Using an additional decade of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children a... more Using an additional decade of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children and Young Adults (CNLSY), this study replicated and extended Deming’s evaluation of Head Start’s life cycle skill formation impacts in three ways. Extending the measurement interval for Deming’s adulthood outcomes, we found no statistically significant impacts on earnings and mixed evidence of impacts on other adult outcomes. Applying Deming’s sibling comparison framework to more recent birth cohorts born to CNLSY mothers revealed mostly negative Head Start impacts. Combining all cohorts showed generally null impacts on school-age and early adulthood outcomes.
Exploring the “Dark Matter” of Early Childhood Educational Programs: A Pattern-of-Indirect-Effect Approach
Mechanisms translating initial impacts of early childhood education (ECE) programs into longer-te... more Mechanisms translating initial impacts of early childhood education (ECE) programs into longer-term effects are poorly understood. As with astrophysics’ “dark matter” hypothesis, unobserved mediated effects are integral to our understanding of the pathways underlying ECE programs’ long-term impacts. Leveraging two sets of panel data (Study 1: N = 107; 97% African American, 3% White; 52% girls. Study 2: N = 1,251; 44% Black, 25% Hispanic, 31% White; 50% girls), ECE programs’ patterns of indirect effects on completed schooling were examined via bundled mediators measured at age 8 or 10, 12, and 15. We found that, accounting for up to 50% of the impact, patterns of indirect effects in both studies revealed stable patterns of direct effects, indicating that impacts on unmeasured mediators are present throughout the duration of the period after the end of ECE programs and before longer-term outcomes are observed.
The Breadth of Impacts from the Abecedarian Project Early Intervention on Cognitive Skills
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness
Early life interventions impacting cognitive abilities are most often followed by post-treatment ... more Early life interventions impacting cognitive abilities are most often followed by post-treatment fadeout. Some have hypothesized that persistence is unlikely when gains are specific to trained skills, or more specifically, distinguishable from impacts on general cognitive ability (classically modeled as a hierarchical factor, so-called psychometric g). Using measurement invariance testing and multiple indicators multiple causes models, we investigated impacts on IQ subtests from the Abecedarian early childhood intervention (n = 107). We found that 1) observed impacts on IQ scores from age 5 to age 21 were consistent with persistent positive effects on g; 2) subtest-specific variance that was differentiable from changes on g did fade. Together, these findings indicated that Abecedarian early impact persisted across a range of cognitive skills, providing some evidence for the hypothesis that breadth and persistence of impacts from educational interventions are related.
Using an additional decade of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children a... more Using an additional decade of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children and Young Adults (CNLSY), this study replicated and extended Deming’s evaluation of Head Start’s life cycle skill formation impacts in three ways. Extending the measurement interval for Deming’s adulthood outcomes, we found no statistically significant impacts on earnings and mixed evidence of impacts on other adult outcomes. Applying Deming’s sibling comparison framework to more recent birth cohorts born to CNLSY mothers revealed mostly negative Head Start impacts. Combining all cohorts showed generally null impacts on school-age and early adulthood outcomes.
Exploring the “Dark Matter” of Early Childhood Educational Programs: A Pattern-of-Indirect-Effect Approach
Mechanisms translating initial impacts of early childhood education (ECE) programs into longer-te... more Mechanisms translating initial impacts of early childhood education (ECE) programs into longer-term effects are poorly understood. As with astrophysics’ “dark matter” hypothesis, unobserved mediated effects are integral to our understanding of the pathways underlying ECE programs’ long-term impacts. Leveraging two sets of panel data (Study 1: N = 107; 97% African American, 3% White; 52% girls. Study 2: N = 1,251; 44% Black, 25% Hispanic, 31% White; 50% girls), ECE programs’ patterns of indirect effects on completed schooling were examined via bundled mediators measured at age 8 or 10, 12, and 15. We found that, accounting for up to 50% of the impact, patterns of indirect effects in both studies revealed stable patterns of direct effects, indicating that impacts on unmeasured mediators are present throughout the duration of the period after the end of ECE programs and before longer-term outcomes are observed.
The Breadth of Impacts from the Abecedarian Project Early Intervention on Cognitive Skills
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness
Early life interventions impacting cognitive abilities are most often followed by post-treatment ... more Early life interventions impacting cognitive abilities are most often followed by post-treatment fadeout. Some have hypothesized that persistence is unlikely when gains are specific to trained skills, or more specifically, distinguishable from impacts on general cognitive ability (classically modeled as a hierarchical factor, so-called psychometric g). Using measurement invariance testing and multiple indicators multiple causes models, we investigated impacts on IQ subtests from the Abecedarian early childhood intervention (n = 107). We found that 1) observed impacts on IQ scores from age 5 to age 21 were consistent with persistent positive effects on g; 2) subtest-specific variance that was differentiable from changes on g did fade. Together, these findings indicated that Abecedarian early impact persisted across a range of cognitive skills, providing some evidence for the hypothesis that breadth and persistence of impacts from educational interventions are related.
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