Children who experience high-quality child care environments as toddlers and preschoolers later perform better on tests of math, language and literacy skills–but only if they also go on to attend high-quality elementary schools, finds a study in Developmental Psychology. Researchers analyzed data from more than 1,300 participants in the national Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. As part of the study, trained observers rated the quality of the children’s child care at 6, 15, 24, 36 and 54 months old, and they also rated the children’s classroom quality in the first, third and fifth grades. The researchers found that the math, language and literacy benefits of high-quality early c child care lasted through age 15 only for children who also experienced high-quality classroom environments during elementary school. Students who attended lower-quality classrooms in elementary school saw those benefits disappear. (Monitor on Psychology)

Susie Bean Gives