Students who attend the Georgia Prekindergarten Program are more likely to achieve in mathematics than those who do not attend pre-K, according to a new study.

«Students who participated in the study were twice as likely to meet the state standards in their mathematics achievement,» said Neuharth-Pritchett. «School becomes more challenging as one progresses through the grades, and so if in middle school, students are still twice as likely to meet the state standards, it’s clear that something that happened early on was influencing their trajectory.»

The study found that, in fourth through seventh grades, the odds of a pre-K participant in the study meeting Georgia’s state academic standards on the statewide standardized test were 1.67-2.10 times greater than the odds for a nonparticipant, providing evidence of sustained benefits of state-funded pre-K programs.

«Pre-K is a critical space where children experience success, and it sets them on a trajectory for being successful as they make the transition to kindergarten,» she said. «The hope is that when children are successful early in school, they are more likely to be engaged as they progress and more likely to complete high school.»

Although quality learning experiences during the early years of development have been shown to provide the skills and knowledge for later mathematics achievement, access and entry to high-quality preschool programs remain unequal across the nation.

«Our study looked at a high-needs school district that enrolled children from vulnerable situations in terms of economics and access to early learning experiences,» said Neuharth-Pritchett. «A number of the children in the study had not had any other formative experiences before they went to kindergarten.»

Educational experiences are seen as foundational to later school success with some studies documenting other beneficial outcomes for students who attend pre-K, including a higher chance to complete high school, less mental health concerns, less reliance on the welfare system and more. However, students from low-income families often have more limited opportunities to learn at home as well as in pre-K programs.

Story Source: Materials provided by University of Georgia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.