Why We Need Early Childhood Education
Quality early education has an immediate impact on both the hard skills – language, numeracy, higher cognitive thinking – and the soft skills – social skills – that last a lifetime. – Summary by the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission
Children who receive high-quality early education:
- Earn higher cognitive test scores from the toddler years to age 21.
- Complete more years of education and were more likely to attend a four-year college.
- Had higher academic achievement in both reading and math from the primary grades through young adulthood.
– Summary by the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission
Children who attend high-quality pre-k programs do better in school from the first day of kindergarten through their post-secondary years. Compared with peers who have not had pre-k, they have higher achievement test scores; they repeat grades far less often; they need less special education; they graduate from high school at substantially higher rates; and they are more likely to attend college. – Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters, a 2010 Kids Count Special Report, Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2010
Visit IDRA’s Semillitas ~ Seedlings for Learning Early Childhood Education Project website for more on the benefits and return on investment in early childhood education, major benefits of Head Start, benefits of a holistic and developmental approach to early childhood education, effect of early childhood education on minority populations, and early childhood education investment and support of Head Start nationally.
