@EdWorkingPaper{ai23-880,
title = "Assessing the Benefits of Education in Early Childhood: Evidence from a Pre-K Lottery in Georgia",
author = "Henry T. Woodyard, Tim R. Sass, Ishtiaque Fazlul",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "880",
year = "2023",
month = "November",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai23-880",
abstract = {Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong link between participation in pre-K programs and both short-term student achievement and positive later-life outcomes.  Existing evidence primarily stems from experimental studies of small-scale, high-quality programs conducted in the 1960s and 1970s and analyses of the federal Head Start program.  Meanwhile, evidence on state-funded pre-K programs, with no income restrictions, is scant and inconclusive.  Using enrollment lotteries for over-subscribed school-based sites in Georgia’s universal pre-K program, we analyze the impact of participation on elementary school outcomes.  Lottery winners enter kindergarten more prepared in both math and reading than non-winning peers. Gains fade by the end of kindergarten, and some negative achievement effects emerge by grade 4. Free-and-reduced-price meal (FRPM) students benefit more compared to non-FRPM students in later grades, suggesting greater benefits from attendance for disadvantaged students.  Although we find no effects for discipline, lottery winners had one fewer absence each grade after kindergarten.},
}