At the close of last year, the RAND Corporation released the first two of four studies on preschool in California. RAND’s California Preschool Study was requested by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence, the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Speaker of the California Assembly, and the President pro Tempore of the California Senate to help them consider options for reforming and expanding preschool education. Following is a summary of the most important findings in the RAND studies.

Readiness gaps mirror achievement gaps in later grades

•Achievement differences evident during the K–12 years exist at the starting gate, when kids first enter kindergarten. Groups of students who start school behind tend to stay behind.

• According to assessments at kindergarten entry, 61 percent of children enrolled in an early literacy program in 17 California school districts were not proficient in early reading skills like rhyming words, letter recognition, and consonant and vowel sounds.

• Forty-six percent of children in 61 California school districts lacked important social skills like paying attention, eagerness to learn, persistence in finishing tasks, forming and maintaining friendships and showing sensitivity to others.

Significant percentages of children fall short of state standards in early grades

• Almost two-thirds of third-graders did not meet state standards in English language arts and more than 40 percent did not meet standards in math.

• Some groups of students are falling short by even larger margins: English learners, students whose parents did not graduate high school, African Americans, Latinos and economically-disadvantaged children.

Effective pre-K helps narrow the achievement gap by addressing the readiness gap

• Rigorous studies of programs in other states show that children who attend effective pre-K score higher on school readiness measures at kindergarten entry.

• A pre-K program available to Oklahoma’s children showed significant gains for all children, with Latinos showing the most pronounced progress. Children evaluated were months ahead in spelling, early math and letter identification skills, compared to kids who had not attended preschool.

• National research shows that children who attend effective pre-K programs:

• perform better on standardized achievement tests in reading and math;

• are less likely to be placed in special education;

• are less likely to be held back a grade; and

• are more likely to graduate from high school.