A new study by the National Instutute for Early Education that shows chidlren who attended New Meixoc PreK scored higher in early math, language, and literacy than children who did not attend the program.

"We have studied new Mexico PreK since it started and find that even as the program has expanded, it continues to be effective," said National Instutite for Early Education Research (NIEER) assistant research professor Jason T. Hustedt, who lead the study. 

The third report in the study found that:

• Children who attended New Mexico PreK during the during the 2007-2008 school year scored higher on assessments of early math and literacy skills in comparison to children who did not attend. These skills include addition and subtraction, telling time, knowledge of letters, and familiarity with words and book concepts.  Gains in early math and literacy at kindergarten entry can be attributed to participating in New Mexico PreK programs the previous year.

• Separate sets of analyses conducted for PreK programs offered by the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) and the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) show that PED and CYFD PreK programs produce similar results.

• When the researchers combined child assessment data from the first three years of the New Mexico PreK program, they found further evidence that New Mexico PreK produces positive impacts on children's early math, language, and literacy skills.

For this fiscal year, the New Mexico Legislature gave more than $19.8 million, including $16.8 million from the state General Fund and $3 million in temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) support to the state-funded PreK program managed by the Public Education Department and Children, Youth and Families Deparment.

As a result of this support, New Mexico PreK will serve nearly 5,000 four year-olds across the state in 151 sites for the school year 2009-2010.

A copy of the report is available on the NIEER Web site at www.nieer.org