Prep School for Poor Kids: The Long-Run Impacts of Head Start on Human Capital and Economic Self-Sufficiency
Level 2 - randomized trial
Level 2 by design analogy (quasi-experimental natural experiment using county rollout and age eligibility cutoffs).
OpenAlex W3116444998 · doi:10.1257/aer.20181801
What was done
Researchers evaluated the long-run effects of Head Start using large-scale, restricted administrative data. Identification relied on the county-by-county rollout of Head Start between 1965 and 1980 combined with age-eligibility cutoffs for school entry.
What was found
Head Start participation led to substantial gains in educational attainment: - A 0.65-year increase in total schooling. - A 2.7 percent increase in high school completion. - An 8.5 percent increase in college enrollment. - A 39 percent increase in college completion.
Why it matters
This study provides evidence of large, durable returns across adulthood from public investments in means-tested preschool education.
Limits
The abstract does not report the total sample size (n). Findings are based on historical rollouts from 1965 to 1980 and may not fully generalize to contemporary preschool settings or counterfactual alternatives. Non-educational outcomes (such as specific earnings or health metrics) are not quantified in the abstract.
Cited by
- context The United States spends more federal money on ICE than on children.