While public investment in preschool has been an increasingly popular social policy and there are numerous studies documenting its positive impacts, it is not without controversy. Most critics questioned whether it is worth the investment, as some studies suggested the impacts could be minimal or fade quickly. Others challenged the validity of the studies, as many existing findings were based on small samples or subject to selection bias. To build on the success of GSRP and help address these concerns, this evaluation study aims to answer these questions:
- Is GSRP equitably accessible to 4-year-old eligible children across geographic, racial/ethnic and income subgroups?
- What is the impact of GSRP on 4-year-olds’ academic growth? What are the economic returns to ISDs and comparative cost-effectiveness?
- How do different GSRP quality and implementation strategies relate to preschool outcomes?
- What do GSRP’s program evaluations reveal about how the initiative has evolved over time?
*Some resources are pending publication and are not available online.
Accessibility
- Using The Child Opportunity Index to Examine Equity in Access to A State-Funded Preschool Program
January 2025 | Journal article in Early Childhood Research Quarterly Special Issue: Equitable Access to Early Care and Education in the United States
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope Akaeze, Robert W. Ressler and Steven R. Miller - Do Michigan Families Have Equitable Access to Publicly Funded PreK?
January 2025 | Research brief
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope Akaeze, and Holli Schlukebir - Middle-Income Families Used Public Pre-K Targeting Low-Income Families: Lessons from a COVID Policy Change
January 2025 | White Paper
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope O. Akaeze, Bethany Wilinski and Alyssa Morley - Who Attends Public Pre-Kindergarten? A Model-Based Approach to Understanding Similarities and Differences Among Michigan Public Pre-K Students
January 2025 | White Paper
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu and Hope Akaeze - Geographically Weighted Regression: A Spatial Lens for Assessing Equity in Educational Resources*
Under review | Journal article
Author(s): Hope Akaeze, Steven R. Miller and Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu - Fostering Equitable Early Education in Michigan
May 2022 | Media engagement from diversitydatakids.org
Author(s): Leah Shafer
Impact
- Effects of a state pre-kindergarten program on the kindergarten readiness and attendance of at-risk four-year-olds
September 2024 | Journal article in Early Childhood Education Journal
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope O. Akaeze, and Laurie A. Van Egeren - Consider all the evidence on pre-k programs for low-income children: Why randomized controlled trial results must not dictate public policy
April 2024 | Research brief
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope O. Akaeze, and Holli Schlukebir - Consider all the evidence on pre-k programs for low-income children: Why randomized controlled trial results must not dictate public policy
March 2024 | Journal article in Planning and Changing, Volume 51 Issue 3/4
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu and Hope O. Akaeze - The financial impact of the Great Start Readiness Program on participating Michigan families
August 2023 | Research brief - GSRP child outcomes: Findings from Michigan's state-funded preschools
March 2023 | Research brief - Michigan public preschools improve kindergarten readiness: Findings from the Michigan Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP)
August 2021 | Research brief
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope O. Akaeze and Alison Shereda
Quality and Implementation
- Utilization-focused evaluation in state-funded preschool decision-making: Community-engaged design, process and implementation
June 2025 | Journal article
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope Akaeze, Teresa Herbowicz, and Laurie A. Van Egeren - From “Survival Mode” to “#winning”: Michigan Pre-K Teachers’ Experiences During the First Year of COVID-19
March 2025 | Journal article in Early Childhood Education Journal
Author(s): Bethany Wilinski, Alyssa Morley, and Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu - Great Start Readiness Program's quality exceeds the nation’s top publicly funded PreK program
August 2024 | Research brief
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Holli Schlukebir, and Teresa Herbowicz - Compensation for Michigan preschool teachers lags behind K-12 teachers despite comparable credentials
June 2024 | Research brief
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Holli Schlukebir, Teresa Herbowicz, and Gretchen Sheneman - A comparison of salary between GSRP lead teachers and K-12 teachers, by ISD, 2021-22
May 2024 | Data analysis - An overview of benefits offered to GSRP lead teachers, by ISD, 2021-22
May 2024 | Data analysis - Tracking child development in preschool settings: The case of COR Advantage
In print, 2024 | Journal article in Dimensions of Early Childhood
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Hope Akaeze, and Laurie A. Van Egeren - ‘Where are the teachers who look like us?’ The racial/ethnic disparity between GSRP teachers and children
March 2024 | Research brief
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Teresa Herbowicz, and Holli Schlukebir - Reconceptualizing family engagement as an improvisational practice: Lessons from pre-k teachers ’ practices during COVID-19
April 2023 | Journal article in Early Childhood Education Journal
Author(s): Bethany Wilinski, Alyssa Morley and Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu - Validation of the Child Observation Record Advantage 1.5 assessment tool for preschool children: A multilevel bifactor modeling approach
February 2023 | Journal article in Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Volume 41 Edition 5
Author(s): Hope O. Akaeze, Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Frank R. Lawrence and Everett P. Weber - Uncovering new opportunities for family engagement during COVID-19
March 2022 | Journal article in Phi Delta Kappan, Volume 103 Edition 7
Author(s): Bethany Wilinski, Alyssa Morley and Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu - Resolving dimensionality in a child assessment tool: An application of the multilevel bifactor model
March 2022 | Journal article in Educational and Psychological Measurement, Volume 83 Edition 1
Author(s): Hope O. Akaeze, Frank R. Lawrence, and Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu
Program Evaluations
- Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2023-24 Annual Report
April 2025 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Teresa Herbowicz, Hope O. Akaeze, and Ellen K. Searle - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2022-23 Annual Report
March 2024 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Teresa Herbowicz, and Hope O. Akaeze - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2021-22 Annual Report
May 2023 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Teresa Herbowicz, Steven R. Miller, Laurie A. Van Egeren, and Hope O. Akaeze - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2020-21 Annual Report
March 2022 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Everett Weber, Teresa Herbowicz, Laurie A. Van Egeren, and Hope O. Akaeze - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2019-20 Annual Report
February 2021 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, Everett Weber, Laurie A. Van Egeren, and Hope O. Akaeze - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2018-19 Annual Report
April 2020 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie H. Wu, Everett Weber, Laurie A. Van Egeren, and Hope O. Akaeze - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2017-18 Annual Report Part One: Accessibility and Program Quality
June 2019 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, KyungSook Lee, and Laurie A. Van Egeren - Great Start Readiness Program State Evaluation 2017-18 Annual Report Part Two: Child Eligibility Report
June 2019 | Annual report
Author(s): Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu, KyungSook Lee, and Laurie A. Van Egeren