• • Alabama First Class Pre-K Named Nation's Highest Quality Pre-K Program for 12th Consecutive Year
• • Alabama First Class Pre-K graduates are outperforming their peers in reading and math
• • Thank your lawmakers for expanding access to First Class Pre-K!

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Earlier this year, Governor Ivey announced a new study of Alabama third graders that finds that students who participated in the state's high-quality, voluntary First Class Pre-K program have higher rates of reading and math proficiency than their peers that did not attend the program. This finding was especially true for minority children and children living in poverty.

The new study, "Achievement Gap Closure and Gains Associated with Alabama's First Class Pre-K," was conducted for the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education by a research team that includes the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.

Additional research has looked at student outcomes in reading and math through the sixth grade, and found that First Class Pre-K graduates consistently outperform their peers.

The Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education also reports that, despite children entering the program with significant early achievement gaps on developmental assessments, Alabama First Class Pre-K students leave ready for kindergarten. They also have higher attendance rates in elementary school and are less likely to repeat a grade or need special education services, compared with children that did not participate in the program. 

Check out the Alabama School Readiness Alliance's complete summary of the research on First Class Pre-K here.

Check out our summary of the "Achievement Gap Closure and Gains Associated with Alabama's First Class Pre-K" study here.
 

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