James Heckman: Early Intervention Can Make Up for Disadvantages at Home

Nobel-prize winning economist James Heckman has been popping up all over the news this week, first in a Boston Globe article downplaying the significance of IQ, and again yesterday in an interview with NPR. "It's this inequality in early conditions which perpetuates inequality into the next generation and the generation after that," said Heckman on NPR's "Tell Me More."

Heckman believes America is gradually fragmenting into "two societies," one affluent and one impoverished, and the gap in access to high-quality early learning is hastening that development. But early intervention can make the difference. He was quoted in the Boston Globe saying that successful preschool programs give students a boost in non-cognitive skills, like "self-control and grit," that will ultimately lead to success later in life.