Go slow on preschool changes

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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One of the most contentious issues shaping up in the 2011 Iowa Legislature is the state's voluntary preschool program. While recent national research has raised legitimate questions about preschools' effectiveness, the new Republican House majority shouldn't be quick to pull the plug.

The incoming Republican administration insists the program's $90 million price tag, given the state's budget problems, is too much to maintain as an entitlement for all 4-year-olds. Instead, Gov. Terry Branstad has suggested providing a needs-based program for those who can't afford it; others pay on a sliding scale.

House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer is even more critical, saying there's no conclusive data that preschool has lasting benefit.

Many Democrats disagree. Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, said restructuring the program as Branstad suggests would be a step backward. Preschool funding for all must be a priority.

Who's right? It's not clear or simple.

Gov. Chet Culver signed the program into law in 2007 after his predecessor, Gov. Tom Vilsack, and a panel of business leaders pushed the idea. This year, 21,000-plus 4-year-olds in 326 school districts are getting at least 10 hours of instruction each week.

Iowa's program often is a partnership locally - nearly 50 districts' programs are integrated with community-based or faith-based preschools, as well as the Early Childhood Special Education program for 3-5-year-olds (108 districts) and Head Start (13), the federal program for children in poverty.

But does preschool make a difference academically and socially? If so, do those benefits carry through the school years into adulthood? Or is preschool essentially day care for parents who can't - or don't want - to be home every day with their preschoolers?

State education officials cite a 2009 early literacy skills assessment: 65 percent of kindergarteners who attended preschool were proficient compared to 61 percent for those who didn't. Among children in poverty, the figures were 55 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

But joint national research in 2010 by California Berkeley and the University of Texas found that the initial boost Head Start children get disappears by first grade. Other recent studies by Stanford, Columbia and the National Institute of Children Health and Human Development found that benefits also fade for most middle-class kids. Those researchers did not recommend ending preschool programs. Instead, they suggest less reliance on regulations and more emphasis on improving teacher quality.

If families can afford preschool, we think it's reasonable to ask them to pay at least some of the cost. However, legislators should require more evidence of how Iowa's preschools are affecting our kids' long-term success before considering more drastic changes.