Data show how public preschool can close opportunity gaps and improve language development, literacy, math skills, and earnings. But most research on preschool focuses on small-scale programs, select groups of students, or relies on limited analytic approaches that cannot identify causal impact.

This study offers the first independent look at DC’s public prekindergarten program, which leads the nation in preschool access and serves 3- and 4-year-old students in public schools, public charter schools, and community-based organizations. Because the program uses a centralized admissions lottery, we are using a study design akin to a randomized experiment to measure preschool’s effectiveness among a large, diverse sample of students.

Since 2019, we’ve sought to understand how families choose, enroll in, and participate in public prekindergarten; issues of access and quality; and effects on children’s growth and development through elementary and secondary school in DC. We’ve also explored whether and how experiences and impacts differ by child and community characteristics. To date, our research activities have included the following:

• analyses of administrative data
• interviews with key informants
• studies of costs and cost-effectiveness
• direct assessments of students
• surveys of families and educators

An ongoing partnership and a data-sharing agreement with the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education are providing the information necessary to examine preschool enrollment and student outcomes, including the following:

• persistence in public schools
• school mobility
• special education status
• in-grade retention
• school discipline
• academic outcomes

This project is funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the US Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (Grant R305A210506), and CoLab at the Constellation Fund. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of our experts. More information on our funding principles is available here. Read our terms of service here.