BIG GOVERNMENT PROGRAM FAILS. GO FIGURE. Large randomized trial finds state pre-k program has adverse effects on academic achievement. “What did the Tennessee study find? Like the Head Start RCT, it found positive effects on student achievement at the end of the pre-k year (e.g., their ability to identify letters and words), but these effects dissipated as children entered elementary school and—in the case of Tennessee—turned modestly negative by third grade, with the control group outperforming the pre-k group in math and science achievement.”

On the other hand, pre-K provides more jobs for Democrat-voting government employees. If it’s bad for kids, well, that hardly makes this unique.