Must-Read: Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine: Early Childhood Education by MOOC: Lessons from Sesame Street

Must-Read: Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine: Early Childhood Education by MOOC: Lessons from Sesame Street: “Sesame Street… was introduced in 1969 as an educational, early childhood program…

…with the explicit goal of preparing preschool age children for school entry…. We investigate whether the first cohorts of preschool children exposed to Sesame Street experienced improved outcomes… [via] an instrumental variables strategy exploiting limitations in television technology generated by distance to a broadcast tower and UHF versus VHF transmission to distinguish counties by Sesame Street reception quality…. Sesame Street accomplished its goal of improving school readiness; preschool-aged children in areas with better reception when it was introduced were more likely to advance through school as appropriate for their age. This effect is particularly pronounced for boys and non-Hispanic, black children, as well as children living in economically disadvantaged areas…