The Abecedarian Project, initiated in 1972 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, provided educational child care and high-quality preschool from age 0-5 to children from very disadvantaged backgrounds. The child care and preschool were provided on a full-day, year-round basis; had a low teacher-child ratio (ranging from 1:3 for infants to 1:6 for 5-year-olds); and used a systematic curriculum of “educational games” emphasizing language development and cognitive skills. The average annual cost of the intervention was approximately $19,000 per child (in 2017 dollars).

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This intervention was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial with a sample of approximately 120 families with infants. The families were randomly assigned to either a group that received the Abecedarian intervention or a control group that did not, but was given free diapers and formula and could use any other community preschools or child care centers.1

Virtually all sample children were African American, only about a quarter lived with both of their biological parents, and most of their families reported no earned income. At the time of the children’s births, their mothers averaged 20 years of age and less than a high school education.

Effects of the Abecedarian Project at the age-30 follow-up:

Compared to the control group, Abecedarian group members:

  • Were 42% more likely to have been employed for at least 16 of the 24 months preceding the age-30 follow-up (75.0% of the Abecedarian group vs. 53.0% of the control group).
  • Were 81% less likely to have received welfare for a total of nine months or more between the ages of 22.5 and 30 years (3.9% for the Abecedarian group vs. 20.4% for the control group).
  • Were almost four times as likely to have graduated from college (23.1% for the Abecedarian group vs. 6.1% for the control group).
  • Completed 1.2 more years of education (an average of 13.5 years for the Abecedarian group vs. 12.3 years for the control group).
  • Were 1.8 years older when their first child was born (an average of 21.8 years of age for the Abecedarian group vs. 20.0 years of age for the control group).

The study found no statistically significant effects on high school graduation rates, income, type of employment, marital status, mental or physical health, criminal activity, or substance use. The non-significant effects on high school graduation, income, type of employment, and marital status tended to favor the Abecedarian group. There was no clear pattern of effects – positive or negative – on the other outcomes.

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