Improvements in Early Education: The Path to Equal Opportunity

7/25/2019 Improvements in Early Education: The Path to Equal Opportunity

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PP C103,Wealth and Poverty

Discussion 129

26 April 2013

Iproveents in !arly !ducation" #he Path to !$ual %pportunity

With the upcoin& election and the pu'lic(s concern over the econoy(s slo) recovery,

)idenin& ine$uality has 'ecoe a popular issue *or runnin& candidates to address+In this hi&hly

copetitive o' ar-et,closin& the ine$uality &ap aon& citi.ens )ill ensure that every person

has an e$ual aount o* opportunity to o'tain *inancial sta'ility and personal success+/oters )ant

to -no) )hat policies each candidate )ill enact to increase productivity and )a&es and decrease

uneployent+Iprovin& the education syste )ill achieve all three o* voters( ain concerns

and decrease the incoe &ap 'ecause an enrichin&,success*ul early childhood education is the

*irst steppin& stone to a ultitude o* opportunities later in li*e+It is there*ore iperative to

ipleent preschool interventions )ith $uali*ied teachers,involved parents,and continued

*ailial support to eliinate the di**erences in resources children receive+

As tie passes,it 'ecoes increasin&ly di**icult *or one )ho has *allen 'ehind in the

educational syste to catch up+ro a scienti*ic standpoint,a child(s early years serve as a tie

*or *undaental co&nitive and nonco&nitive s-ill developent+any o* these s-ills ust 'e

ac$uired lon& 'e*ore children start -inder&arten 5ec-an,asterov 33+It is no surprise that,

i* previous e7periences have not created su**icient s-ill and -no)led&e, then little

achieveent o* ne) learnin& )ill occur ar-as 1120+#hose )ho lac- s-ills *ro the start tend

to continue to underper*or,)hile the advanta&ed continue to e7cel+#his can 'e seen )ith the

acadeic per*orance &ap 'et)een racial divides" at least hal*,and pro'a'ly ore,o* the


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8lac-White school per*orance &ap in t)el*th &rade )ould 'e eliinated i* )e could eliinate

the 8lac-White per*orance &ap at entry ar-as 1122+In *act,as early as 3 years old,

children(s oral voca'ulary -no)led&e 'et)een di**erent &roups is already very lar&e ar-as

1122+:ince such a lar&e portion o* this &ap can 'e prevented )ith early intervention prior to

children(s entry into the ;12 education syste,it is iperative to *ocus on preschool

iproveents and its e**ects on childhood developent+

Preschool educational enrichent pro&ras are an opportune tie to intervene 'ecause,

as disadvanta&es accuulate,the cost *or reediatin& the increases+:tudies conclude that post

school pro&ras cannot copensate *or a childhood o* ne&lect *or ost people, and that o'

trainin& pro&ras


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the avera&e @eonhardt 2+!ven durin& recession periods,)hen o's )ere scarce and pay cuts

prevalent,the incoe &ap 'et)een colle&e &raduates and non&raduates &re) to a record as

uneployent roseE *ar ore *or the less educated @eonhardt 3 +8esides iproveents in

pay,early childhood pro&ras ipart nonco&nitive s-ills that are essential *or 'oth pro*essional

and personal success+As adults,students )ith enriched -inder&arten curriculus )ere ore

li-ely to save *or retireent+#hese curriculus can also teach patience,discipline,anners,

andE perseverances-ills needed *or positive huan interactions and that last a li*etie

@eonhardt 12+When e7ainin& the private 'ene*its that preschool pro&ras achieve,it is clear

that these interventions are a sart and necessary investent in the nation(s underprivile&ed

children+

#he e**ects o* preschool pro&ras 'ene*it ore than its participants,ho)ever? they also

result in positive &ains that have a 'roader social ipact+inancially,a 1F increase in the hi&h

school &raduation rate )ould yield B1+G 'illion dollars in social 'ene*its 5ec-an,asterov

