A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics offers more proof that early care and education experiences are a critical part of future school success. Findings showed:
- Children who participated in regular early care and education arrangements the year prior to kindergarten scored higher on the reading and mathematics assessments than children who had no regular experience in early care and education the year prior to entering kindergarten.
- Children who participated in regular early care and education arrangements the year prior to kindergarten scored higher on the fine motor skill assessments than children who had no regular early care and education the year prior to entering kindergarten.
- About four out of five (83.2 percent) participated in a regular non-parental early care and education arrangement the year before kindergarten.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study is helping researchers paint a picture of children from birth through their kindergarten year. Participants are representatives of the approximately 4 million children born in 2001 in the United States. Researchers began regularly collecting information when the children were just 9 months old. It is being used to better understand children’s:
- early development;
- home learning experiences;
- experiences in early care and education programs;
- health care, nutrition, and physical well-being; and
- how early experiences relate to their later development, learning, and success in school.
