Why is preschool essential in closing the achievement gap? Educational Leadership and Administration

Abstract: Studies suggest that three and four-year old children who are exposed to preschool have a greater chance of academic success throughout their schooling. This article highlights a five-year case study of children of poverty who attended a structured preschool in Salinas, California. The longitudinal study exposed various components of a successful preschool program. The study results indicate that children of poverty who attended preschool out performed in second and third grade a similar population of poverty students who did not attend preschool. Three and four-year-olds who attend preschool are more likely to do well academically and socially throughout the rest of their schooling and later as adults in both their personal and their professional lives, less likely to be placed in special education classes, drop out of school, or have problems with law enforcement; they are more likely to attend college and to avoid long periods of unemployment or welfare. (Californi