A meta-analysis of the early intervention research literature revealed that early intervention has an immediate positive effect of about on-half of a standard deviation. The analysis failed to find long-term benefits and failed to relate degree of parental involvement to intervention effectiveness. (KH)

This research review focuses on the effects of early intervention on the preschool children of low-income families, examining studies of intervention programs begun in the 1960s through the present. It then relates this analysis to the new Georgia Prekindergarten Program. The interventions reviewed are grouped into four hierarchical categories…