13+#hese social 'ene*its include a drastic reduction in crie and its associated costs+Cries are

costly 'ecause o* the police )a&es and prison *ees the nation needs to pay to -eep citi.ens sa*e+

#he sae 1F increase in hi&h school &raduation )ould reduce the nu'er o* cries 'y ore

than 94,000 in each year, )hile each additional year o* school reduces the pro'a'ility o*

incarceration 'y 0+3 percenta&e points *or 'lac-s and 0+1 *or )hites 5ec-an,asterov 13+

A reduction in arrests lo)ers prison aintenance *ees and the deand *or police o**icers,)hich

decreases costs on a national level+!nrichin& preschool pro&ras are thus the leastcost,ost

e**ective )ay to reduce crie*ar ore e**ective per dollar than additional e7penditures on

police or incarceration 5ec-an,asterov 1+#here is also evidence that 5ead :tart

participants have a positive spillover e**ect on their youn&er si'lin&s,particularly )ith re&ard


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to 'ein& 'oo-ed or char&ed )ith a crie Harces 1000+Additionally,soe early intervention

pro&ras had aor di**erences in so-in& rates aon&st their participants,)hich reduces the

aount o* secondhand so-e and edical care that needs to 'e su'sidi.ed 'y the &eneral

population 5ec-an,asterov 29+8y ephasi.in& early education(s positive e7ternalities,it

)ill 'e easier *or voters to see )hat 'ene*its these pro&ras have *or nonparticipants,re&ardless

o* their class or )hether or not they have children+

While early childhood intervention pro&ras such as 5ead :tart already e7ist ,certain

pro&ra desi&ns produce 'etter results+5ead :tart,*or e7aple,is o*ten critici.ed *or its lac- o*

ipact on its participants( acadeic test scores 'eyond the eleentary years+#he Perry school

and A'ecedarian interventions,on the other hand,are o*ten heralded as the *la&ship pro&ras

due to their e7eplary lon&ter results+8oth pro&ras have curriculus ore stiulatin& than

that o* 5ead :tart,and 'oth pro&ras achieve &reater 'ene*its as a result" Perry and A'ecedarian

preschool pro&ra participants achieved hi&her test scores throu&h a&e 14,had 'etter &rades,and

)ere ore li-ely to &raduate *ro hi&h school than their counterparts+%utside o* acadeic

achieveents,they )ere also ore li-ely to 'e eployed,less dependent on )el*are,and less

li-ely to coit cries 5ec-an,asterov 2G+#hese results sho) that,)hen e7ecuted

correctly,preschool pro&ras have concrete &ains *or its participants,their nei&h'orhoods,and

the nation+

#o a-e all preschool pro&ras as e**ective as the Perry and A'ecedarian interventions,

the &overnent ust iprove the current standard 'y up&radin& re$uireents and increasin&

*undin& to accoodate *or these odi*ications+8ecause o* the iportance that teachers play in

education,the &overnent needs to set 'asic re$uireents to &uarantee a hi&h level o* care and

stiulation *or the participants+#he Perry and A'ecedarian pro&ras 'oth have sall child


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teacher ratios =+"1 in Perry and 6"1 in A'ecedarian,allo)in& *or individuali.ed and *ocused

attention+In addition,all Perry teachers had certi*ications to teach in eleentary,early childhood,

or special education 5ec-an,asterov 262+#he success o* these pro&ras )ould not have

'een possi'le )ithout its hi&hly s-illed teachers and desira'le classroo si.es+#he *ederal

&overnent should thus set a a7iu childteacher ratio o* around 12"1 and re$uire teachers to

hold certain early childhood certi*ications upon hirin&+5avin& attentive,e7perienced teachers

)ill a7ii.e the e**ectiveness and lon&ter &ains o* these pro&ras+

Another -ey aspect o* early intervention pro&ras is voluntary parental involveent +#he

&overnent should re$uire pro&ras to *urther involve parents )ith the intervention 'y

advocatin& *or not only lon&er,ore *re$uent sessions,'ut also *or periodic sessions that last

