The Effect of Early Childhood Programs on Third-Grade Test Scores: Evidence from Transitional Kindergarten in Michigan

Jordan Berne, Brian Jacob, Tareena Musaddiq, Anna Shapiro and Christina Weiland

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2024, vol. 114, 480-85

Abstract: Transitional kindergarten (TK) is a relatively recent entrant into the US early education landscape, combining features of public pre-K and regular kindergarten. We provide the first estimates of the impact of Michigan's TK program on third-grade test scores. Using an augmented regression discontinuity design, we find that TK improves third-grade test scores by 0.29 (math) and 0.19 (English language arts) standard deviations relative to a counterfactual that includes other formal and informal early learning options. These impacts are notably large relative to the prior pre-K literature.

JEL-codes: H75 I21 I22 I26 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241081

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