Reading Between The Lines Of A Recent Study Of The Benefits Of Preschool

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune posted a story about the lasting benefits of preschool.  The original article I read on this study came from the North County Times (NCTIMES.COM) in Southern California.  That article is not listed as the source of my information because although the article was on the front page of their newspaper, I could not find it on their website.  There are some interesting differences between the two articles, but they draw the same conclusions.

The Chicago Tribune points out that the study shows the benefits of preschool, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods.  The study tracked 1,400 students from Chicago Public Schools for 25 years to determine the value of a preschool education.  The study compared children who started preschool at age 3 in Child-Parent Centers, located in or near elementary schools serving low-income students, with those who didn't attend preschool at all or went to the typical Head Start program

The article reports:

"The Child-Parent Centers ensure students have two years of preschool before kindergarten and then follow children through second and third grades. The program focuses on developing reading, writing and math skills, along with requiring parent participation in classrooms twice a month. A program like Head Start teaches preschoolers to recognize letters of the alphabet and build their vocabulary but also focuses heavily on providing socio-emotional development and health services to kids."

There is a minor problem I have with this study.  Most teachers will tell you that students do better in school when their parents are involved.  I have no doubt that the children were helped by the academic portion of the program, but I also believe they were helped by their parents' involvement in their education.

The article in the North County Times listed some of the statistics included in the study:

• 80 percent of the preschool group finished high school versus 75 percent of the others
• Average annual adult income for preschool group was about $11,6000 as opposed to $10,800 in the other group
• 48 percent of the preschool goup had been arrested as adults and 15 percent had been in prison.  In the non-preschool group , 54 percent had been arrested and 21 percent had been in prison.

I don't doubt their statistics, I just doubt their conclusion.  One of the major problems in our society for the past fifty years or so has been the breakdown of the family, the need for two parents to be in the workforce instead of one parent being home with their children, and the number of single-parent homes.  Although the academic part of the preschool program is good, I think the key to the success of the program is the requirement that parents be involved in their children's education.  There is a value to preschool programs, and I support them, but there is a greater value in getting parents involved in their children's education and that costs a whole lot less.