The NYT has an interesting article up discussing a new study, out this week, presenting the findings of research on the long-term earnings prospects of students vis-à-vis their participation in early-childhood educational programs.  Previous studies have focused on the relative effects using test scores, and showed little long-term gains into high school using that metric, as the effects seem to fade out over time.

From the text:

“Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.

“All else equal, they were making about an extra $100 a year at age 27 for every percentile they had moved up the test-score distribution over the course of kindergarten. A student who went from average to the 60th percentile — a typical jump for a 5-year-old with a good teacher — could expect to make about $1,000 more a year at age 27 than a student who remained at the average. Over time, the effect seems to grow, too.”

I am fortunate to know  a few people (and managed to marry one) who make foundational, beneficial impacts on children, and who would definitely agree that the real measure of a teacher’s success can’t be captured solely by test scores – a major hurdle for real “Pay for Performance” initiatives, and cause for countless debates over how to measure teaching efficacy.  At least in this case, the researchers are pointing the way to adult outcomes that have real meaning and economic impact:  earnings potential.

The study findings are here.