“In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children — like Georgia or Oklahoma — studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own.”
— President Obama, State of the Union address, Feb. 12, 2013
Well, not exactly, writes Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post’s official fact checker. There have been studies showing positive long-term effects for children who attend a high-quality preschool, but there is only the barest evidence that statewide preschool programs have the same effect.
Read Kessler’s complete breakdown of what was fact and what was a “rhetorical leap of faith” in the president’s State of the Union address.