I admit: I’ve spent a lot of time since becoming a parent trying to figure out what cutting-edge research and science have to say about raising successful kids. I also admit that my wife and I have tried to put the fruits of that research to work.

One bit of research that inspired me, however, came from a small but compelling study out of Montreal. Researchers found that boys whose teachers described them as more attentive and prosocial at age 5 or 6 went on to earn significantly more money as adults.

The lead researcher also pointed to quality daycare and targeted support as ways to improve long-term outcomes for children who struggled early.

Anyway, we moved to the nicest neighborhood we could afford, and we ran to our child’s side, and I’ve twisted myself into a metaphorical pretzel sometimes trying to remember to praise effort, not results—heck, I even memorized the definition of “prosocial.”

So I was gratified to find another new study recently that backs up some of what we had already done.

Short version: A new study of nearly 28,000 low-income children in Miami-Dade County found that those who attended public school pre-K at age 4 had better grades and higher reading and math test scores in third grade than children who had attended center-based or family-based childcare, backing up some of what we had already done.

The researchers controlled for the children’s cognitive skills at age 4, along with race, gender, and poverty status. It was an observational study, so it established an association—not absolute proof that public school pre-K caused the difference.

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