Effects of the Perry Preschool Programs on Youths Through Age 19: A Summary

• NCJ Number: 110959
• Journal: Topics in Early Childhood Special Education Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1985) Pages: 26-35
• Author(s): L J Schweinhart; J R Berrueta-Clement; W S Barnett; A S Epstein; D P Weikart
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The Perry Preschool Project (Ypsilanti, Mich.) explored the long-term effects of participation versus nonparticipation in a high quality early childhood education program on 123 black youths from families of low socioeconomic status.

Abstract

Results to age 19 indicate lasting beneficial effects of preschool education in improving scholastic placement and achievement during the school years; in decreasing delinquency and crime, the use of welfare assistance, and the incidence of teenage pregnancy; and in increasing the rates of high school graduation, enrollment in postsecondary programs, and employment. These findings, as well as findings from other studies of similar children, apply to children at risk of scholastic failure for sociocultural reasons. 1 table and 11 references. (Author abstract modified)