Extended Early Childhood Intervention and School Achievement: Age Thirteen Findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of participation in an extended program of compensatory education for 559 low-income, inner-city African American children up to seventh grade. The intervention is the federal and state-funded Chicago Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program, which began in 1967. Groups included 426 children who participated in the program from preschool to grades 2 or 3 and 133 children whose participation ceased in kindergarten. After taking into account initial differences in achievement at kindergarten entry and at the end of kindergarten, and after taking into account sample selection bias, program participation for 2 or 3 years after preschool and kindergarten was associated with significantly higher reading achievement up to seventh grade and with lower rates of cumulative grade retention and special education placement (4 to 5 years postprogram). Children participating in the follow-on program for 3 years had significantly higher reading achievement in seventh grade and a lower rate of grade retention than 3 year participants. Only 3 year participants had significantly higher math achievement than the comparison group. Study findings provide rare longitudinal evidence of the beneficial effects of a large-scale community-based program of extended early childhood intervention.

Effects of socioeconomic status on brain development, and how cognitive neuroscience may contribute to leveling the playing field

“…A third source of longitudinal data on the effects of intensive intervention is the Child–Parent Center (CPC) Program, whose follow-up branch is called the Chicago Longitudinal Study (Reynolds and Temple, 1998; Reynolds et al, 2001, 2007). That intervention treated all of its enrolled children and hence did not have a randomised design, but its follow-up studies have used a quasi-experimental cohort design by selecting randomised and matched control groups.…”

Can Early Childhood Interventions Decrease Inequality of Economic Opportunity?

“…An evaluation study of the Chicago Child Parent Centers (CPC) provides the only longitudinal evaluation of a large, public program other than Head Start (Reynolds and Temple 1998). It follows a cohort of children who attended the Chicago Public School prekindergarten program and a matched comparison group.…”

Early childhood to young adulthood: An introduction to the special issue

“…For instance, length of participation in the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program has been found to be significantly associated with higher levels of school achievement, with enhanced parent involvement in children’s education, and with lower rates of grade retention and special education, lower rates of early school dropout, and with lower rates of delinquent behavior (Reynolds, 2000; Reynolds & Temple, 1995, 1998; Temple, Reynolds, & Miedel, 2000). Children’s patterns of school and social adjustment over time (Ou & Reynolds, 2006; Reynolds, 2000; Reynolds & Bezruczko, 1993; Reynolds & Gill, 1994; Reynolds, Temple, Ou, Robertson, Mersky, Topitzes et al, 2007; Reynolds, Temple, Robertson, & Mann, 2001) as well as several methodological contributions (Reynolds & Temple, 1995; Reynolds, 1998a, 1998b; Reynolds et al, 2002) also have been reported.…”