This review summarizes evidence on the effects of center-based early childhood education (ECE) as an intervention to address gaps in early learning and development and to assure that low-income and minority children have the intellectual, socioemotional, and interactional abilities needed to effectively engage with kindergarten through twelfth-grade education and to pursue a healthy life. For the purposes of this review, ECE is defined as a center-based program designed to improve the cognitive and social development of three- and four-year-old children prior to kindergarten. ECE programs typically address the following learning objectives: language, literacy, numeracy, and cognitive (including executive functions), socioemotional, and physical development. (author abstract)