When any educational program is evaluated, it's imperative to first ask what its original goals were. I cannot emphasize this point enough. Preschool is an example. Lost in the debate is that Head Start, which is the most well known of these programs, was never intended to be primarily academic. Instead, it was designed to help prepare disadvantaged children for school. Since President Obama in his State of the Union address called for high-quality preschool for all 4-year-olds, I think it's an opportune time to look more deeply into the issue.

The usual argument against Head Start is that its benefits fade by the third grade. At least that's what the Department of Health and Human Services found in its study of 5,000 3-and 4-year-olds in 84 local Head Start programs. But the study focused on cognitive gains. I agree that these are vital outcomes to assess, but at the same time I don't think these are the only results that need to be evaluated. Doesn't social and emotional development also count? Let's not forget we're talking about very young children. In high school, we commit a similar error in overlooking affective outcomes. Yet we know that long after knowledge is forgotten, attitudes remain. Wouldn't preschool be the ideal time to address the issue?

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