Put Preschool in Time Out

A federal government study says the (federal) Head Start program isn't working.

by Collin Hitt

During the Illinois State of the State Address yesterday, it was good to hear Gov. Pat Quinn offer congratulations to charter schools, which have typically received scant praise from top Democrats in the state. President Obama’s pro-charter rhetoric is beginning to have an impact in Illinois. Like President Obama, however, Gov. Quinn also swooned over taxpayer-funded preschool, a familiar part of the Illinois Democratic platform since Rod Blagojevich’s “”Preschool for All”” years.

I’m quoting from memory, but governor Quinn said something to the effect of “”We know preschool pays dividends for generations,”” a retread of Blagojevich’s “”we know preschool works”” and Pres. Obama’s (again, from memory) “”every dollar invested in preschool provides a ten dollar return to taxpayers.””

Unfortunately, despite years and billions of dollars in government preschool investments, there is little evidence that the programs provide lasting benefits. Indeed, a rigorous study released by the U.S. DHHS yesterday provided considerable evidence that the federal Head Start program – among the oldest and most lavishly funded public preschool programs in the country – provides almost no last benefits.

The study also measured effects on parenting, again showing mixed results, though the study itself did lead to a significant (p<1.0) increase in spankings opened up on the program. Jay Greene breaks down the findings here. Lindsay Burke at Heritage calls names (“”Sinkhole””) here. And Andrew Coulson, using his significantly higher vocabulary, points out the hypocrisy of doubling down on preschool while eliminating vouchers in D.C.

President and Obama and Gov. Quinn would do well to read the study in full. Then they should read Checker Finn’s excellent new book on the topic (free download). Then they should retool federal and state preschool policies, which simply aren’t working.