Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively recent entrant into the U.S. early education landscape, combining features of public pre-K and regular kindergarten. We provide the first estimates of the impact of Michigan’s TK program on 3rd grade test scores. Using an augmented regression discontinuity design, we find that TK improves 3rd grade test scores by 0.29 (math) and 0.19 (English Language Arts) standard deviations relative to a counterfactual that includes other formal and informal early learning options. These impacts are notably large relative to the prior pre-K literature.
Authors
Jordan S. Berne, Brian A. Jacob, Tareena Musaddiq, Anna Shapiro, Christina Weiland
- Acknowledgements & Disclosure
- The data used for this research was structured by the MERI-Michigan Education Data Center (MEDC), and is not identical to data collected and maintained by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) or Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI). Results and opinions presented here do not reflect the views or positions of MDE or CEPI. This research was funded by the Smith Richardson Foundation, as well as training grants R305B20011 and R305B170015 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. We thank MDE and CEPI for their partnership, especially Thomas Howell and Richard Lower. We also thank Katia Cordoba Garcia and Samuel Owusu for excellent research assistance and Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija for assistance with data agreements and project management. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3386/w32236
- Published in
- United States of America
