Giving Compass' Take:

• Research shows that after expanding access to preschool programs in South Carolina, students' test scores in elementary schools increased. 

• Access to high-quality early education has clear benefits. How can donors better support this access to early education?

• Read about the early education data for early childhood learning. 

A few years after South Carolina expanded access to preschool programs, students’ test scores in elementary school jumped.

But the increase contained something of a mystery. Only students from low-income families were eligible for the new pre-kindergarten program. Scores, though, climbed across the board, including for students from more affluent families.

New research documenting that phenomenon comes to a conclusion that could help those pushing for more public support for early childhood education. The students who attended preschool were disciplined less often and had higher test scores when they reached elementary school, improving the school environment for all and pushing everyone’s scores up.

“Having students come into the classroom better prepared, that in and of itself is going to help all students,” said researcher Breyon Williams of the University of South Carolina. “The behavior’s improving, the classrooms are more conducive to a proper learning environment — and that might be yet another reason why the students who are not participating in the program still can benefit.”

The study underscores the effect that individual students can have on entire classrooms and schools, and the potential benefits of programs that prepare kids for elementary school.

Still, the findings should be interpreted cautiously, and they may not apply to places very different from South Carolina.

Preschool also seemed to cause a 30 percent decline in disciplinary incidents for low-income students. This might have meant a better learning environment for all kids.

Read the full article about pre-school research by Matt Barnum at Chalkbeat.