> One possibility is that, contrary to conventional wisdom, some children may be better off academically if—instead of attending public pre-k—they stay at home

> One possibility is that, contrary to conventional wisdom, some children may be better off academically if—instead of attending public pre-k—they stay at home at age four (which is where two-thirds of the sample children who did not enroll in VPK ended up). I wonder if time at home equates to time with parents, and perhaps more direct social engagement with them? > Another possible explanation is suggested by the fact that the VPK group had a higher rate of special education placements than the control group from kindergarten through third grade. This higher rate appears, in part, to be a result of children in the VPK group receiving special education designations during their pre-k year that carried over into elementary school. It is thus possible that VPK results in the identification of some pre-K children for special education who are just developing more slowly but who would otherwise catch up by kindergarten. Such identification may then lead to lower educational expectations and levels of instruction for these children. In addition to the above explanations, there may be others that could plausibly account for the study’s findings. Amazing how these special designations tend to backfire on our best intentions... How do we effectively target resources at the people who need them most, without affecting either the way others think of those recipients or the way they think about themselves?