Mid-Adolescent Outcomes for High Risk Students: An Examination of the Continuing Effects of Early Intervention

This paper describes long-term intellectual and academic outcomes of the Carolina Abecedarian Project, a study of the effects of intensive early intervention for children of poverty-level families. Participants in the program were 59 girls and 52 boys nominated by local social welfare departments and prenatal clinics. At or prior to birth, children were assigned to either the Child Development Center Intervention group or the preschool control group. Before entry into kindergarten, children were assigned to either a school-age intervention group or to a school-age control group. This allowed e comparison of children who had eight years of intervention (five in preschool and three in early elementary school), five years of preschool intervention only, three years of school-age intervention only, or no educational intervention. A follow-up at age 12 showed that positive effects of preschool treatment on children's intellectual test performance and on academic tests of reading and mathematics were maintained into early adolescence. A second follow-up at age 15 revealed that academic performance was significantly enhanced in reading and mathematics for children who had intervention from infancy to age 5. Results suggest that childcare in high quality settings was associated with significantly enhanced academic performance through middle adolescence. (MM) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.$ DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Office cd Educational Ritaoarch and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) hif CIOCumnt him been reprOduCed as reCived from the person or Ofgantzahon originating it 0 Minor changes have been made lo improve reproduction quality Pants of 'rower OPIntorth stated in this dCco' men: 00 not necessarily represent official OER1 position or policy