Past estimates of the effect of family income on child development have often been plagued by endogeneity and measurement error. In this paper, we use two simulated instrumental variables strategies to estimate the causal effect of income on children's math and reading achievement. Our identification derives from the large, non-linear changes…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) is designed to provide detailed information on children's development, health, and early learning experiences in the years leading up to entry into school. The ECLS-B is the first nationally representative study within the United States to directly assess children's early mental and…

Examined the association between otitis media with effusion (OME) during the first 3 years of life and cognitive, academic performance, and behavior outcomes at 12 years of age. Results indicated that OME during early childhood was not related to intellectual performance, academic achievement, behavior, and attention. Suggests that generalizations…

This methodological report documents the design, development, and psychometric characteristics of the assessment instruments used in the third grade data collection of the ECLS-K. The instruments examined include those developed to measure cognitive and socioemotional development. In addition, issues in analyzing longitudinal measures are…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, began following a nationally representative sample of approximately 22,000 kindergartners in the fall of 1998. Baseline data about these children, their families, and the kindergarten programs were collected from telephone interviews with the children's parents/guardians and…

This handbook is a guide and reference document for those researching the child data files of the 1986-1990 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It describes the child data collection procedures, the nature of the child sample, the child data files available, and the specifics of the child assessments…

This 4-year longitudinal study of logical reasoning found complex interrelationships among different cognitive processes of children ages 6 to 15. Piaget's stage theory is discussed in the introduction, with a focus on the concrete operational stage in middle childhood. In the study, a representative array of logical concept tasks and short-term…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. This report is the fourth in a series that uses data from the FACES 2006 cohort to describe…

The impact of date of birth on cognitive test scores is well documented across many countries, with the youngest children in each academic year performing more poorly, on average, than the older members of their cohort (see, for example, Bedard and Dhuey (2006) or Puhani and Weber (2005)1). However, relatively little is known about the driving…

A longitudinal study described variations and changes in New Zealand children's cognitive, social, communicative, and problem-solving competencies from school entry at age 5 years and examined the impact of early childhood education experiences, family resources, home activities, and school resources on those competencies. This report, the third…