The present study used a genetically-sensitive quantile regression approach to examine the relation between participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and subsequent school performance in literacy and numeracy at grades 3, 5, 7, and 9. The sample consisted of 1255 twin pairs (596 MZ; 659 DZ) with information on both ECEC and the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) scores from the Twin Study of NAPLAN. Results indicated variation in heritability estimates across the distributions of achievement, suggesting that different patterns of etiological influences may exist among children of different ability levels. Additionally, the results provided no evidence that ECEC significantly influenced achievement, and in the genetically-sensitive analyses, no evidence that ECEC moderated the influences of heritability of achievement for typically advantaged children. These results suggest that ECEC may not provide the levels of environmental support for later achievement that advocates claim, although we acknowledge that ECEC quality, which was not measured in the current study, may make a difference in whether or not ECEC influences achievement.

本研究使用遗传敏感的分位数回归方法来检查参与早期儿童教育和护理 (ECEC) 与随后在 3、5、7 和 9 年级的识字和计算能力的学校表现之间的关系。样本包括 1255双胞胎 (596 MZ; 659 DZ)，其中包含来自 NAPLAN 双胞胎研究的 ECEC 和国家评估计划 - 识字和算术 (NAPLAN) 分数的信息。结果表明，不同成就分布的遗传力估计存在差异，这表明不同能力水平的儿童可能存在不同的病因影响模式。此外，结果没有提供证据表明 ECEC 显着影响成就，并且在遗传敏感性分析中，没有证据表明 ECEC 可以缓和通常优势儿童的成就遗传力的影响。这些结果表明，ECEC 可能无法为倡导者声称的后期成就提供环境支持水平，尽管我们承认当前研究中未测量的 ECEC 质量可能会影响 ECEC 是否影响成就。