A study by St. Joseph's College in Connecticut recently revealed something remarkable taking place in West Hartford preschools: low-income children are catching up to their more affluent peers.

Like too many of our nation's low-income children, these three- and four-year-olds did not begin school on equal ground with more affluent students. On entering preschool, they scored an average of 20 points lower than their peers on a standard vocabulary test. National statistics reveal similar disparities; researchers Valerie E. Lee and David T. Burkam found a 60 percent gap in the mathematics and reading scores of children entering kindergarten from different socioeconomic groups, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics.

Low-income status does not preclude high achievement; many of these children succeed in schools and classrooms across the country every day. However, most low-income children have fewer opportunities for enrichment during the years before they enter school. As one strategy to reduce these inequalities, researchers point to the success of high-quality early childhood education programs in boosting the achievement of young children.

In these West Hartford preschools, all of the children's scores increased—but low-income children who attended preschools in which no more than 20 percent of the students are from low-income families made the greatest gains. After six months in the program, their vocabulary scores rose to the same level as their more affluent peers, far outpacing the language development of children in programs of equal quality that serve only low-income students. Researchers believe that the more affluent children who entered the program with greater vocabularies served as peer models. They have announced plans to further explore these preliminary findings in an expanded study.

As an organization committed to ensuring educational equity for all students, ASCD applauds these schools and researchers for examining new approaches to closing the achievement gap. In recent years, early childhood education has ranked as one of the highest-priority concerns of ASCD's 160,000 members. Educators recognize that participation in high-quality preschool programs is a key predictor of educational success later in life and are committed to ensuring that students arrive in K-12 classrooms ready to learn and succeed in school.

As Lawrence J. Schweinhart writes in Preventing Early Learning Failure, "early childhood programs that are of high quality can have important short- and long-term effects on children." Children who participate in these programs have greater confidence and are better prepared to learn how to read, listen effectively, and interact with their peers. Over the years, these students have higher reading, mathematics, and overall achievement test scores, and are more likely to complete high school and pursue higher education.

ASCD's members support the provision of quality childcare and education programs for all young children, as does the American public. Earlier this year, the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University found that 87 percent of voters believe the government should provide enough funding so that every American family can afford to send their three- and four-year-olds to a high-quality preschool.

At ASCD, we identify high-quality early childhood education programs as those that emphasize low student-teacher ratios, developmentally appropriate curriculum, professional development opportunities for staff, low staff turnover, and family and community relationships. These programs provide children whose socioeconomic backgrounds decrease their likelihood of educational success with the opportunity to enter kindergarten with the same social, emotional, and academic skills as their more advantaged peers.

Early childhood education programs have the potential to narrow the achievement gap and prepare our youngest students to succeed. What our nation needs now is the will to provide all children access to programs like those that are helping students achieve in Connecticut.

Selected chapters of Preventing Early Learning Failure, edited by Bob Sornson, are available at http://shop.ascd.org/ProductDisplay.cfm?ProductID=101003.