Cognitive and School Outcomes for High-Risk African-American Students at Middle Adolescence: Positive Effects of Early Intervention

Abstract

Long-term intellectual and academic benefits related to early childhood educational intervention were found in a sample of students from lowincome families (98% African American). The subjects were randomly assigned to preschool and school-age treatment conditions in a study design that permits a comparison of outcomes in students with preschool treatment followed by early elementary treatment (infancy-8 years), preschool treatment only (infancy-5 years), early elementary school treatment only (5 years-8 years), and untreated controls. At age 15, seven to ten years after any treatment was provided, those students who had preschool treatment scored significantly higher on individually administered tests of reading and mathematics and had fewer instances of grade retention and assignments to special education. The results support the relative efficacy of preschool treatment over that given in early elementary school. Policy implications stress the importance of providing high quality early childhood environments for impoverished children.

Examining Gifted Students Who Are Economically At-Risk to Determine Factors that Influence Their Early Reading Success

“…(Barbour, 1998;Campbell & Ramey, 1995;Hiebert & Pearson, 2000;Madrigal et al, 1999;Maughan, 2000;North, 2000;Pianta & Walsh, 1996;Silvern, 1991). The age at which children are exposed to preschool is progressively younger and younger (Maughan, 2000).…”

“…Independent variables dominant in the majority of the articles were (a) Frequency with which parents read to their children (Anderson, 2000;Alrio, Vivier, Rodriguez & High, 1999;Barbour, 1998;Madrigal et al, 1999;Silvern, 1991;Villas-Boas, 1998); (b) Preschool Exposure and (c) Age at which student first received initial reading instruction (Campbell & Ramey, 1995;Hiebert & Pearson, 2000;Madrigal et al, 1999;North, 2000;Pianta & Walsh, 1996;Silvern, 1991). Therefore, this researcher used these variables to test which would be influential for impacting students' reading achievement.…”

“…Researchers reported that Preschool Exposure does influence early reading proficiency for the general student population, and especially for students who are economically at-risk (Campbell & Ramey, 1995;Pianta & Walsh, 1996). Preschool Exposure, for the scope of this study is preschool attendance for at least 1 year prior to formal grade school (between ages 0 and 5).…”

“…The researcher reviewed current research related to the academic success of students who are at-risk of failure (Campbell & Ramey, 1995;Christiansen & Howard, (1997);Freepon & McIntyre, 1999;Hiebert & Pearson, 2000;Maughan, 2000;North, 2000). The review yielded independent variables significant for improving early reading achievement.…”

Interactive Homework: A Tool for Fostering Parent–Child Interactions and Improving Learning Outcomes for At-risk Young Children

“…Meaningful parent-child interaction during the completion of homework has emerged as a significant variable for improving learning for low-performing students (Bailey, 2004;Bailey, Silvern, Brabham, & Ross, 2004;Campbell & Ramey, 1995). In fact, when parents complete specific training modules focused on how to assist their children during the completion of Interactive Homework Assignments (IHA), student learning can improve .…”