Microsoft Word Heckman final 2007-03-22c jsb doc

 

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of the study, resulting in the average child-teacher ratio of 5.7 for the duration of the program.

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All teachers were certified to teach in elementary, early childhood or special education.

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  If it 

were administered today, the Perry preschool program would cost approximately $9,785 per 

participant per year in 2004 dollars. 

 

Abecedarian Project 

The Abecedarian Project recruited 111 children born between 1972 and 1977 whose 109 

families scored high on the High Risk Index.

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  It enrolls and intervenes in the lives of children 

beginning a few months after birth. Enrollment is based on the characteristics of the families 

more than on those of the children, as in the Perry program. Virtually all of the children were 

Black, and their parents had low levels of education, income, cognitive ability and high levels of 

pathological behavior. The children were screened for mental retardation. 76% of the children 

lived in a single parent or multigenerational household. The average mother in this group was 

less than 20 years old, completed 10 years of schooling and had an IQ of 85. There were four 

cohorts of about 28 students each. By the time they were 6 weeks old, the children were assigned 

randomly to either a preschool intervention or a control group. The mean age of entry was 4.4 

months. At age 5—just as they were about to enter kindergarten—all of the children were 

reassigned to either a school age intervention through age 8 or to a control group. This produced 

4 distinct groups: children who experienced no intervention at all, those who experienced an 

intervention when they were young, those who experienced an intervention when they were 

older; and finally, those who enjoyed a high-quality intervention throughout their whole 

childhood. The children were followed up until age 21. 

The Abecedarian program was more intensive than the Perry program. Its preschool 

program was a year-round, full-day intervention. The initial infant-to-teacher ratio was 3:1, 

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though it grew to a child-to-teacher ratio of 6:1 as the kids progressed through the program. 

Infants in the control group received an iron-fortified formula for 15 months and diapers as 

needed to create an incentive for participation. Many of the control children were enrolled in 

preschool and/or kindergarten. 

During the first three primary school years, a home-school teacher would meet with the 

parents and help them provide supplemental educational activities at home. The teacher provided 

a curriculum tailored specifically for each child. The target set for the parents was at least 15 

minutes per day of supplementary activities. This home-school teacher would also serve as a 

liaison between the teachers and the family, and she would interact with the parents and the 

teachers about every two weeks. She would also help the family deal other issues that might 

improve their ability to care for the child, such as finding employment, navigating the 

bureaucracy of social services agencies, and transporting children to appointments. Data were 

collected regularly up to age 21. In terms of 2004 dollars, it cost roughly $15,000 per year. 

 

  Chicago Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program 

The Chicago Child-Parent Center was not evaluated by the method of random assignment 

but by matching treated children to comparable nontreated children on the basis of age, eligibility 

for intervention, and family socioeconomic status. It was started in 1967, in 11 public schools 

serving impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago. Using federal funds, the center provided half-

day preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds during the 9 months that they were in school. The 

program provided an array of services, including health and social services, and free meals. It 

also sought to include the parents, including helping the parents complete school, home visits and 

field trips.  

In 1978, state funding became available, and the program was extended through third 

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grade and included full-day kindergarten. Eventually, 24 centers provided preschool and after-

school activities, up to second or third grade. This is the period during which the sample analyzed 

by Reynolds, et al. was enrolled in the program. The preschool program ran 3 hours per day 

during the week for the nine months that school was in session, and usually included a six-week 

summer program.  

During the kindergarten years, more services were provided at the affiliated school. 

Teacher-child ratios were 17:2 for the preschool component and 25:2 for kindergarten. 

Participation during the primary years was open to any child in the school. Program participants 

experienced reduced class sizes of 25 rather than 35 or more. Teachers’ aides, extra instructional 

materials, and enrichment activities were also available. Some children continued to participate in 

CPC through age 9, for a maximum of 6 years.

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 93% of the children were black and 7% were 

Hispanic. Costs were considerably less, but intensity was correspondingly lower. (See Cunha 

et al.) 

 

Lessons from Early Interventions 

These and other studies of interventions for children from low-income families find that 

participants experienced higher achievement test scores, decreased grade retention, reduced time 

in special education, less crime and delinquency and increased high school graduation. The gains 

vary with quality and age at which the program is started, and there are important differences by 

the sex of the child. 

Programs differ in the measures they use to evaluate the outcomes. As a result, it is hard 

to compare the programs using a standard basket of benefits. The CPC program had significant 

effects on high school graduation rates, reductions in special (remedial) education, grade 

repetition and juvenile arrest (figure 13). 

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