Researchers at the FPG Child Development Institute at the UNC-Chapel Hill just released, “Long-term Effects of the North Carolina More at Four Pre-kindergarten Program: Children’s Reading and Math Skills at Third Grade.” The study concluded that poor children who participated in More at Four (MAF) had a math and/or reading score that was higher (statistically) than those who did not. The benefits were not as pronounced for students from higher income families.
The study neglected a very important variable, in my opinion. According to previous evaluations of the program, half of MAF students attend a public preschool and half attend a private/nonprofit preschool. The study did not differentiate between the two settings.
In fact, several contextual factors were left out. How did urban and suburban children perform compared to kids in rural areas? Were there variations in performance based on teacher quality or class size at MAF sites? How did math and reading performance of MAF students compare to similar students in their home district?
The study is a very broad, albeit valuable, examination of More At Four.
