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This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

New Early Pre-K Fad Doesn't Deliver Stats

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    Policy makers should ask a few questions before New Mexico falls in line with the latest education craze and starts throwing millions of dollars at mandatory full-day pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds per a national group's recommendation.
   

Will getting kids in school at age 3 reduce the dropout rate? That's an answer that won't come for more than a decade— but preliminary info from University of California Santa Barbara researchers found any achievement gains credited to preschool largely evaporate after four years in elementary.
   

Is another pre-K initiative the best use of education tax dollars? The new $5 million, half-day program served about 1,500 4-year-olds last year. More than $59 million would be needed to serve just the four-year-olds in the state part-time, according to a statement from the state Education Department last year.
    The national Foundation for Child Development, which is recommending getting 3-year-olds in the classroom, has said New Mexico's half-day program may not be enough to prepare children for school.
    How do we know that? How do they know that? The state must first evaluate how its small-scale 4-year-old pre-K program is working before considering extending it to all 4-year-olds all day, much less 3-year-olds. While there is some evidence pre-K programs can reduce the likelihood of criminal behavior or dependence on public assistance, the UC-Santa Barbara study says "preschool alone may have limited use as a long-term strategy for improving the achievement gap without strengthening the schools these students attend or without additional support."
    In other words, unless New Mexico's under-performing public K-12 system improves, maybe we can't expect pre-K, at any age, to improve "No Child Left Behind" stats or graduation rates.
    So before investing in thousands of tiny desks, presenting toddlers' parents with the logistical nightmare of mandatory half-day classes and taxpayers with a whopping bill, the state should weigh the known benefits of early pre-K along with those of class size, literacy, mentoring and other retention programs on children in middle or high schools— when educators say students begin losing interest in school and in learning.
    Starting when they're three might sound like a good idea— but in a state with dire public education needs and limited resources, sounds good isn't good enough.