Volume 27, Number 2 (Spring) 1992
Barnett, W. Steven. 1992. "Benefits of Compensatory Preschool Education." Journal of Human Resources 27(2):279-312.
Although there is widespread agreement that compensatory preschool education can produce short-term gains in test scores, its ability to produce meaningful long-term improvements in educational and economic success has been questioned. This paper reviews the evidence regarding long-term effects, including a classical experiment and benefit-cost analysis. It is concluded that compensatory preschool can produce long-term gains in school success through contributions to cognitive abilities not adequately measured by Intelligence (IQ) tests. Greater educational success is accompanied by substantial improvements in social and economic outcomes including employment, teen pregnancy, and welfare assistance.
The author is an assistant professor of economics and educational policy at the Graduate School of Education and a Senior Research Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He is grateful to Burt Barnow, Arthur Goldberger, Henry Levin, Gerald Musgrave, and two anonymous referees for many valuable comments and suggestions. Information on the data used in this article can be obtained from the author at: the Graduate School of Education, 10 Seminary Place, New Brunswick, NY 08903.
© 2002 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
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