Child care, especially higher quality child care, predicts better results in high school, according to a recent study from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The study was led by Deborah Vandell, formerly with the University of Wisconsin, completing a longitudinal study of 1,214 children, from early childhood to the end of high school (EOHS).

Here’s a section of the study abstract, summarizing key findings:

“Controlling for extensive measures of family background, early child care was associated with academic standing and behavioral adjustment at the EOHS. More experience in center-type care was linked to higher class rank and admission to more selective colleges, and for females to less risk taking and greater impulse control.

Higher quality child care predicted higher academic grades and admission to more selective colleges. Fewer hours in child care was related to admission to more selective colleges. These findings suggest long-term benefits of higher quality child care, center-type care, and lower child-care hours for measures of academic standing at the EOHS.”

For more information, go to: http://fpg.unc.edu/resources/early-child-care-and-adolescent-functioning-end-high-school-results-nichd-study-early-chil

(Thanks to information from News & Resources from UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.)

Dave Edie
Early Education Policy Analyst