The Abecedarian Studies

The Abecedarian Studies examined the effects of LearningGames and other early intervention strategies on at-risk children. Designed as longitudinal research projects, several of the studies tracked and evaluated the same children from birth into early adulthood and form the well of knowledge about the long-term positive benefits of high-quality early childhood education for vulnerable children and families.

Positive Benefits
Children who participated in the original Abecedarian Study's educational program demonstrated the following positive benefits:

  • Higher IQ detected as early as 18 months of age
  • More engagement with persons and objects in the preschool years
  • Improved school performance in reading and math
  • Reduced  grade retention
  • Fewer special education placements
  • Higher likelihood of attending a four-year college
  • Delayed childbearing

Replication of Positive Findings in Subsequent Studies
Many of the positive findings from the original Abecedarian study have been replicated in related, subsequent studies. The Carolina Approach to Responsive Education, called Project CARE, provided enriched childcare plus home visiting services, utilizing LearningGames, for at-risk children from birth to 60 months of age. The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), which included a total of eight studies, provided home visiting and an enriched childcare intervention program, including LearningGames activities, for low birth-weight infants from birth through 36 months. A recent peer-reviewed article in Pediatrics about IHDP found that children who received the intervention from birth to age 3 achieved higher vocabulary and math achievement scores at 18 years of age and reported fewer risky behaviors than the randomly-assigned control group.

Research results from the Abecedarian Studies have been published in hundreds of book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals, and have been covered by the mainstream press, including Newsweek, Time, and all major network news programs.

Read a more detailed summary of the research findings from the Abecedarian Studies (PDF).

Find out what other organizations and professionals say about the Abecedarian Studies  (PDF).