2015-16 NC PreK Evaluation Shows Better Math Skills for Participants

Researchers at FPG Child Development Institute released their latest evaluation of NC Pre-K, the state’s public prekindergarten program. NC Pre-K is ranked first in the nation in quality and 41st in access by U.S. News & World Report. Highlights from the 2015-16 evaluation include:

  • Children who attended NC Pre-K performed significantly better on math skills at the end of kindergarten compared to a matched group of children who did not attend NC Pre-K.
  • There was little difference between a matched sample of NC Pre-K and non-NC Pre-K children on language and literacy skills at the end of kindergarten.
  • Participation in NC Pre-K had positive effects on children’s executive function at the end of kindergarten for both the full sample and the DLL subsample.Children who attended NC Pre-K performed better on a measure of executive function related to working memory. These results are important, because executive function is predictive of children’s later academic performance.

In addition, the authors noted:

  • In 2015–2016, the average NC Pre-K class at 16 was lower than program guidelines which have a maximum of 18.
  • Teacher education and credentials have been on the rise. In 2015–2016, almost all NC Pre-K lead teachers had at least a bachelor’s degree in both public school and private settings (>99%).

Download the Executive Summary.

Download the Full Report.

Source: Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., Mokrova, I. L., & Anderson, T. L. (2017). Effects of participation in the North Carolina PreKindergarten Program at the end of Kindergarten: 2015–2016 statewide evaluation, Executive summary. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute.