Pre-K Picks

Dear Supporter,

I've combed through a number of early education resources in the past month, all to bring you the best of the bunch in this edition of the Pre-K Picks. These picks run the gamut from polling to teacher education to the relationship between young children's education and health.

In late October the National Task Force on Early Childhood Accountability, created by The Pew Charitable Trusts with additional funding by the Foundation for Child Development and the Joyce Foundation, will release its report examining assessment models from different states. Look for a summary of those findings in our next edition. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the recording of Pre-K Now's September conference call, Building Pre-K Accountability, to hear members of the Task Force preview their report.

Thank you,
Albert Wat
State Policy Analyst
Pre-K Now
E-mail me a pick recommendation

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The Prime Pick Poll indicates presidential candidates' pre-k views are important to voters A national poll (PDF) of registered voters conducted in September found that 82 percent of those surveyed believe it is very (50%) or somewhat (32%) important for a presidential candidate to "favor expanding and improving" voluntary pre-k and Head Start programs so that "all children arrive at school ready to learn." In voters' minds, pre-k measured up with hot-button issues like whether a presidential candidate "has a plan for universal health care coverage" (80% say it's important) or "supports a set deadline to withdraw troops from Iraq" (72% say it's important). The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.

Pick Positions New database of evaluated early childhood programs New blog on child care and early education policy Link between health insurance and school readiness Is teacher education related to effectiveness of pre-k? Low-income children and pre-k enrollment Can pre-k reduce poverty? Treating young children with ADHD symptoms Web-based planning resources for pre-k

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1. New database of evaluated early childhood programs

Child Trends has a new online database called LINKS (Lifecourse Interventions to Nurture Kids Successfully) that features over 200 evaluated programs that enhance children's development. One of the categories is "Child Care/Early Childhood Education."

2. New blog on child care and early education policy

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) recently launched a new website section that puts news, briefs, research, and data on pre-k, child care, and Head Start in an easy-to-use weblog format.

3. Link between health insurance and school readiness

While this brief (PDF) from the Campaign for Children's Health Care is not new, it is timely given the current debate surrounding the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The brief cites studies in California and Missouri that show how having health insurance improves school attendance. While the focus is on K-12 students, it is easy to apply the logic to pre-k children. The brief also discusses how having access to health professionals can help parents with their children's behavioral issues and contribute to children's social and emotional development. Finally, health coverage can also lead to early detection of developmental problems, allowing early childhood professionals to intervene earlier.

4. Is teacher education related to effectiveness of pre-k?

Commentary by the Foundation for Child Development examines why some recent studies have found little or no relationship between teacher education and outcomes on children in pre-k. The authors raise the following points:

• Since there is so much variability in the rigor of teacher education programs and certification requirements, the lack of a relationship may be due to the inadequate preparation that pre-k teachers received.

• Teachers' performance is also influenced by the resources and management of the programs.

• Studies reviewed by the authors tend not to examine non-academic outcomes.

• The studies may not have given children enough time for effects to appear. For example, the time between assessments in one study ranged from three to eight months.

• Can we expect teachers with less than a bachelor's degree to put new research in early education into practice?

To the last point, a report (PDF) by the U.K.-based Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) describes seven ingredients to effective teaching practices in the early years and emphasizes the need for a highly sophisticated staff: "More highly-qualified staff perform more and better interventions. In the presence of trained teachers, less qualified staff also become more active and effective."

5. Low-income children and pre-k enrollment

The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) just updated their online database with the latest Census data on poor and low-income children. It shows that 43 percent of three- and four-year-old children live in low-income families, defined as 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or an income of $41,300 for a family of four. Considering that the combined enrollment rate of state pre-k and Head Start stands at 30 percent for four year olds and 10 percent for three year olds, states have a long way to go just to fully fund targeted pre-k programs. For instance, 53 percent of Arizona children age three through five are low-income, and only 18 percent of the state's four year olds are in pre-k or Head Start.

The NCCP website also includes a report (PDF) on the 10-year (1996-2006) national and state trend data on low-income children.

6. Can pre-k reduce poverty?

An article (PDF) in the latest issue of Future of Children argues for an intensive, national pre-k program targeted to "economically disadvantaged" three and four year olds as an anti-poverty strategy. Even if such a program does not achieve the level of impact that the Perry Preschool Program did, the authors estimate that it would have a benefit-cost ratio between 4:1 and 7:1 and would reduce poverty by 5 to 15 percent. They also point out that this program would confer short-term economic benefits by allowing more parents to enter the workforce.

Key features of this hypothetical program include:

• College-educated teachers;

• A maximum class size of 12 and a child-adult ratio of 6:1;

• Three hours of developmentally-appropriate instruction , with additional "wrap-around" child care hours for working families;

• A parent involvement component;

• Comprehensive services similar those in Head Start;

• Free access to families with incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty threshold; and

• A sliding scale for fees charged to higher income families.

The authors estimate that the program would cost $8,000 per child annually, with an additional $4,000 per child annually for "wrap-around" services. The cost of the program, after taking into account current spending, would be $20 billion a year.

7. Treating young children with ADHD symptoms

Significant ADHD symptoms in young children are related to expulsion or suspension from pre-k or center-based care. A study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and conducted by Project Achieve at Lehigh University shows that non-medical treatments of young children (three to five years old) with ADHD symptoms can be effective. The study randomly assigned 135 children enrolled in center- or school-based early education programs to two groups. In one, parents attended education workshops on child development and parenting. In the other, parent workshops were supplemented by more individualized interventions that were based on consultations with parents and teachers at home and at the school or center. Data was analyzed one year after the intervention.

Children in both groups made significant, and similar, gains in behavioral, social, and emotional, and pre-literacy skills. While parent education combined with individualized interventions was no more effective than parent education alone, the authors cautioned against making any conclusions about their relative effectiveness because only half of the families assigned to the more intensive group received all components of that intervention. Also, it's possible that significant differences may emerge after a longer period of time.

8. Web-based planning resources for pre-k

Two statewide efforts - in California and Pennsylvania - may provide models to support pre-k planning and development in other states.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is backing the creation of a website, Plan 4 Preschool, that provides a "one-stop shop" for educators, early childhood professionals, and policymakers to find information and resources about pre-k, particularly in California. The website includes basic statistics and demographic information, planning resources for those interested in creating pre-k programs, a collection of research studies, and profiles of each county's efforts in early care and education.

The Pennsylvania Early Learning Keys to Quality supports improvements in early learning programs across the state through a website that offers a number of resources to help schools and providers create "model pre-k classrooms."