Georgia’s universal pre-K program gives children a strong academic start, but those early advantages tend to fade by fourth grade, according to a new University of Georgia study.
Led by UGA assistant professor Ishtiaque Fazlul, researchers analyzed pre-K enrollment lottery data from a metro Atlanta district. They found children who attended school-based Georgia pre-K sites entered kindergarten scoring around six percentiles higher in reading and math than peers who didn’t attend pre-K.
Low-income students saw the biggest benefits, highlighting pre-K’s role in reducing early achievement gaps. However, the academic edge diminished by first and second grade, and some students scored slightly lower than their peers by fourth grade.
“These findings reinforce the value of pre-K,” Fazlul said, “but also show we need stronger support systems to maintain those gains.”
The study, co-authored by Henry Woodyard and Tim Sass, appears in Economic Inquiry.