United Liberty

…run!

One of the scariest words that can be coupled with “government program” is the word universal.  In the past, government run universal health care has not been popular enough in America to induce enough voters into embracing it (the same people who are in charge of FEMA, also in charge of health care? No thank you!). But now Obama is offering to “pour billions” into government-run universal Pre-K for 4-year-olds.

Mr. Obama asserted in the Las Vegas debate on Jan. 15 that every dollar spent on preschool will produce a 10-fold return by improving academic performance, which will supposedly lower juvenile delinquency and welfare use — and raise wages and tax contributions.

But are these assertions true?  Evidence, that’s largely ignored by proponents of Pre-K4, suggests otherwise.

A 2006 analysis by Education Week found that Oklahoma and Georgia (two states that embraced universal preschool 10 years or more ago) were among the 10 states that had made the least progress on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Process). Oklahoma, in fact, lost ground after it embraced universal preschool: In 1992 its fourth and eighth graders tested one point above the national average in math. Now they are several points below. Ditto for reading. Georgia’s universal preschool program has made virtually no difference to its fourth-grade reading scores. And a study of Tennessee’s preschool program released just this week by the nonpartisan Strategic Research Group found no statistical difference in the performance of preschool versus nonpreschool kids on any subject after the first grade.

In fact, there is evidence that supports the “later is better” philosophy of educational experts such as John Taylor Gatto and the late John Holt.

Finland offers strong evidence for the view that early education in general is not so crucial to the long-term intellectual growth of children. Its kids consistently outperform their global peers in reading, math and science on international assessments even though they don’t begin formal education until they are 7.

Some studies take it a step further and offer evidence that early childhood education can actually be detrimental.

A 2005 analysis by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, found that kindergartners with 15 or more hours of preschool every week were less motivated and more aggressive in class. Likewise, Canada’s C.D. Howe Institute found a higher incidence of anxiety, hyperactivity and poor social skills among kids in Quebec after universal preschool.

The truth is, most children come from loving homes and would benefit far more by spending time with their families, rather than being packed up and shipped to government day care.  And the parents who would still choose to send their children to pre-K4 should have the option to use their tax dollars on non-government programs.

Read more- Protect Our Kids from Preschool