Does starting school earlier foreshadow a student’s future success? A new study from the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research, led by Prof. Ayal Kimhi, Prof. Dan Ben-David, and Ariela Savin, using data from the PISA exams, reveals a strong link between the age at which children start preschool and their later academic achievements.
The research revealed that students who began attending preschool before age five consistently achieved higher scores. This effect was particularly pronounced among Israeli students, with the largest achievement gaps found in the state-religious school system.
The study, which compared Israel to a reference group of five top-performing nations – Canada, Estonia, Finland, Japan, and Taiwan – shows that starting preschool early benefits students in both Israel and these leading countries. However, the contribution of early preschool entry to student achievement is significantly greater in Israel.
For instance, after controlling for various factors, the achievement gap between students who started preschool before age five and those who started at or after age five was 6.4% in the state-religious system, compared to 2.7% in the state system, and just 1.6% in the leading countries.
The researchers suggest that these differences might stem from Israel’s larger socioeconomic and cultural-linguistic gaps compared to the leading nations. In such cases, preschool may serve to compensate for educational and social disadvantages by providing early exposure to language and culture, thereby helping children navigate these challenges.
The study also examined the role of mothers’ education in relation to preschool entry age. In the leading countries, the achievement gaps related to early preschool entry were more significant for students whose mothers held an academic degree. However, in Israel, no statistically significant link was found between the achievement gaps and a mother’s education level. This finding contrasts with common research, which suggests that preschool is often more beneficial for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The data show that Israeli students who started preschool before age five achieved higher PISA scores regardless of their background. This supports the importance of reforms that make early childhood education accessible to all segments of the population.
Context and methodology
The research is based on PISA exam data from 2015, 2018, and 2022 and included responses from students in state, state-religious, and Arab schools. The study defined early entry as attending preschool before the age of five, which was Israel’s compulsory education starting age until reforms in 2012 extended mandatory schooling to ages three and four.
The findings reinforce the widely held belief among policymakers that early childhood education is a crucial tool for promoting economic growth, improving social mobility, and reducing inequality.