It’s a time-tested truth: Getting a head start improves outcomes. In sprint races, it’s not always the fastest runner that wins, but the one with the best start. And marathoners know that how they run their first few miles often determines how they finish. And before runners even enter a race—whether a sprint or a marathon—they have prepared with months or years of training. The same is true in education. In one study, an MIT economist found that attending preschool increased college attendance by 18%. That’s an almost 20-year head start.
