President Joe Biden’s bid to establish universal pre-K schooling in the United States has reinvigorated a chronic debate: Does early childhood education make a significant difference?

According to a new study released Monday, the answer is yes – and that the benefits are universal across race, gender, and income.

Three economists – from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkeley – studied 4,000 preschool applicants to the Boston Public Schools, which uses a lottery-based assignment system. Their study was the first to use a randomized design to assess the long-term impact of a large-scale program.

The researchers compared those who won a seat with those who didn’t – and found the long-term impact “significant.” Attendees were 6 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school, 8.5 percentage points more likely to take the SAT, and 8.3 percentage points more likely to attend college on time. Suspensions and juvenile incarceration declined slightly. Boys benefited more than girls; race and income had no effect.

The Boston program had little impact on K-12 standardized test scores – a regular point of contention around programs like Head Start, the federally funded program for low-income children. But learning, the economists say, springs from the interaction of an array of factors. Test results matter, they agree, but must be measured in conjunction with the many other elements of early schooling, including social and emotional skills. When they are, it points to gains for everyone.