{"id":15177,"date":"2025-11-01T18:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T23:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/?p=15177"},"modified":"2025-12-28T19:06:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T01:06:04","slug":"children-in-public-montessori-preschools-showed-significantly-stronger-gains-in-reading-memory-self-regulation-and-social-understanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/children-in-public-montessori-preschools-showed-significantly-stronger-gains-in-reading-memory-self-regulation-and-social-understanding\/","title":{"rendered":"Children in Public Montessori Preschools Showed Significantly Stronger Gains in Reading, Memory, Self-regulation, and Social Understanding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">A recent national study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences followed <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">588 children across 24 public Montessori programs <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">nationwide and found that those who attended Montessori showed <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">stronger growth in reading, memory, self-regulation, and social understanding<\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"> by the end of kindergarten.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Unlike many preschool programs where early gains fade by kindergarten, Montessori students <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">continued to progress,<\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"> showing measurable advantages in areas that matter most for lifelong learning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">By the end of kindergarten, children randomly selected to attend public Montessori preschools demonstrated:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Significantly higher reading abilities<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Enhanced executive function (self-control and attention)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Improved short-term memory<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Greater social understanding and empathy<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">\u201cThese findings affirm what Maria Montessori believed over a century ago\u2014that when we trust children to learn with purpose and curiosity, they thrive,\u201d said Angeline Lillard, Commonwealth Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia and lead author of the study.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Reading gains were especially strong. Children in Montessori classrooms developed early literacy through the hands-on, phonetic approach we know so well\u2014sandpaper letters, the Moveable Alphabet, and sound-based word work\u2014methods that align closely with current science of reading research.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Children also scored higher in measures of executive function and short-term memory\u2014skills that support focus, planning, and following multi-step directions. The freedom and structure of the Montessori day\u2014choosing work, completing cycles, and caring for materials\u2014naturally cultivate independence and self-discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">The study also noted that public Montessori programs were more cost-effective for school districts than traditional preschool models, primarily due to higher child-to-teacher ratios that maintained quality while reducing costs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">For families, this research confirms what we see every day at Raintree: when children are trusted to explore, make choices, and learn at their own pace, they develop not only academic skills but also confidence, focus, and kindness\u2014the true hallmarks of a Montessori education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Read the full study: <\/span><a class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" draggable=\"false\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/41115200\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/41115200\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent national study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences followed 588 children across 24 public Montessori programs nationwide and found that those who attended Montessori showed stronger growth in reading, memory, self-regulation, and social understanding by the end of kindergarten. Unlike many preschool programs where early gains fade by kindergarten, Montessori students continued to progress, showing measurable advantages in areas that matter most for lifelong learning. By the end of kindergarten, children randomly selected to attend public Montessori preschools demonstrated:  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,65],"tags":[70,99,87,43,72,58],"class_list":["post-15177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-early-childhood","category-montessori","tag-brain-development","tag-development","tag-language","tag-montessori","tag-self-regulation","tag-soft-skills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15179,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15177\/revisions\/15179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}