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Pre-K Study In Tennessee Shows Early Gains Wear Off

Children at Scripps Ranch KinderCare in San Diego play in their classroom on October 1, 2013 in San Diego, CA. (Robert Benson/Getty Images for Knowledge Universe)
Children at Scripps Ranch KinderCare in San Diego play in their classroom on October 1, 2013 in San Diego, CA. (Robert Benson/Getty Images for Knowledge Universe)

A new study out of Vanderbilt University has some surprising findings: children from low-income families benefit significantly from Tennessee’s pre-kindergarten programs at first, but those gains wear off by the end of third grade. Researchers also found that students who did not attend pre-K quickly caught up to the students who did attend pre-K.

The study raises questions about the efficacy of Tennessee’s pre-K programs, which were widely expanded in 2005. Dale Farran, a professor at Vanderbilt and co-investigator of the study, discusses the findings with Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson.

Guest

  • Dale Farran, professor in the Departments of Teaching and Learning, and Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University.
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