In 2011, the Georgia General Assembly authorized an evaluation of Georgia’s Pre-K Program. In response to the General Assembly, DECAL commissioned national experts at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to conduct a series of studies to measure the impact of our state’s nationally renowned Pre-K program. Descriptions of each study and their associated reports are listed below.
The Georgia’s Pre-K Longitudinal Study followed a statewide sample of 1,169 children from Pre-K to fourth grade. The six-year study, covering 2013–2019 and conducted by researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, examined the children’s learning outcomes through standardized assessments and the quality of their school experiences over time through classroom observations. The study also included a subsample of English-Spanish dual language learners and a comparison sample of children who did not attend any pre-k.
The fourth-grade results make clear that Georgia’s investment in early education is paying off and should continue. While the students continued to gain skills and overall were still performing at or above the national average at the end of fourth grade, most skills were not acquired as quickly as they were in Pre-K and kindergarten, continuing the trend from first grade. Children in the Pre-K longitudinal sample had better language, literacy, and executive function skills in fourth grade than children in the comparison sample who did not attend any pre-k. Overall, results suggest that a key strength of Georgia’s Pre-K Program is building foundational literacy skills for reading.
Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report (Year 6 – 4th grade)
Executive Summary (Year 6 – 4th grade)
Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report (Year 5 – 3rd grade)
Executive Summary (Year 5 – 3rd grade)
Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report (Year 4 – 2nd grade)
Executive Summary (Year 4 – 2nd grade)
Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report (Year 3 – 1st grade)
Executive Summary (Year 3 – 1st grade)
Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report (Year 2 – Kindergarten)
Executive Summary (Year 2 – Kindergarten)
Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report (Year 1 – Pre-K)
Executive Summary (Year 1 – Pre-K)
This study was designed to investigate the effects of participation in Georgia’s Pre-K on children’s school readiness skills and whether those effects are similar for different groups of children. This study utilized a regression discontinuity design (RDD) to compare children who had and had not attended Georgia’s Pre-K, and included 1,181 children (611 treated and 570 untreated).
RDD Report
RDD Executive Summary
Webinar (March 12, 2014)
This study was designed to examine local variations in implementation of recruitment, application, assignment, and waitlist procedures and to examine the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled-trial study. This study gathered information through surveys of all programs and supplemental phone interviews for a sample of programs.
Pre-K Enrollment Report
Pre-K Enrollment Executive
This study was designed to examine children’s learning outcomes during Pre-K, the factors that predict better outcomes, and the quality of children’s experiences in Georgia’s Pre-K classrooms. This study included a random sample of 100 classrooms and 509 children within those classrooms.
Pre-K Outcomes Report
Pre-K Outcomes Executive Summary
Direct questions about this evaluation to the DECAL Research Team at Research@decal.ga.gov. Further information may also be found at: http://www.fpg.unc.edu/projects/georgia-pre-kindergarten-evaluation.