Persistence and Fadeout of Preschool Effects: Evidence from 16 LMICs- CIES 2018 Presentation

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Amber Gove. With few exceptions (Aboud & Hossain, 2011; Gertler et al., 2013), much of the published research on the impact of preprimary participation stems from high-income countries (Campbell et al., 2014; Heckman, Moon, Pinto, Savelyev, & Yavitz, 2010). Few studies have examined preschool and later learning across multiple countries (Raikes, Devercelli, & Kutaka, 2015). This paper seeks to fill this gap by examining the relationship between preprimary participation and early primary reading outcomes, as measured by Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) (Dubeck & Gove, 2015; RTI International, 2016). Drawing on a unique set of data using student-level learning assessments from sixteen low and middle income countries, we use preprimary participation to explain primary reading outcomes.