognitive and non-cognitive skills (CogX) or to a control group that did not receive preschool education. In addition to a typical academic year (9 month) program, we also evaluated a shortened summer version of the program (2 months) in which children were treated immediately prior to the start of Kindergarten. Both programs, including the shortened version, significantly improved cognitive test scores by about one quarter of a standard deviation relative to the control group at the end of the year. The shortened version of the program was equally as effective as the academic- year program because most of the gains in the academic-year program occurred within the first few months.
Keywords: early childhood education; parenting interventions; cognitive skills; noncognitive skills; randomized controlled trial
JEL Codes: C93; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| cognitive skills (G53) | long-term outcomes (I12) |
| CogX preschool program (A21) | cognitive skills (G53) |
| kinderprep program (A21) | cognitive skills (G53) |
| CogX preschool program (A21) | noncognitive skills (G53) |
| kinderprep program (A21) | noncognitive skills (G53) |