SEATTLE (AP) — A new study shows low-income kids from Washington state who go to a state-supported preschool are likely to do better academically than their peers at least through fifth grade.

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Researchers found Washington state's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program has a positive impact on third-, fourth- and fifth-grade test scores, which were given five or six years after the students were in preschool.

Kids who attended state funded preschool had a 7 percent higher passing rate on the fifth-grade reading test and a 6 percent higher passing rate on the fifth-grade math test, when compared to children who were eligible for the preschool program but did not attend.

Department of Early Learning Director Bette Hyde says these results are significant because they show the academic value of preschool continues for years after kids enter elementary school.

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