A US working paper investigates the persistence of effects of early childhood interventions and asks whether these effects fade systematically. The study found that “by the end of kindergarten [Year 1] children who attended preschool are no longer outperforming on measures of reading and mathematics relative to their peers.” The fade-out effect was similar whether children attended preschool full-time or part-time and irrespective of class size, length of the day and other quality measures.
A similar study compared children in England who went to preschool in the late 1990s with those from 2005 onwards. Again, the older children’s benefits persisted, whereas the younger ones’ faded. It also discusses the impact of free early education on children's development.
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