Research consistently shows that among young children, poor social skills and problem behaviors can lead to poor relationships with teachers and peers (Boivin et al., 1995), higher risk of academic failure (Buhs et al., 2006), and higher school dropout (Gilliam, 2005). Moreover, prekindergarten (PreK) and kindergarten (K) teachers report feeling…

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducted a landscape evaluation of early childhood programs in Indiana (IN) between the spring of 2021 and the summer of 2022. Commissioned by Early Learning Indiana (ELI), this study provides Indiana programs and policymakers with research-based information on the quality of a sample of…

Children develop fastest in their earliest years, and the skills and abilities they develop in those years lay the foundation for their future success. Similarly, early adverse experiences can contribute to poor social, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and health outcomes both in early childhood and later life. Children who grow up in families…

Founded in 2012, One Book 4 Colorado (OB4CO) is a statewide annual initiative that offers free copies of the same book to every 4-year-old in Colorado. In 2016, the book was "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae. More than 75,000 books were given away at more than 500 sites, including Denver Preschool Program preschools and both public…

HIPPY targeted over 600 parents of children zoned to 103 Houston Independent School District (HISD) elementary campuses during the 2019-2020 academic year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the program was delivered in a virtual format, beginning in March 2020, with the majority of parents successfuly completing the 30-week program in 26 weeks.…

The "Effectiveness of Early Literacy Instruction: Summary of 20 Years of Research" study examined information about evidence-based practices that are essential for early childhood educators and policymakers as they support preschool children's language and literacy development. The study used a process modeled after the What Works…

Self-regulation, defined as volitional control of attention, behavior, and executive functions for the purposes of goal-directed action is associated with multiple school-related outcomes. Children with robust self-regulation have been shown to more cooperatively participate in classroom activities, sustain focus on tasks and exhibit reduced…

This paper uses meta-analytic techniques to estimate the separate effects of the starting age, program duration, and persistence of impacts of early childhood education programs on children's cognitive and achievement outcomes. It concentrates on studies published before the wide scale penetration of state-pre-K programs. Specifically, data are…

The primary purpose of the 2017-2018 NC Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) Evaluation was to examine the effectiveness of the NC Pre-K Program using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. The major issue addressed by this type of study is around the benefits of offering children access to enrollment in NC Pre-K. An RCT is considered the…

HIPPY targeted parents of children zoned to 100 Houston Independent School District (HISD) elementary campuses during the 2018-2019 academic year, which reflected an increase from 80 campuses the previous year. Academic performance of students whose parents participated in HIPPY was assessed using the kindergarten 2018 Logramos and Iowa…

The purpose of the 2015-2016 NC Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) Evaluation study was to examine the long-term effects of participation in NC Pre-K at the end of kindergarten. Two groups of children were compared--those who attended NC Pre-K (treatment) and those who had not attended NC Pre-K (comparison). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to…

This report demonstrates the effects of the Arkansas Better Chance program (ABC) on late elementary and middle school outcomes. End of year assessments, which varied over the course of the study years, were examined for students of three preschool cohorts. Students included in the statewide study received free lunch all years and were enrolled in…

The "State of Preschool 2022" annual report covers the 2021-2022 school year and is NIEER's 20th report tracking preschool enrollment, funding, and policies state-by-state. This report focuses on the recovery since the 2020-2021 school year, where we are compared to before the pandemic, where we've come over the last two decades, and…

This report demonstrates the effects of the Arkansas Better Chance program (ABC) on late elementary and middle school outcomes. End of year assessments, which varied over the course of the study years, were examined for students of three preschool cohorts. Students included in the statewide study received free lunch all years and were enrolled in…

This report contains the 2016-2017 evaluation on the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)/Home Visiting Grant program. HIPPY is a school readiness program that helps parents prepare their preschool children for academic success. A total of 762 children ages 3 to 5 and their parents participated in the Houston Independent…