Skip to Content
Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Pre-school programs

Overview

  • Influence: Pre-school programs
  • Domain: School
  • Sub-Domain: Pre-school interventions
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Likely to have positive impact
  • Influence Definition: Preschool programs vary considerably in pedagogical approach, and the settings can vary from home care, play centers, kindergartens, some half day some full time, and can engage students between birth and starting school.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 20
  • Number of studies: 478
  • Number of students: 49,304
  • Number of effects: 3,678
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.33
  • Robustness index: 4

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Assessment for Effective Instruction Snyder & Sheehan Integrating Research in Early Childhood Special Education: The Use of Meta-Analysis 1983 Pre school programs 8 NA 182 0.48
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Goldring & Presbrey Evaluating Preschool Programs: A Meta-Analytic Approach 1986 Pre school programs 11 1,267 11 0.25
Early Childhood Research Quarterly Gilliam & Zigler A Critical Meta-Analysis of All Evaluations of State-Funded Preschool from 1997-1998: Implications for Policy, Service Delivery and Program Evaluation 2001 Pre-school across 13 states 13 NA 22 0.17
Early Education and Development Joo, Magnuson, Duncan, Schindler, Yoshikawa, & Ziol-Guest What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis. Joo, Y.S., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G.J., Schindler, H.S., Yoshikawa, H., & Ziol-Guest, K.M. (2019). What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis of preschool enhancement programs 2019 Curricular enhancements 21 NA 176 0.70
Early Education and Development Joo, Magnuson, Duncan, Schindler, Yoshikawa, & Ziol-Guest What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis. Joo, Y.S., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G.J., Schindler, H.S., Yoshikawa, H., & Ziol-Guest, K.M. (2019). What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis of preschool enhancement programs 2019 Literacy/Language programs 21 NA 150 0.66
Early Education and Development Joo, Magnuson, Duncan, Schindler, Yoshikawa, & Ziol-Guest What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis. Joo, Y.S., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G.J., Schindler, H.S., Yoshikawa, H., & Ziol-Guest, K.M. (2019). What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis of preschool enhancement programs 2019 Math and other curricula programs 21 NA 26 0.93
Early Education and Development Joo, Magnuson, Duncan, Schindler, Yoshikawa, & Ziol-Guest What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis. Joo, Y.S., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G.J., Schindler, H.S., Yoshikawa, H., & Ziol-Guest, K.M. (2019). What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis of preschool enhancement programs 2019 Professional development programs 7 NA 43 0.26
Reading: CfBT Education Trust Chambers, Cheung, Slavin, Smith, & Laurenzano Effective early childhood education programmes: a best-evidence synthesis 2010 Pre-school programs 38 NA 38 0.15
Educational Research Review Chambers, Cheung, & Slavin Literacy and Language Outcomes of Comprehensive and Developmental-Constructivist Approaches to Early Childhood Education: A Systematic Review 2016 Pre-school programs 32 NA 32 0.12
Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness Kelchen, Magnuson, Duncan, Schindler, Shager, & Yoshikawa Do the Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Academic Outcomes Vary by Gender? A Meta-Analysis 2011 Early childhood programs 20 2,360 582 0.19
Quality Measurement in Early Childhood Settings Burchinal, Kainz & Cai How well do our measures of quality predict child outcomes? A meta-analysis and coordinated analysis of data from large-scale studies of early childhood settings 2011 Early childhood programs 20 NA 97 0.24
Plos One Brunsek, Perlman, Falenchuk, McMullen, Fletcher, & Shah The relationship between the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale and its revised form and child outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis 2017 Early Childhood environment rating and achievement 16 NA 16 0.02
Educational Researcher McCoy, Yoshikawa, Ziol-Guest, Duncan, Schindler, Magnuson, Yang, Koepp, & Shonkoff Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium- and Long-Term Educational Outcomes 2017 Early childhood on medium to long achievement 22 NA 34 0.49
Conference paper Leak, Duncan, Li, Magnuson, Schindler & Yoshikawa Is timing everything? How early childhood education program impacts vary by starting age, program duration and time since the end of the program. 2010 Early childhood programs 117 NA 1,978 0.27
Dissertation Hill Do our children add up? A meta-analysis of the longitudinal effects of kindergarten schedule and mathematic achievement. 2011 Kindergarten on math 24 24,892 62 -0.04
Early Education and Development Joo, Magnuson, Duncan, Schindler, Yoshikawa, & Ziol-Guest What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis. Joo, Y.S., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G.J., Schindler, H.S., Yoshikawa, H., & Ziol-Guest, K.M. (2019). What works in early childhood education programs?: A meta-analysis of preschool enhancement programs 2019 Parent enhancement programs 10 NA 133 0.28
Journal of Educational Psychology Nelson & McMaster The effects of early numeracy interventions for students in preschool and early elementary: A meta-analysis. 2019 Early numeracy interventions 33 4,556 52 0.64
Developmental Review Bailey, Jenkins, Alvarez-Vargas Complementarities between early educational intervention and later educational quality? A systematic review of the sustaining environments hypothesis. 2020 Sustaining environments hypothesis 14 NA 14 0.02
Report DeAngelis, Holmes Erickson, & Ritter, Is Pre-Kindergarten an Educational Panacea? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Scaled-Up Pre-Kindergarten in the United States. 2017 Pre-K programs 10 13,149 10 0.51
SN Social Sciences Charitaki, Tzivinikou, Stefanou, & Soulis A meta-analytic synthesis of early numeracy interventions for low-performing young children. 2021 Early numeracy programs 20 3,080 20 0.61
TOTAL/AVERAGE 478 49,304 3,678 0.35
Back to top