Preschool program improves standardized test scores through grade 5

HPP is a collaborative program involving the Harrisburg School District and Capital Area Head Start, which provides comprehensive, high-quality preschool services to at-risk children in the Harrisburg area.

“This evaluation has demonstrated substantial long-term effects of the HPP program on children's reading and math achievement,” said Mark Greenberg, principal investigator of the evaluation and director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State. “The fact that this advantage has now been documented on the state's standardized achievement tests through 5th grade is additional evidence that preschool is critical for disadvantaged children, not only for their school readiness but for their longer-term achievement.

“The program was created as central components of former superintendent Dr. Gerald Kohn's plan to improve child development and academic outcomes.”

According to the evaluation, in the 5th grade, the PSSA math scores for children who attended preschool had an average standardized score of 1243, while children in the comparison group had an average score of 1188. Thirty-five percent of HPP students were found to be advanced or proficient, while only 19 percent of non-attendees attained similar results. In all, the number of students advanced or proficient in mathematics increased by 50 percent.

A similar pattern emerged for reading scores. Children who attended preschool had an average score of 1133, while the comparison group had an average score of 1071. More students also were found to be advanced or proficient in reading achievement — 22 percent among HPP attendees versus 8 percent among non-attendees, for a 175 percent increase. Both math and reading scores for children who attended the HPP program were significantly higher than those for children in the comparison group.

These findings indicate that enrollment in this preschool program is having significant long-term effects on children's learning outcomes.

“The HPP program has the important elements of high-quality preschool,” Greenberg said. “This includes well-trained and well-equipped teachers; a vital and challenging curriculum in literacy, math and social emotional development; and a caring, supportive classroom environment that nurtures the learning of young children.”

The HPP evaluation is directed by Greenberg and Celene Domitrovich, assistant director, Penn State Prevention Research Center, and supported by funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The evaluation of HPP ended in June 2011, when all students completed the 5th grade.

The Harrisburg Preschool Program was established in 2002 with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and a strong partnership with Keystone Children's Services, Inc. (Head Start).

Media Contact

A'ndrea Elyse Messer EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.psu.edu

All latest news from the category: Science Education

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors