Future of Families & Child Wellbeing Study data users have recently published widely on the effects of early childhood exposures (ages 3-5) on school performance including skill development and test scores.

Recent published work

Anna Haskins (2014) showed that paternal incarceration is associated with lower cognitive and non-cognitive school readiness when children enter school, while Kristin Turney and Sara McLanahan (2015) found that behavior problems at ages 3-5 are associated with lower test scores at age 9. Approaches to learning (ATL) could provide a potential benefit to children in unique ways, showing academic benefits for academically struggling children at age 3 and improved externalizing behaviors for children with higher initial competencies (Rachel Razza et al 2015).

Education data available

FFCWS has collected survey interview data on focal children’s school readiness, school connectedness, and school performance from parents (ages 5, 9 and 15), children (ages 9 and 15), and teachers (ages 5 and 9).  School-level administrative data (NCES Common Core and other sources) are available through our contract process to append to the FFCWS survey files for age 9 and will be available in the future for age 15. The age 15 core survey will also include data on youths' high school graduation aspirations as well as aspirations of college attendance and graduation.    

Papers

Anna Haskins. 2014. "Unintended Consequences: Effects of Paternal Incarceration on Child School Readiness and Later Special Education Placement." Sociological Science. 1: 141-158.

Kristin Turney, Sara McLanahan. 2015. "The Academic Consequences of Early Childhood Problem Behaviors." Social Science Research. 54: 131-145.

Rachel Razza, Anne Martin, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 2015. "Are Approaches to Learning in Kindergarten Associated with Academic and Social Competence Similarly?" Child & Youth Care Forum. 44(6): 757-776.