March 29, 2024

Report: Iowa preschool program kids lose gains

DES MOINES (AP) — A state report says early academic gains by children in Iowa’s preschool program have been lost by third grade.

The report says the preschool students made modest gains on a school readiness assessment, but the program impact vanishes later in reading and mathematics.

Iowa Education Department Director Jason Glass says the study echoes a 2012 report that shows children in the federal Head Start program don’t retain long-lasting increases in achievement.

Glass says the report issued Wednesday shows the state should develop better instruction for its Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program.