Sesame Street has Long-Term Positive Outcomes for Viewers in Education and Workforce, Study Says

Are your children fans of Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and other Sesame Street characters? Good news! A new report says that Sesame Street is doing more than just entertaining little ones.

The study, published in the January 2019 edition of the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, says that Sesame Street actually helps improve school performance for children who have been exposed to it before age 7. The study goes on to say that the show has long-term positive outcomes for viewers in both education and the workforce.

The two researchers, Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine, titled the study "Early Childhood Education by Television: Lessons from Sesame Street" and looked at data from the 1980, 1990 and 2000 census in which they compared educational and employment outcomes of viewers who had access to viewing the series with those who did not.

According to the study, “Sesame Street‘s introduction generated a positive impact on educational outcomes through the early school years,” and that individuals with higher exposure to Sesame Street were “14 percent more likely to be attending the grade that is appropriate for their age in middle and high school years.”

Positive effects were seen across all three race/ethnic groups, with larger points for blacks and Hispanics than for non-Hispanics.

The long-term effects were also noted in the study showing that those exposed to Sesame Street “are more likely to be employed and have somewhat higher wages as adults. The magnitude of the estimated wage effects are consistent with forecasts based on the estimated improvements in test scores and grade-for-age status brought about by the show’s introduction.”

Sesame Street is celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2019, premiering on television in November 1969.

Watch Sesame Street daily on WUCF and WUCF 24-hour PBS Kids channel. View the schedule here: https://www.wucf.org/learn/pbs-kids/kids-schedule/.