The role of elementary school quality in the persistence of preschool effects

Long-term evaluations of preschool programs have yielded mixed findings regarding the persistence of preschool effects. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 (n = 15,070) were used to estimate the extent to which the academic benefits of preschool persist as a function of the quality of the elementary school children subsequently experience. Results from propensity score models revealed that the academic benefits of preschool were largely sustained through the end of fifth grade when children subsequently attended a high quality elementary school. In contrast, less than one quarter of these benefits persisted when children attended a low quality elementary school. Taken together, these results point to the role of elementary schools in maintaining the long-term academic benefits of preschool.