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_1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12081819?dopt=AbstractPlus This article, published in the journal Pediatrics in 2002, is a study that looks at the effects of early childhood education on children's cognitive development and school readiness. The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 1,539 low-income preschoolers in Chicago, Illinois to assess the impact of early childhood education on their academic performance and social skills when they entered kindergarten. The results of the study showed that those who received early childhood education had significantly higher scores on standardized tests measuring cognitive development and school readiness than those who did not receive such instruction. The authors concluded that providing high-quality early childhood education can have a positive effect on children's academic achievement and social skills when they enter school.