The development of cognitive and academic abilities: Growth curves from anearly childhood educational experiment

In the Abecedarian Project, a prospective randomized trial, the effects of early educational intervention on patterns of cognitive and academic develo pment among poor, minority children were examined. Participants in the foll ow-up were 104 of the original I I I participants in the study (98% African American). Early treatment was full-time, high-quality, educational child care from infancy to age 5. Cognitive test scores collected between the age s of 3 and 21 years and academic test scores from 8 to 21 years were analyz ed. Treated children, on average, attained higher scores on both cognitive and academic tests, with moderate to large treatment effect sizes observed through age 21. Preschool cognitive gains accounted for a substantial porti on of treatment differences in the development of reading and math skills. Intensive early childhood education can have long-lasting effects on cognit ive and academic development.