Abecedarian Project Design

Abecedarian Design

The Carolina Abecedarian Project was designed as a randomized, controlled trial. The project began recruiting subjects in the summer of 1972, gathering a pool of 111 children and their families. The pool was divided into an experimental group of 57 children and a control group of 54 children. Both groups received nutritional supplements during the first years of life, and social service referrals when needed throughout the first eight years of life.

Experimental Group

Control Group

57 infants and their families were randomly assigned to the Experimental Group to receive a carefully monitored educational intervention for the first five years of life.
These children received a year-round, all-day educational childcare/preschool program emphasizing the development of cognitive, language, and adaptive behavior skills.

The educational content of the program was set out in detail in Learning Games for the First Three Years and Learning Games for Threes and Fours which guided the interactions between staff and children -- the heart of the intervention.

The remaining 54 were assigned to a Control Group which received nutritional supplements in infancy and supportive social services. The Control Group, however, received no educational intervention.

Design of Abecedarian Project groups from age 3 months (1972) to age 15 years (1987)
Distribution of children from the initial entry group into experimental and control groups and subsequent school-age grouping to test the effectiveness of the preschool intervention

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