Cambridge IELTS 5 · Academic · Test 3 · Passage 1
Early Childhood Education — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for Early Childhood Education, Cambridge IELTS 5 Academic Reading Test 3 Passage 1, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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Early Childhood Education answer key at a glance
Questions 1–13. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Information (Q1–4), Matching Features (Q5–10), True / False / Not Given (Q11–13). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 1–4: Matching Information
Strategy: Scan for the idea, not the exact words. The answer is a paragraph letter, and one paragraph may be used more than once unless the instructions say otherwise.
details of the range of family types involved in an education programme
“The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations.”
Paragraph D describes the 380 families representing 'a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations', including single-parent and two-parent households.
reasons why a child's early years are so important
“Researchers claim that the human personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school”
Paragraph B states that personality forms in the first two years and basic learning skills in the first three, explaining why early years matter.
reasons why an education programme failed
“Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. It is thought that there are two explanations for this. First, the programme began too late. Many children who entered it at the age of three were already behind their peers in language and measurable intelligence. Second, the parents were not involved”
Paragraph C gives two reasons the programme failed: it 'began too late' and 'the parents were not involved'.
a description of the positive outcomes of an education programme
“The results were phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem solving and other intellectual skills, and were further along in social development.”
Paragraph E reports the 'phenomenal' results: children were significantly more advanced in language, problem solving and social development than their peers.
Questions 5–10: Matching Features
Strategy: Match the statement to the named person or thing. Names can repeat, so check each option against what that person actually says.
Options for Questions 5–10
- Athe 'Headstart' programme
- Bthe 'Missouri' programme
- Cboth the 'Headstart' and the 'Missouri' programmes
- Dneither the 'Headstart' nor the 'Missouri' programme
was administered to a variety of poor and wealthy families
“The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations”
The Missouri pilot included families 'representing a cross-section of socio-economic status', so it covered both poor and wealthy households.
continued with follow-up assistance in elementary schools
“It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the 'Missouri' programme were evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of...”
Neither programme provided follow-up help in elementary schools; the passage only mentions pre-school entry at age three and later evaluation.
did not succeed in its aim
“Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing”
Headstart's results were 'disappointing' despite 'substantial funding', so it did not succeed in helping poorer children succeed at school.
supplied many forms of support and training to parents
“The programme involved trained parent-educators visiting the parents' home and working with the parent, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the child's intellectual, language,”
The Missouri programme sent 'trained parent-educators' into homes, providing information on child development and guidance on fostering intellectual, language and motor skills.
received insufficient funding
“A lot of money was poured into it. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school. Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing”
The claim that it received insufficient funding is wrong: 'a lot of money was poured into it' and there was 'substantial funding'.
was designed to improve pre-schoolers' educational development
“It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school plus guidance in fostering the child's intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development”
Both programmes aimed to improve pre-schoolers' development: Headstart took children into pre-school institutions, while Missouri guided parents in fostering intellectual and language skills.
Questions 11–13: True / False / Not Given
Strategy: Judge the whole statement against the text. FALSE contradicts the passage; NOT GIVEN means the passage never addresses that specific claim.
Most 'Missouri' programme three-year-olds scored highly in areas such as listening, speaking, reasoning and interacting with others.
“By the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem solving and other intellectual skills, and were further along in social development.”
The average Missouri child scored at 'the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers' in auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language, so most did well.
'Missouri' programme children of young, uneducated, single parents scored less highly on the tests.
“Most important of all, the traditional measures of 'risk', such as parents' age and education, or whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement and language development”
Parents' age, education and single-parent status 'bore little or no relationship' to achievement, contradicting the claim that such children scored less highly.
The richer families in the 'Missouri' programme had higher stress levels.
“The one factor that was found to affect the child's development was family stress leading to a poor quality of parent-child interaction”
The passage says family stress affected development but never compares stress levels between richer and poorer Missouri families.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Early Childhood Education passage come from?
It is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 5 Academic Reading Test 3, and it covers Questions 1–13.
What question types appear in Early Childhood Education?
The passage is tested with Matching Information, Matching Features, True / False / Not Given. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.