title: Do preschool special education services make a difference in kindergarten reading and mathematics skills?: A propensity score weighting analysis.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the average treatment effect of preschool special education services on children's kindergarten academic skills. Using data from a nationally representative sample of United States children who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, we examined the effectiveness of preschool special education services by comparing reading and math outcomes for children who received special education services at preschool-age to a propensity-score-weighted sample of children who did not receive these services. Results indicated that the receipt of these special education services had a statistically significant moderate negative effect on children's kindergarten skills in both reading (d=-0.21) and mathematics (d=-0.29). These findings have implications for the implementation and evaluation of services for young children experiencing developmental delays or disabilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. asulliva@umn.edu
authors.forename: Amanda L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Field
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D004519:Education, Special; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D057216:Propensity Score; D011932:Reading; D012574:Schools; D014481:United States