PERRY PRESCHOOL
STUDY

For six decades the Perry Preschool Project has forever
changed the trajectory of early education.

Does High-Quality Preschool Education Make a Difference?

The Perry Project began as a research study seeking the answer to whether access to high-quality education could have a positive impact on preschool children and the communities where they live. Under the visionary research guidance of psychologist David Weikart, and with the extraordinary dedication of Perry Elementary School principal Charles Eugene Beatty, 123 preschool children with risk factors of failing in school were randomly divided into two groups. One group entered a high-quality preschool program based on HighScope’s active learning approach, and a comparison group who received no preschool education.

The Perry Project was conducted from 1962–1967, but led to a longitudinal documentary as we continue to follow the Perry Preschool participants throughout their lives in this landmark study that forever changed the trajectory of early education. The Perry Preschool Project established the lasting human and financial value of early childhood education and led to the establishment of the HighScope Education Research Foundation and one of the first early childhood programs in the United States intentionally designed to increase school success for preschool children living in poverty.

PERRY PRESCHOOL PROJECT

 

PERRY PRESCHOOL PROJECT

 

For six decades the Perry Preschool Project has forever changed the trajectory of early education.

Does High-Quality Preschool Education Make a Difference?

The Perry Project began as a research study seeking the answer to whether access to high-quality education could have a positive impact on preschool children and the communities where they live. Under the visionary research guidance of psychologist David Weikart, and with the extraordinary dedication of Perry Elementary School principal Charles Eugene Beatty, 123 preschool children with risk factors of failing in school were randomly divided into two groups. One group entered a high-quality preschool program based on HighScope’s active learning approach, and a comparison group who received no preschool education.

The Perry Project was conducted from 1962–1967, but led to a longitudinal documentary as we continue to follow the Perry Preschool participants throughout their lives in this landmark study that forever changed the trajectory of early education. The Perry Preschool Project established the lasting human and financial value of early childhood education and led to the establishment of the HighScope Education Research Foundation and one of the first early childhood programs in the United States intentionally designed to increase school success for preschool children living in poverty.

PERRY PRESCHOOL

Longitudinal Study

Download Study

The longitudinal study found that at age 40, the participants who experienced the preschool program

  • Had fewer teenage pregnancies
  • Were more likely to have graduated from high school
  • Were more likely to hold a job and have higher earnings
  • Committed fewer crimes
  • Owned their own home and car

Study Results

As the longest-running longitudinal study in early education, the Perry Study continues to prove that investing in high-quality early education yields positive results for children and families.

Arrested 5+ times by age 40

  • Program Group 36% 36%
  • Non-program Group 55% 55%

Earned $20,000+ at age 40

  • Program Group 60% 60%
  • Non-program Group 40% 40%

Graduated high school

  • Program Group 77% 77%
  • Non-program Group 60% 60%

Basic achievement at age 14

  • Program Group 49% 49%
  • Non-program Group 15% 15%

Homework at age 15

  • Program Group 61% 61%
  • Non-program Group 38% 38%

IQ 90+ at age 5

  • Program Group 67% 67%
  • Non-program Group 28% 28%

Return on Investment

Education Savings

$7,303

Taxes on Earnings

$14,079

Welfare Savings

$2,768

Crime Savings

$171,473

Perry Preschool Program Costs

$15,166

Return per Dollar Invested

$12.90

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