OVERVIEW

The High/Scope Perry Preschool, initiated in 1962, is a high quality one- to two-year-long program with a home-visiting component. The program is designed to promote social and cognitive development in at-risk children. Experimental evaluations show that even years later, when study participants are in their teens and 20's, former High/Scope Perry Preschool students have higher academic grades and earnings, higher rates of high school graduation, fewer arrests and out-of-wedlock births, and lower levels of welfare receipt than their peers who were not in a preschool program.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Three- and four-year-old African-American children living in poverty.

The High/Scope Perry Preschool was designed in order to promote cognitive and social development in at-risk children. The program encouraged active learning among children by allowing them to initiate activities and control their environment. Teachers received curriculum training and supervision, and only five or six students were assigned to each teacher (Schweinhart & Weikart, 1993). Children learned in an environment rich with materials and then reported back to their teachers on what they had achieved. Teachers encouraged children's experiences in the areas of initiative, social relations, creative representation, music and movement, language and literacy, and logic and mathematics. The program also included weekly home visits by teachers in order to discuss and practice activities for parents to carry out with their children.

• Length: Children enrolled in the program at ages 3 and 4 and attended for one or two years.
• Intensity: Children attended class for 2 ½ hours every weekday from October through May. The average teacher-to-student ratio was 1 to 5.7. In addition, teachers conducted home visits once per week for one and a half hours.
• Service Delivery Mode: High-quality preschool program that included home visits.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., & Weikart, D. P. (1993). Significant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27. Monograph of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 10. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.

Evaluated population: 123 African American children, ages 3 and 4, living in poverty

Approach: Three- and 4-year-old African-American children living in poverty in a particular neighborhood in Ypsilanti, MI, were randomly assigned to either High/Scope Perry Preschool (program group) or no preschool (no-program group). The total sample included 123 children in four waves.

Data were collected on program participants and no-program participants every year between ages 3 and 11, and then at ages 14-15, 19 and 27. Data were collected from multiple sources, including direct assessments, school records, parent and teacher interviews and interviews with participants themselves, at older ages. Attrition rates were extremely low, and at the latest assessment, information was gathered from 95% of the original participants.

Results: To highlight several of the findings before age 27, the program group performed significantly better than the no-program group on the Stanford-Binet IQ test at ages 5, 6 and 7 (but differences in IQ scores were not found at later assessments). On the California Achievement Tests, the program group significantly outscored the no-program group on reading, math, language and total achievement at age 14. (Differences were found starting at age 7, but they generally did not reach significance until age 14.) In addition, program participants had a significantly higher mean high school GPA than the no-program group. In the areas of crime and delinquency, by age 19, the program group had significantly fewer arrests than the no-program group.

At age 27, data were gathered through interviews, data from schools, social services and arrest records. The results were positive and strong. Program participants had higher rates of high school graduation, higher weekly earnings, higher percentages of home ownership, lower rates of receipt of welfare assistance as adults, fewer out of wedlock births and fewer arrests. All of these findings were significant. It should be noted that the pattern of results was different for females and males. For females, the program seemed to affect their desire and ability to remain in school and graduate. For males, the program seemed to affect their adjustment to society-they engaged in less criminal and antisocial behavior.

A cost-benefit analysis was also conducted at age 27. In 1992 dollars, the estimated cost of participation in the Perry preschool program per child was $12,356 (most children received the intervention for two years, but some only received it for one year-this figure is an average for all children). Among other analyses, the authors found that program participation accounted for $6,872 in savings per child in elementary and secondary schools (due to such things as lower rates of special education placement and grade retention). Program participants also had higher earnings and rates of employment than did the no-program group, especially among females. For females, the difference in mean annual earnings between the two groups at age 27 was $5,688; for males, the difference was $333. In the area of delinquency and crime, the average estimated savings per program participant was $49,044 (through age 27, taking into account both victim costs and criminal justice system costs). In sum, the total benefit (including that which was estimated to have accrued through age 27 and the projected continuing effects) was $88,433 per program participant.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Link to program curriculum: http://www.highscope.org/EducationalPrograms/EarlyChildhood/homepage.htm 

References:

Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., & Weikart, D. P. (1993). Significant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27. Monograph of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 10. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.

Web Site: www.highscope.org/Research/PerryProject/perrymain.htm

Program also discussed in the following Child Trends publication(s):

Child Trends. (2001). School readiness: Helping communities get children ready for school and schools ready for children (Research brief). Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Halle, T., Zaff, J., Calkins, J., & Margie, N. G. (2000). Background for community-level work on school readiness: A review of definitions, assessments, and investment strategies. Part II: Reviewing the literature on contributing factors to school readiness. Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc.

SUMMARY & CATEGORIZATION

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 3-4 / Program age ranges in the Guide: 0-5

Program components: child care/early childhood education, clinic/provider-based, home visiting, parent or family component

Measured outcomes: education/cognitive, social/emotional, life skills, behavioral problems, reproductive health

Program information last updated 3/14/07

© Child Trends 2003