Preschool, transitional kindergarten deliver big: 11 months ahead in reading, 8 in math
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Set us as preferred One of the most comprehensive studies of California’s multibillion-dollar investment in early education programs offers evidence that the funding is paying off in academic achievement years later.Children who enrolled in school under California’s first transitional kindergarten programs, made possible by a 2010 law, scored 11 months ahead in reading and eight months ahead in math by third and fourth grade compared with children born in the same months but in years before the program began, according to a study by UC Berkeley researchers commissioned by Stanford University.The law, which took effect in 2012, allowed a limited number of children with fall birthdays to attend a full year of school before kindergarten, called transitional kindergarten.
At the same time, the law changed when children became eligible for state-funded preschool, allowing more to enroll at age 3.Researchers found that this extra early education helped children perform better years later.The findings come as California enters its second year of offering free transitional kindergarten, called TK for short, to all 4-year-olds, fully expanding the earlier and smaller program.
Just over half of children eligible for the grade level are enrolled in TK, according to 2025 data, falling short of state projections.The state budgeted about $4.1 billion for TK in the 2025-26 school year, alongside an additional $2.8 billion for its state preschool program.
For Rucker Johnson, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley who is co-author of the study, the promise of such early investments in the state’s youngest children extends far beyond elementary school test scores.It’s chance to help children succeed who might otherwise be limited by circumstances outside their control.
“We call it finding the lost Einsteins,” Rucker said.�...