Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP) Evaluation

Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP)
Randomized Controlled Trial

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Success Starts at Home

For more than 50 years, the AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP) has supported parents and children simultaneously, built on the idea that parents are their children’s first teachers and that the home is the first classroom. A rigorous evaluation conducted in partnership with Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research provides new evidence that this two-generation approach works.

Through a randomized controlled trial (RCT)—the gold standard of research—researchers evaluated the impact of participation in PCEP on school readiness and parental engagement to address three questions.

How does PCEP participation impact parent outcomes?
What effect does PCEP have on children's developmental growth and school readiness?
Do the benefits continue after the program ends?

The results were clear.

PCEP creates measurable, lasting impact for both parents and children.

Read more about the findings below or jump to the full report.

Key Findings

Significant Gains in Parenting

PCEP truly made a difference in what parents know, feel, and do. Parents who participated in the PCEP showed measurable growth in their parenting skills, with results that are exceptionally strong compared to other early childhood interventions. Findings show that PCEP had a powerful overall impact on parents and led to a noticeable shift in how they supported their children’s growth.

Increased confidence in their role as educators

Increased knowledge of child development

Increased involvement in daily learning activities

Stronger School Readiness for Children

Children who participated in PCEP made impressive strides across every area measured by the end of the program. Children showed significant developmental growth across language, cognitive, and motor skills, demonstrating that the program effectively strengthens foundational school readiness. Compared to the control group, children who participated in PCEP were:

4.4 months

ahead in cognition

3.9 months

ahead in language & literacy

4.6 months

ahead in motor skills

Impact that Lasts Beyond the Program

The gains observed across the study proved durable across both generations, with improvements in child development and parent well-being continuing to expand in the months following the program’s conclusion—highlighting the impact of a true two-generation model.

Instead of leveling off, children showed even more progress in the months following the program. By the follow-up, children who participated in PCEP were:

4.5 months

ahead in language & literacy

6.5 months

ahead in motor skills

The child’s progress occurred within the context of a more stabilized home environment. By the follow-up visit, parents reported significant improvements in their perceived mobility—their belief in their ability to move up in society—as well as their overall life satisfaction and financial security.

Increased overall life satisfaction

Increased perceived mobility

Increased financial security

Ready to make a lasting impact? Explore how PCEP helps parents and children succeed together and how to bring PCEP to your community.

Learn more!