GreatStart 3 6/30/09 12:38 PM Page 1 GreatStart SERIES 3: GREAT INVESTMENT July, 2009 The Economic Benefits of Investing in Early Learning What do the following people have in common? Why is there such an unusual consensus about the effec- tiveness of high-quality early learning programs from • Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman these leaders in business, economics, law enforcement, • James Heckman, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics, and government? The answer has a lot to do with scien- University of Chicago tific evidence about brain development and the effective- • Barack Obama, President of the United States ness of early childhood intervention efforts. • Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft • Charles Kolb, President, Committee for Economic De- velopment, Washington, D.C. Brain Development and the Importance of • George Kaiser, President & CEO, Kaiser-Francis Oil the First Five Years Company • Robert Dugger, Managing Director, Tudor Investment A major contributing factor in this growing consensus is Corporation the body of scientific findings on early brain development. • Art Rolnick, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Over the last 40 years, researchers have documented the • Edward Flynn, Milwaukee Police Chief astonishing development of the brain in the first five years. • Jeff Joerres, CEO of Manpower, Inc. A comprehensive analysis of the research on early devel- • Jon Stellmacher, Vice President, Thrivent Financial for opment by the National Research Council in 2000, From Lutherans and founding member, Partnership for Wis- Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood consin’s Economic Success Development, has helped transform understanding of the importance of the early years. Key findings included: These individuals all believe research has demonstrated • All children are born ready to learn. the benefits of investing inwell-designed early education • Early environments and nurturing relationships are es- programs to ensure optimal learning and development. sential. • Society is changing and the needs of young children are not being adequately addressed.1 The human brain develops more rapidly between birth and age 5 than during any other subsequent period. The National Research Council found that from birth to age 5, children rapidly develop capabilities that form the foundation for later development and learning. The Coun- cil found striking disparities in what children know and can do before they enter kindergarten, and concluded that redressing these disparities is critical if children are to be prepared for school and ultimately able to sustain eco- nomic independence. Experiences in first few years of a child will influence the way in which the brain grows—the way in which the brain is wired. 1 GreatStart 3 6/30/09 12:38 PM Page 2 GreatStart SERIES 3: GREAT INVESTMENT Brain development research was able to document Language Development the stunning difference between a brain with proper stim- ulation and one that has been deprived of sensory stimu- Early exposure to rich language creates the foundation for lation. Dr. Bruce Perry, an expert in brain development a child’s use and understanding of words, and increases uses two images to illustrate the negative impact of neglect the likelihood of eventual reading success. on the developing brain (see Figure 1). On the left is a Differences in language development, strongly asso- brain image from a healthy 3-year-old with an average ciated with social and economic circumstances, can have head size. The image on the right is from a 3-year-old child a dramatic impact on school readiness. Figure 3 illustrates suffering from severe sensory-deprivation neglect. This the gap that researchers Hart and Risley found in language child’s brain is significantly smaller than average and has development between children from low-income and pro- abnormal brain development.2 fessional families.3 FIGURE 1 FIGURE 3: Disparities in Early Vocabulary Growth 1200 600 Ⅲ Highest income quartile Ⅲ Middle income quartile Ⅲ Lowest income quartile 200 Cumulative Vocabulary Vocabulary (words) Cumulative 16 months 24 months 36 months For children’s brains to become highly developed for learn- Children’s Ages (years) ing, repeated interactive experiences are essential. Early ex- periences determine whether or not a child’s brain Source: Hart & Risley (1995) architecture provides a solid foundation for future learn- ing and behavior. Figure 2, from Neurons to Neighborhoods, illustrates the remarkable early growth in synapse forma- The researchers found a 32 million words gap be- tion (connection among brain cells) related to sensory tween the vocabularies 4-year-old children in professional pathways (vision and hearing), language, and higher cog- families and families on welfare had been exposed to. Fol- nitive functioning—all dependent on early experiences. low-up studies showed that these differences were largely eliminated, regardless of income status, if parents and caregivers used expressive, varied and rich language in their interactions with children. FIGURE 2: Human Brain Development Researchers Hart and Risley found that “extra talk”— Synapse Formation Dependent on Early Experience where parents and other caregivers ask questions and use a large vocabulary to elaborate and extend what children Sensory Pathways Language Higher Cognitive Function (Vision, Hearing) are doing or saying—is strongly connected to emotional and social growth, and creates a positive relationship with the child. The richness of language children are exposed to appears to be a cornerstone of emotional, social and in- tellectual development.4 Research also confirms a strong correlation between vocabulary at age 3 and 11th grade reading levels. Ac- cording to literacy expert Andrew Biemiller, “Vocabulary -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Conception Birth (Months) (Years) at age 3 predicts first grade reading success; first grade vo- 5 Source: Nelson (2000) cabulary predicts eleventh grade reading level.” 2 GreatStart 3 6/30/09 12:38 PM Page 3 GreatStart SERIES 3: GREAT INVESTMENT Social-Emotional Development advantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, economic bene- fit-to-cost analyses find that spending on high-quality Research has also confirmed that brain development is not early learning is a high-yield investment. just about cognitive skills. Emotional and social develop- ment is also essential for healthy growth and learning. Ac- cording to Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, “Investments in high-quality early education “…emotional well-being, social competence, and emerg- programs have the highest rate of return of ing cognitive abilities are high inter-related, and together any social investment.” they are the bricks and mortar that comprise the founda- James Heckman, University of Chicago Economist and tion for human development.”6 Nobel Laureate, Lessons from the Technology of Skill Child development experts believe that children’s Formation, 2005 social-emotional development is essential to learning, and that the ability to form respectful relationships with peers and adults is a key to success in school and beyond. De- Four very influential studies have had an enormous im- velopmental scientists have concluded that they cannot pact on the scientific world: separate cognitive and emotional development within a • The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project, child. Both are essential to learning and school readiness. • The Abecedarian Project, and • The Chicago Child-Parents Centers, and • Nurse-Family Partnership Home Visiting Program. “Virtually every aspect of early human These programs stand out because of their sound re- development, from the brain’s evolving circuitry search design, the consistency of their findings, and the to the child’s capacity for empathy, is affected strong evidence they provide of the economic benefits of by the environments and experiences that early investment. All four intervention programs targeted begin early in the prenatal period and extend children from disadvantaged backgrounds, provided high- throughout the early childhood years.” quality, well-designed programs, and three of them tracked National Research Council, From Neurons to Neighborhoods children’s outcomes into adulthood. While improved school readiness was an outcome for these programs, all of these approaches focused on the whole child, including social and The scientific evidence on the importance of early ex- emotional development, not just cognitive development. periences to brain development and school readiness has generated a new focus on early childhood programs de- High/Scope Perry Preschool Project signed for early learning. The Perry Preschool Project followed into adulthood low- income children who attended a high-quality half-day pre- Research on the Positive Effects school with degreed teachers, a well-designed early of High-Quality Childhood Programs learning program, and weekly home visits. The study The other key factor contributing to the growing consen- sus supporting early investments is the research on the im- pact of high-quality intervention programs. While the evidence that the first 5 years are extraordinarily important to a child’s preparation for school and life is compelling, researchers have also sought the answer to these questions: • Can early intervention significantly change outcomes for children? • Can enriched early experiences change a child’s readi- ness for school achievement? An extensive body of evidence