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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, September 2, 2001

Study finds preschool boosted SAT scores

 •  Chart: Distribution of SAT scores

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

Parents who haven't made it a priority to put their children in educational, stimulating environment well before kindergarten may want to think again.

Rainbow School of Wahiawa principal Cindy Barley reads to preschoolers. A recent study showed that Rainbow alumni scored higher than a comparison group in reading and math sections on Stanford Achievement Tests administered when they were in the third grade.

Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Recently published findings of a local study that followed preschoolers as they progressed through the third grade suggest that early-childhood education — traditionally known as the preschool years — has strong benefits.

"What the results of the study show is entirely consistent with what we've seen with other studies that have been conducted on the Mainland, and that is that if children have access to a quality early-childhood experience, that they do better in school," said Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Community Foundation.

The foundation is a nonprofit, statewide, charitable services and grant-making institution that commissioned the longitudinal study from 1992 to 1997, which was conducted in collaboration with Rainbow School, a private preschool in Wahiawa.

The study followed 24 Rainbow alumni who entered kindergarten in either the fall of 1992 or 1993 at Wahiawa or Ka'ala Elementary schools, and compared them with other students at the same schools who did not have preschool experience.

Results showed, for example, that students followed in the study who had preschool experience scored significantly higher than a comparison group in reading and math sections on the Stanford Achievement Tests administered when they were in the third grade. (See graphs at right.)

Other findings from the study showed that a quality preschool experience appeared to have made a difference in the children's self-esteem, initiative, effort and academic performance in the early elementary grades. Teachers of the two schools filled out questionnaires that rated the students on such qualities, and the Rainbow School alumni scored higher than other students.

"I think the important thing for parents to recognize is that all of these studies and research indicate that their children are developing the fastest from the time they're in the womb until the time they enter school," Taketa said.

The study points to the importance of the parent's role early on in developing the child's cognitive skills, social skills and emotional stability. He added that it's very important for children to have a safe, happy and nurturing environment at home.

Taketa acknowledged that not all families are able to afford to enroll their children in formal early-childhood education programs.

"It's not that they all have to go to preschool," he said.

Parents should realize that the same kinds of stimulation and nurturing that some children are getting in preschool can be provided by parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles, and qualified childcare providers.

"It's important that (parents) recognize there are things they can do for the children that will help them develop appropriately," he said.

Steve Albert, executive director of Rainbow Schools, said, for example, that parents can develop their children's social skills by having them interact with other kids, as in play groups.

"Kids need time be kids," Albert said, "and let's not push children into preschool thinking that this is the perfect panacea for their academic achievements later on. It's not."

In fact, Albert said he believes that it's more critical for parents to help develop their preschool-aged children's social skills rather than their academic skills.

"Teaching children how to get along well with other children (is important)," Albert said. "I can't emphasize this enough."

As a result of the study's findings, Taketa said he hopes that the community, including the business community and political leaders, will be convinced that more resources need to be allocated toward early-childhood care and development — especially for those families who can least afford it, he said.

"If we know now that between (infancy) to the age of 5 years old is the most important time for (a child's) development, and yet we are not letting every kid in Hawai'i have equal access to that, to me, that's just a travesty," Taketa said.

Liz Chun, executive director of Good Beginnings Alliance, a private nonprofit organization that supports the state's early-childhood system, said the state has been talking about various models of early childhood education for more than a decade and that there has been some movement in that area within the past year.

"In the last legislative session, the Legislature appropriated $5 million ($2.5 million for the next two years) for ... facilities that will be built on DOE elementary school grounds for preschools," Chun said.

However, "no money has been appropriated in addition for services, only for facilities." Chun said that 24 such sites are to be built within the next two years.

"I do think we need to increase our commitment to early education services for young children," she said.

Chun added that the Preschool Open Doors Project, which is operated out of the state Department of Human Services, has doubled its budget in the last year "for scholarships for families (with children) who are attending preschool in our gap group, which means that they're under 200 percent of federal poverty."

Despite these steps forward, Chun said, "we have a way to go yet."

Chun said that approximately 16,400 children are under 185 percent of the federal poverty index, which is classified as a family of four having an income of under $36,000. Of those children, approximately 8,400 are in preschool programs.

"I think the entire community needs to acknowledge what all of this research is showing now and really consider how we can improve access to quality early childhood experiences for children," Taketa said.

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