May 30, 2006
For Immediate Release

 Contact:  Teri Battaglieri
                 Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice
                 517-203-2940 (e-mail) greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org

 REASON FOUNDATION EARLY EDUCATION REPORT IS UNRELIABLE, EXPERT REVIEWER FINDS

 EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Reason Foundation report arguing against public investment in universal pre-school and all-day kindergarten programs and more specifically against new proposals in Illinois, Arizona and California is unreliable and should not be used to guide policy according to a review released by Think Twice, a think tank review project funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

 

W. Stephen Barnett, Rutgers University Professor and National Institute for Early Education Research Director reviewed, “Assessing Proposals for Preschool and Kindergarten: Essential Information for Parents, Taxpayers and Policymakers.” Though some of the report’s findings have merit, Barnett says that overall, the report, “...misleads the reader,  relying on distortions, selective citation of research and inconsistent use of standards for quality research.”

 

Barnett agrees with the report’s conclusion that a need exists for more assessment of the impact made by pre-school and kindergarten programs.  He says, however, that this conclusion is at odds with the authors’ finding that these programs have no lasting educational effects on children. To the contrary, there is a large and convincing body of evidence which proves otherwise.

 

Find the complete review and a link to the Reason Foundation report at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org.

 

The Think Twice project provides the public, policy makers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected think tank publications. It is a collaboration of the Education Policy Studies lab at Arizona State University and the Education and Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado and is funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

 

The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to identify, develop, support, publish and widely disseminate empirically sound research on education policy and practices designed to improve the quality of public education for all students within the Great Lakes Region. 

Visit the Great Lakes Center website at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org