Imagine this race. There are two groups of runners. One is allowed to start at the halfway point in the race. The others have their starting spots well behind the official starting line. The starting gun fires. Which group do you think will win the race?

This hypothetical situation is absurd. Certainly we would never allow such a race to take place. It is just too unfair to the runners who started so much behind the other racers. They never had a chance. Even before the contest started everyone knew who was going to win.

Though unfairness is not allowed in a sporting event, it is allowed in education. Some students enter kindergarten with every advantage that money and caring parents can provide. They come to school with a wealth of background experiences. This helps them quickly understand much of what is taught to them in school. They have a backdrop to tie the learning to. This is a huge advantage. They also have a very large vocabulary, perhaps 10,000 words. This is priceless when it comes to understanding the teacher. It is also invaluable in learning how to read.

Then we have the other group that must start well behind the starting line. They come to school with few experiences. They also have a vocabulary of less than 3,000 words. Much of what the teacher says to them makes little sense. Once in school they go to school for the same number of hours as their advanced peers though they are far behind. Is anyone surprised their achievement lags?
Unfortunately, the story gets even worse. Many of these students who must start so far behind their peers also have the disadvantage of not knowing the language that is spoken in the classroom. Some also have a learning disability to overcome. Others are undernourished and poorly clothed. Some may not hunger for food; they hunger for affection. Few of them have books and other valuable learning materials at home.

This real-life scenario largely explains the achievement gaps in our schools. The first day of kindergarten starts with winners and losers. Even with the best of interventions in their early school years it is going to be very difficult to make up the ground that was irretrievably lost before they entered the school doors. Can nothing be done to make this situation fairer?

Recently, a study was completed that adds some light and hope to this disheartening situation. Forty years ago a group of disadvantaged preschool children, called the Perry Preschoolers, was given a high quality pre-kindergarten learning experience. The results after all these years show that the investment in their early years paid huge dividends. Here is what Anne Nelson writes in ASCD Infobrief, “Conservative cost-benefit models show that for an initial investment of roughly $15,000 per child, the return to society was roughly $250,000, or $17 for every dollar invested. This return comprised savings in the areas of criminal justice costs, education spending, and welfare costs. It also included increased tax revenue due to higher lifetime earnings of the cohort members.”

The Perry Preschoolers are one very good example of what can happen when society invests in its poor children in their earliest years. However, it is only one of hundreds of studies that illustrate the same point: stimulating the development of disadvantaged children in their youngest years has life-long benefits for them and for society as a whole.

Investing in preschool education for these youth is critical in helping all children find school success. It is a major key in getting all children beginning at the kindergarten starting line. Without a major change in this area, all the No Child Left Behind legislation’s well-intended efforts will largely have been wasted. One of the basic rights of all children should be effective preschool training. It is one of the surest ways to insure that truly no child is left behind.

(If you would like a copy of the study mentioned above, e-mail Dr. Hillyer at Paul.Hillyer@cps-ne.org.)

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