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Oklahoma is one of three states to offer a free prekindergarten (pre-K) program to all students in participating school districts on a voluntary basis. Fortuitous circumstances in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the state's largest school district, permitted an unusually rigorous evaluation of the pre-K program in Tulsa. Because 4-year-olds beginning pre-K and 5-year-olds beginning kindergarten were administered the same test in September 2001 and because strict eligibility cutoffs were applied (based on date of birth), it was possible to control for selection effects, in addition to gender, race/ethnicity, school lunch eligibility, and precise date of birth. The evaluation showed strong positive effects of the pre-K program on children's language and cognitive test scores, but not on scores for social-emotional or motor skills. Hispanic children benefited most from the program, and Black children also showed sharp gains, especially when they attended full-day programs. In contrast, only those white children enrolled in a half-day pre-K program showed significant gains and only in language skills. A similar pattern of results characterized children who qualified for free lunch, for whom significant benefits derived from full- and part-day programs; children who qualified for a reduced price lunch, for whom only full-day programs produced gains; and children who did not qualify for lunch benefits, where no net gain was apparent. The findings were examined in light of contemporary controversies regarding targeted or universal pre-K programs; full- or part-day programming; public school or multiple delivery sites; strategies for ensuring high quality, effective programs; and the need for rigorous program evaluations. (Contains 32 footnotes). (Author/KB)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert