PAT is an evidence-based program model that has been tested using rigorous research designs including:
- Randomized controlled trials
- Quasi-experimental methods
- Published findings in peer-reviewed journals
Research has proven PAT to have statistically significant impacts
and sustained effects ranging from:
- Increased parent knowledge of early childhood development
- Prevention of child abuse and neglect
- Early detection of developmental delays
- Increased school readiness and school success
A recent study published in the Journal of Primary Prevention confirms that PAT measurably improves school readiness, virtually eliminating the achievement gap normally observed between poor children and their more affluent peers at the point of kindergarten entry, and that gap continued to be narrowed in the third grade.
(See: Zigler, Pfannenstiel, Seitz (2008). The Parents as Teachers program and school success: A replication and extension. Journal of Primary Prevention, 29, 103-120.)