Findings Pooled Across Many Studies: The Consortium for Longitudinal Studies.

The Consortium for Longitudinal Studies combined data from 11 studies (including the Perry Preschool Project) begun in the 1960s and 1970s to assess the long-term effects of early childhood education programs. More than 3,500 low-income, predominantly African-American children were initially enrolled in early childhood programs, and more than 1,100 were followed to young adulthood. Findings confirmed the well-established benefits of preschool attendance for cognitive development and school competence, but they also suggested that early education can affect children’s future goals and aspirations. At 10 to 19 years of age, children in both program and control groups had high educational and occupational aspirations and equivalent evaluations of their own school performance, but children who had attended preschool were far more likely
to express pride in a school- or work-related achievement. Four years later, at ages 14 to 23 years, those
participants with higher “achievement orientation” were found to have better employment status and
higher educational attainment. Preschool attendance was also significantly associated with higher occupational
aspirations and expectations for post-high school participants.