Educare Follow-Up Studies

Our Follow-Up Studies allow us to test our hypothesis—that children who attend Educare achieve greater success in their academic pursuits and in life than other comparable low-income children who do not attend Educare. Three locally driven Follow-Up Studies have tracked the progress of Educare children and families as the children move into elementary and middle schools. Educare schools apply the results of the Follow-Up Studies to design program improvements that better help children develop school readiness skills.

Educare Chicago Follow-Up Study

Since 2005, researchers have been following Educare Chicago students into elementary and middle school to gauge the progress these students make as they transition from a high-quality Educare school into the K–12 system.

Results:

• Educare children transition to kindergarten with the skills necessary for them to learn and thrive.
• Direct assessments of children at the end of 3^rd grade reveal no fade-out, or diminishing, of their social-emotional or concept-development skills.
• Educare effectively engages parents in supporting their children’s development, learning and academic readiness, and provides parents with opportunities to further build their capacities in this area.

Educare Omaha Follow-Up Study

The Educare Omaha Follow-Up Study evaluates the long-term impact of participation in Educare by analyzing the progress of Educare alumni in 3^rd through 7^th grades. Educare Omaha researchers are analyzing the students’ performance on state standardized reading, writing and math assessments, beginning with data from the 2010–2011 school year onward.

Results:

• A small sample of students who attended Educare for at least two years had significantly higher average state reading and math assessment scores in elementary school compared to other low-income students in the same school district and grade levels.
• Among children who attended Educare for one to two years, the average reading score approached proficiency.

Educare Tulsa Follow-Up Study

Conducted over 2011–2012, the Educare Tulsa Follow-Up Study followed children who completed their preschool year at Educare Tulsa at Kendall-Whittier and transitioned into their kindergarten year in Tulsa Public Schools. Researchers assessed them in the spring of their kindergarten year on measures of vocabulary, school readiness, letter and word identification, applied problems and social skills. The researchers also conducted teacher and parent surveys and collected special education and retention data.

Results:

• There were different patterns of achievement between English- and Spanish-speaking children.
• There were differences between English- and Spanish-speaking parents’ involvement in school and home activities.
• On average, families were more involved while their children attended Educare than they were during their children’s kindergarten year.
• Findings are being used to develop parent-engagement strategies to enhance K–12 participation and home activity levels of Educare alumni parents

To learn more about the Educare Follow-Up Studies, please read our National Research Agenda for Early Education.