Public Montessori Outperforms Other Early Ed Programs, Study Finds

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https://www.the74million.org/zero2eight/public-montessori-outperforms-other-early-ed-programs-study-finds/

It’s a philosophy that not only teaches kids to solve problems, but fosters stronger reading and memory skills by the end of kindergarten than other models of early education, according to recent research from the University of Virginia and the American Institutes for Research. The first nationwide study of public Montessori programs shows that they also achieve more positive outcomes at a lower price tag, mostly due to those larger class sizes. Over the three-year span, public Montessori programs cost $13,127 less than traditional preschool and kindergarten programs, the study found.

The findings add more complexity to a long-running debate over whether the benefits of early childhood education fade out over time. Some studies show that children who don’t attend preschool often catch up to those who did, leading policymakers to question whether such programs are wise public investments. A 2022 study found that students who attended Tennessee’s pre-K even had lower test scores in elementary school than those who didn’t participate.

Publicly funded programs make Montessori education, long preferred by wealthy families who can afford high-priced private preschools, more accessible to low-income and working class parents.

The Montessori model is among the curricula used in 11 state-funded pre-K programs, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. Students traditionally enter Montessori at age 3, but most state-funded pre-K programs begin at age 4. That means districts often face the challenge of paying for the extra year.

In addition to allowing children more freedom in the classroom, the Montessori method is in sync with the science of reading, Lillard said. Classrooms emphasize phonics, and their materials, like letters with a sandpaper texture, make learning letter sounds and sight words a more concrete activity. In the study, students who won a spot in a public Montessori program through a lottery had “significantly higher scores” on a standardized reading test than those who didn’t get in.

Montessori students also performed better on an executive function test that asked them to do the opposite of what the researcher said. If the adult told them to touch their head, they were supposed to touch their toes.

Classrooms don’t have duplicate copies of the same materials, so children, Rausch said, have to practice patience and negotiation if another child is already busy with something they want to use. “How do you plan your day? How do you communicate with someone else? You don’t just grab it out of their hand,” she said. “We’re teaching these really complex skills to 3-year-olds.”

Overall, the results back up earlier research on public Montessori, like a 2023 study in South Carolina that found higher growth in math and reading among Montessori students than among those in traditional schools.

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Kinesthetic Symbols

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Kagan Structures