Sensitivity of Estimated Effects of Pre-K to the Choice of Outcome
| Pre-K | Test Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Stage (1) | RF (ITT) (2) | IV (TOT) (3) | OLS (4) | |
| Panel A: Baseline | ||||
| Universal (N = 3,400) | 0.211 (0.047) | 0.120 (0.065) | 0.569 (0.315) | −0.069 (0.048) |
| Targeted (N = 3,950) | 0.118 (0.034) | −0.044 (0.060) | −0.373 (0.513) | −0.093 (0.042) |
| p-value on difference | 0.057 | 0.012 | 0.046 | 0.609 |
| Panel B: Reading Score Only | ||||
| Universal (N = 3,400) | 0.211 (0.047) | 0.135 (0.064) | 0.639 (0.328) | −0.036 (0.047) |
| Targeted (N = 3,950) | 0.118 (0.034) | −0.037 (0.067) | −0.314 (0.564) | −0.100 (0.045) |
| p-value on difference | 0.057 | 0.007 | 0.054 | 0.214 |
| Panel C: Math Score Only | ||||
| Universal (N = 3,400) | 0.211 (0.047) | 0.106 (0.082) | 0.500 (0.378) | −0.102 (0.058) |
| Targeted (N = 3,950) | 0.118 (0.034) | −0.051 (0.067) | −0.432 (0.587) | −0.087 (0.047) |
| p-value on difference | 0.057 | 0.061 | 0.102 | 0.786 |
| Panel D: Mental Score (age 2)a | ||||
| Universal (N = 3,350) | 0.211 (0.046) | 0.005 (0.069) | 0.023 (0.326) | −0.062 (0.051) |
| Targeted (N = 3,950) | 0.115 (0.034) | 0.035 (0.068) | 0.299 (0.610) | −0.081 (0.051) |
| p-value on difference | 0.049 | 0.613 | 0.556 | 0.643 |
| Panel E: = 1 If Parent Reports Not Ready for K (Age 4) | ||||
| Universal (N = 3,400) | 0.207 (0.047) | −0.091 (0.046) | −0.440 (0.231) | 0.003 (0.025) |
| Targeted (N = 3,950) | 0.114 (0.033) | −0.036 (0.036) | −0.315 (0.343) | −0.021 (0.023) |
| p-value on difference | 0.053 | 0.261 | 0.712 | 0.327 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) of children born in calendar year 2001, “Children’s Birth Certificates” (collection at nine months), “Parent–Guardian Interviews,” “Direct Child Assessments,” and “Early Care and Education Providers” (collection at 48 months).
Notes: The first-stage and RF (ITT) columns give coefficients on the interaction between a dummy for being eligible for kindergarten in 2006–2007 and a dummy for being in a treatment state (elig × treat). The IV (TOT) and OLS columns give coefficients on pre-K attendance (prek), in the first case instrumenting with elig × treat using TSLS. All coefficients are from separate regressions that also include dummies for state of residence, month × year of assessment, and month age five relative to the state kindergarten entry cutoff birth date in 2006–2007, and all demographic and background characteristics listed in Table 1, Panel B. Regressions are weighted by longitudinal sampling weights, and standard errors (in parentheses) are clustered on state × month of birth.
↵aAdditional controls include age at assessment and dummies for month × year of assessment in Wave 2 of the ECLS-B, and panel weights incorporate observation in Wave 2.