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The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in New Mexico was examined using propensity score matching to minimize selection bias. The research revealed a number of long-term impacts corresponding with prekindergarten participation for the cohort including a 9.7 percentage point increase in high school graduation rates and improved reading and math proficiency at third, sixth, and eighth grades. Considerations for future research and challenges in implementing prekindergarten programs are discussed.

If a moving stimulus (i.e., launcher) contacts a stationary target that subsequently begins to move, observers attribute motion of the target to the launcher (Michotte, 1946/1963). In experiments reported here, a stationary launcher adjacent to the target appeared or vanished and displacement in memory for the position of the target was measured. Forward displacement of moving targets was less (a) when launchers appeared than when launchers vanished, and (b) when targets moved in the direction of implied impetus than when targets moved in a direction orthogonal to implied impetus. Whether launchers appeared or vanished did not influence displacement of targets that remained stationary. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that forward displacement of the target decreased when observers attributed target motion to an impetus resulting from gamma movement of the launcher that was imparted to the target. More generally, the data were consistent with an impetus-based explanation of Michotte's launching effect (e.g., Hubbard & Ruppel, 2002), and suggest the apparent perception of causality is cognitively mediated rather than direct. (Contains 4 figures and 2 footnotes.)

Placement instability is often associated with a number of negative outcomes for children. To gain state level contextual knowledge of factors associated with placement stability/instability, logistic regression was applied to selected variables from the New Mexico Adoption and Foster Care Administrative Reporting System dataset. Predictors identified in the model are consistent with previous research, reliable across time periods, and informative to the understanding of potential risk/protective factors of placement stability/instability specific to the New Mexico child welfare agency. (Contains 2 footnotes and 3 tables.)

Research has shown that spatial memory for moving targets is often biased in the direction of implied momentum and implied gravity, suggesting that representations of the subjective experiences of these physical principles contribute to such biases. The present study examined the association between these spatial memory biases. Observers viewed targets that moved horizontally from left to right before disappearing or viewed briefly shown stationary targets. After a target disappeared, observers indicated the vanishing position of the target. Principal components analysis revealed that biases along the horizontal axis of motion loaded on separate components from biases along the vertical axis orthogonal to motion. The findings support the hypothesis that implied momentum and implied gravity biases have unique influences on spatial memory. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures ,and 3 footnotes.)