Dosage Effects in the Child-Parent Center PreK-to-3rd Grade Program: A Re-Analysis in the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Educational growth trajectories in adulthood: Findings from an inner-city cohort

Educational attainment is typically examined as a static status. As adult learners have become the new trend in higher education, the changes in educational attainment in adulthood warrant more attention. Using data from the Chicago Longitudinal study (CLS), an ongoing panel investigation of 1,539 children, predictors of educational growth trajectories in adulthood were investigated. Of the study sample (N = 1,418), 51.8% were women, 93.2% were Black, 6.8% were Hispanic, 83.4% were eligible for free lunch between birth and age 3. The average age of the study sample in June 2015 was 35.1, ranging from 34.4 to 36.6. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze the changes in educational attainment between ages 24 and 35. Findings indicate that mothers not completing high school by child's age 3 and days of absence at school were significantly associated with lower educational attainment at age 24. Classroom adjustment, student college expectations, 8th grade reading scores, and on-time high school graduation were significantly associated with higher educational attainment at age 24. Classroom adjustment, 8th grade reading score, and on-time high school graduation were significantly associated with a positive growth of education between ages 24 and 35. Findings suggest that improving academic achievement and socioemotional learning skills in elementary and middle school and promoting on-time high school graduation are likely to increase one's chances to continue pursuing higher education in adulthood for Black low-income children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Persistence and Fade-Out of Educational-Intervention Effects: Mechanisms and Potential Solutions

Some environmental influences, including intentional interventions, have shown persistent effects on psychological characteristics and other socially important outcomes years and even decades later. At the same time, it is common to find that the effects of life events or interventions diminish and even disappear completely, a phenomenon known as fadeout. We review the evidence for persistence and fadeout, drawing primarily on evidence from educational interventions. We conclude that 1) fadeout is widespread, and often co-exists with persistence; 2) fadeout is a substantive phenomenon, not merely a measurement artefact; and 3) persistence depends on the types of skills targeted, the institutional constraints and opportunities within the social context, and complementarities between interventions and subsequent environmental affordances. We discuss the implications of these conclusions for research and policy.