Associations Between Preschool Cognitive and Behavioral Skills and College Attainment

• In Event: Factors Contributing to Children's Development

Abstract

The current study leverages data from the Chicago School Readiness Project, a federally-funded intervention geared toward increasing preschoolers’ chances of success in school, to examine long-run associations between the host of skills developed during the preschool years and indicators of college planning and college enrollment—offering a rare look at the way a broad set of early capacities relate to early adult attainment. Results suggest that some early cognitive and behavioral skills do predict college planning and enrollment. Particularly, preschool attention and early literacy skills were strong predictors of National Student Clearinghouse verified measures of college enrollment, while early math skills and executive functioning were the strongest predictors of survey responses to college acceptance questions.

Authors

• Xinyu S. Pan, Bank Street College of Education

• Tyler Watts, Teachers College, Columbia University