Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Report 5
This is the fifth report from the Georgia’s Pre-K Longitudinal Study that follows nearly 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, examines the children’s learning outcomes and the quality of
their school experiences. In addition to assessments of student language, literacy, and math skills, social-emotional development, and executive functions, the findings factor in
researcher observations of classroom quality and child and family characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THIRD GRADE RESULTS
The third-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 slightly above the mean at the end of third grade, many of them were not acquiring skills as quickly as they had in Pre-K and kindergarten, continuing
the trend from first grade. The third-grade study also included a comparison sample of children who did not attend Georgia’s Pre-K or any other pre-k program. Children in the
comparison sample scored lower on some assessments than children in the Pre-K longitudinal sample. The researchers conclude that more should be done to align Georgia’s Pre-K
curriculum and elementary school instruction to ensure that students sustain and build on the substantial gains made in Pre-K and kindergarten.