'eyond the child(s preschool years+Without the support and stiulation that a parent can

provide,a child does not have the resources it needs to succeed+In *act,the aor *actor that

e7plains the variation in the acadeic per*orance o* children across schools


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ena'le pro&ras to o**er e7tensive *ailial support to stru&&lin& parents,startin& )ith hoe

school teachers,athoe activities,and eployent and social service in*oration+

Critics opposin& early education interventions,ho)ever,clai that the additional support

preschoolers receive does not have any lon&ter e**ects on their adult success+Althou&h these

pro&ras are initially 'ene*icial,soe clai that it is unrealistic to e7pect a relatively short

ter intervention


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ost parents can provide the resources their children need to succeed in their early years

5ec-an,asterov 30+#here*ore,a su'sidy *or an intensive preschool pro&ra *or all

Aerican children )ould 'e unnecessary, and any su'sidi.ed pro&ras should 'e tar&eted

care*ully 5ec-an,asterov 30+urtherore,the initial *undin& *or education is )orth the

*inancial sacri*ice 'ecause o* its assive returns *or not only students,'ut also society as a

)hole+I* e7ecuted correctly,'oth the private and pu'lic *inancial returns draatically out)ei&h

the initial costs o* the pro&ras+>sin& the data o'tained *ro the Perry intervention,scientists

calculated a private net 'ene*it o* B4+6 'illion *or 'oys and B9+G 'illion *or &irls? *or the &eneral

pu'lic,there is a national net 'ene*it o* B2=4+4 'illion *or 'oys and B1=4+G 'illion *or &irls

5ec-an,asterov 31+!arly interventions at the preschool a&e also provide the &reatest net

&ains" preschool pro&ras achieve B101+ 'illion *or participants and BGG+2 'illion *or society,

)hile schoola&e pro&ras achieve B3+3= 'illion and B=+ 'illion,respectively 5ec-an,

asterov 31+#hus,althou&h later interventions have soe 'ene*icial e**ects,the earlier

pro&ras produce the &reatest &ains *or 'oth pro&ra participants and their counities+#his

rein*orces the clai that investents are the ost productive )hen ade in children o* youn&er

a&es+Increasin& preschool education *undin& )ould increase national productivity,e$uali.e the

uneven classist playin& *ield,and produce positive social e7ternalities that 'ene*it everyone+

Investents in early education are the ost coste**ective ethod o* alleviatin& the

nation(s econoic and social pro'les+8y *ocusin& *ederal policy on preschool pro&ras ,the

&overnent is investin& not only in the children enrolled in these pro&ras ,'ut also their

nei&h'orhoods,the nation(s ta7payers,and *uture &enerations to coe+%nce the &overnent

plays an active role in e$uali.in& educational opportunities,an e$uali.in& o* outcoes )ill

*ollo),and the nation(s detriental )idenin& ine$uality &ap )ill diinish as a result+


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Wor-s Cited

Currie, anue, and Duncan #hoas+ J:chool Kuality and the @on&er#er !**ects o* 5ead

:tart+J #hesis+ >C@A, 1999+ Print+

ar-as, Heor&e+ JLacial Disparities and Discriination in !ducation" What Do We ;no), 5o)

Do We ;no) It, and What Do We Meed to ;no)NJ #hesis+ #he Pennsylvania :tate

>niversity, 2003+ Teachers College Record106+6 2003" 1119146+ Print+

5ec-an, aes +, and Diitriy /+ asterov+ The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young

Children+ #hesis+ >niversity o* Chica&o, 2004+ M+p+" n+p+, n+d+ Print+

@eonhardt, David+ J#he Case *or B320,000 ;inder&arten #eachers+J The New York Times+ #he

Me) Oor- #ies, 2G uly 2010+ We'+ 12 Apr+ 2013+

http"QQnyties+coQ2010Q0Q2GQ'usinessQeconoyQ2Gleonhardt+htlR+

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Improvements in Early Education: The Path to Equal Opportunity