Does Montessori Really Work? What the Latest Research (2025) Says About Montessori Learning

Quick answer: Yes, the best current evidence suggests Montessori education works well, especially in the preschool years. In 2025 the first national randomised controlled trial of public Montessori preschool, published in PNAS, found that children who won a lottery place did better by the end of kindergarten in reading, short-term memory, executive function and social understanding than children who did not, and the programme cost less per child. Earlier smaller studies point the same way. Results depend on how faithfully Montessori is implemented, but its core ideas, hands-on materials, child choice and long periods of focused work, are well supported by developmental science.

What is Montessori education?

Montessori is a 100+-year-old approach created by Italian physician Maria Montessori. Classrooms mix ages (typically 3 to 6), offer carefully designed hands-on materials that teach one concept at a time, and let children choose their work within clear limits. Teachers guide rather than lecture, there are usually no grades, and children are given long, uninterrupted periods to concentrate. Practical life skills, such as pouring, buttoning and cleaning up, sit alongside early math, language and sensory exploration.

What did the 2025 national Montessori study find?

Many earlier Montessori studies compared families who chose Montessori with families who did not, which makes it hard to separate the school from the family. To solve this, researchers from the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania and the American Institutes for Research used existing admissions lotteries at 24 oversubscribed public Montessori schools across the US. Because places were assigned by chance, the two groups of children were comparable at the start, the same logic as a medical trial.

The results, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in October 2025, showed that by the end of kindergarten (ages 5 to 6), children offered a Montessori place had better outcomes in:

• Reading
• Short-term memory
• Executive function (attention, self-control and flexible thinking)
• Theory of mind (understanding what others think and feel)

According to the authors, the effects were large for school research, more than a fifth of a standard deviation. In a Brookings commentary, the lead author explained that a child who would have been at the 50th percentile in reading or short-term memory in a traditional programme would have been around the 71st percentile in a study Montessori school.

Why is this study important?

Two findings stand out. First, the benefits appeared and held at the end of kindergarten, while research on many preschool programmes shows early gains fading. Second, the cost analysis found three years of public Montessori preschool cost about $13,000 less per child, largely because of mixed-age classes with higher child-to-teacher ratios in the younger years. Better outcomes at lower cost is rare in education research.

What did earlier research show?

In 2006, Angeline Lillard and Nicole Else-Quest published a smaller lottery-based study in Science, comparing children at a public Montessori school in Milwaukee with children who had applied but lost the lottery. At age 5, Montessori children did better on early reading and math tests, executive function and social reasoning; at age 12 they wrote more creative essays and showed more positive social skills. The authors concluded that, when strictly implemented, Montessori fosters social and academic skills equal or superior to other schools.

Are there limitations?

Yes, and they are worth knowing:

• Implementation varies. All 24 schools met basic Montessori criteria, but quality differed, and the authors note important limitations in the paper.
• No differences at earlier points. The trial did not find notable effects at the end of PK3 or PK4; the advantage emerged by the end of kindergarten.
• Long-term effects are still being studied. The team plans to follow elementary school test scores.
• School is not the same as toys. These studies evaluated Montessori classrooms, not Montessori-style toys alone.

Why might Montessori work? The science behind it

Montessori's core features line up with well-established findings in child development:

• Hands-on learning: concrete materials (beads, puzzles, sandpaper letters) let children feel concepts before learning symbols. Research links hands-on spatial and fine motor play to later math and reading.
• Choice and intrinsic motivation: children learn for interest rather than rewards, which supports sustained attention.
• Guided play: the American Academy of Pediatrics' Power of Play report highlights playful, child-led learning with adult support as ideal for development.
• Practice of executive function: choosing work, finishing it and putting it away trains planning and self-control every day.
• Phonics-first literacy: Montessori teaches letter sounds early, often through writing, which is consistent with the science of reading.

How to bring Montessori principles home

1. Prepare the space: low shelves with a few toys on display, rotated weekly, instead of a full toy box.
2. Choose purposeful toys: simple, open-ended or self-correcting materials (puzzles, shape sorters, pulling and threading toys).
3. Offer limited choices: "Would you like the puzzle or the felt board?"
4. Protect concentration: avoid interrupting a focused child, even to praise.
5. Include practical life: pouring water, sorting laundry, preparing a snack.
6. Follow the child: notice interests and offer the next challenge.
7. Model, then step back: show slowly, with few words, then let them try.
8. Tidy up together: each activity has a place, which builds order and independence.

Montessori-inspired toys from Mykiddocare

Explore our Montessori Toys collection, including the Montessori Wooden Game Board, the Montessori Silicone Pulling Toy for babies and toddlers, the Wooden Match Stick Memory Chess Game and the Montessori DIY Felt Board.

Frequently asked questions

At what age is Montessori most beneficial?

The strongest evidence covers the 3–6 "Primary" years. A related study suggested that completing the full three-year preschool cycle was associated with the best outcomes.

Do Montessori toys make my child smarter?

No toy can promise that. The research evaluates Montessori classrooms. However, the principles behind Montessori materials (hands-on, focused, child-led play) are supported by broader developmental research and are easy to use at home.

Is Montessori good for every child?

Many children thrive with it, but fit and school quality matter. Visit classrooms, ask about teacher training and observe how children work.

Is Montessori only for wealthy families?

The 2025 study evaluated free public Montessori programmes and found them cheaper per child than traditional public preschool, with benefits across groups.

References

• Lillard, A. S., Loeb, D., Berg, J., Escueta, M., Manship, K., Hauser, A., & Daggett, E. D. (2025). A national randomized controlled trial of the impact of public Montessori preschool at the end of kindergarten. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(43), e2506130122. doi:10.1073/pnas.2506130122
• Lillard, A., & Else-Quest, N. (2006). Evaluating Montessori education. Science, 313(5795), 1893–1894. doi:10.1126/science.1132362
• Lillard, A. S., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2025). Guided play in pre-K yields better outcomes at a lower cost. Brookings Institution. brookings.edu
• Yogman, M., et al. (2018). The Power of Play. Pediatrics, 142(3), e20182058. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-2058

This article is for general information and does not replace advice from education or child-development professionals.