Percent cost increases for increased teacher qualifications While the costs of upgrading pre-k quality can be substantial, research shows that the benefits outweigh those costs.

A new study examines the extent to which three ways of looking at quality in pre-k programs are related to outcomes for children. The three measures of quality studied were:

• Structural quality benchmarks tracked by NIEER, the National Institute for Early Education Research (e.g., teacher education level, class size, availability of meals)

• Environmental quality ratings (e.g. materials and activities to promote language development, space and furnishings of the classroom, use of time in the classroom) as measured by the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) ; and

• The quality of teacher-child interactions (e.g. emotional support from teacher, classroom organization and management, and instructional support) as measured by the CLASS instrument.

Using data from 2,439 children in 671 classrooms in 11 states, the researchers found that the quality of the teacher-child interactions had the strongest relationship with children’s cognitive and social-emotional outcomes while the NIEER quality benchmarks and ECERS were unrelated to these outcomes. The study notes, however, the possibility that structural quality standards may have indirect relationships with children’s development by creating classroom environments that are more conducive to quality teacher-child interactions.

In this study, not all ten of the NIEER quality benchmarks were included. Importantly, requirements for professional development and monitoring, two standards that can impact teaching and learning, were omitted.

2. Positive pre-k outcomes reported in Arkansas and New Mexico

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) is tracking the performance of pre-k programs in Arkansas and New Mexico and released new results from these ongoing studies recently. New Mexico's program, which is in its third year of operation, serves a diverse group of children. Sixty-three percent of the children enrolled are Latino and another 16 percent are Native American. In a previous report, NIEER concluded that children who participated in the program during the 2005-06 school year made significant gains compared to those who did not attend.

• Students' vocabulary scores increased by about 6 raw score points

• Students' early math scores increased by more than 2 raw score points

• Students' scores on early literacy rose by about 14 percentage points

Similar results were found in the newly released data for children who attended pre-k during the 2006-07 school year.

In Arkansas, the new results were somewhat mixed, though generally positive.

• At kindergarten entry, the researchers found that children who attended pre-k did significantly better than their peers on measures of vocabulary, basic reading skills, and early math skills.

• At the end of kindergarten, the only evidence of a significant impact was for vocabulary skills.

• At the end of first grade, the researchers found a significant impact for early math and basic reading skills, but not for vocabulary.

One possible explanation for the mixed Arkansas findings is that the results were influenced by self-selection bias, or the bias created when a study compares children whose parents chose to enroll them with children whose parents chose not enroll them. Because of the parents' choices, the two groups of children may be different in ways for which researchers cannot control.

To eliminate self-selection bias in the New Mexico study and a previous Arkansas study, NIEER used Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), a methodology that compares children who just completed the pre-k program with those who are about to begin the program. (In other words, two groups in which parents made the same choice.) When NIEER's researchers adjusted the new Arkansas data and analyzed them using the RDD methodology, they found more significant positive outcomes for children who attended pre-k.

3. Resources help states design state advisory councils on early education and care

The 2007 reauthorization of Head Start requires each governor to create or designate a State Advisory Council to coordinate the array of early education and care programs that serve young children from infancy through five years of age. To guide states in the planning and creation of these councils, Pre-K Now has produced a paper that outlines the responsibilities of councils, how they relate to existing early childhood collaborative groups, and funding provisions in the federal legislation. The report offers eight lessons with examples from four states – Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wisconsin – that have had some experience with similar entities. It concludes with recommendations and additional links to other reports and organizations that can serve as resources as states begin to set up councils.

Also, Education Counsel and Pre-K Now have created a template that breaks down the major issues and requirements states face when establishing councils. Details on the mission and governance of the council, its membership and staffing, its leadership and functions, and requirements for applying and using any federal grants that may become available are all provided in a form that advocates and policymakers can fill out as they go.

4. Review of distance learning programs for early childhood educators

As the early education field raises teacher qualification standards, states are beginning to turn to distance learning programs to help professionals attain higher credentials and degrees. Because these programs are less constricted by location and time, they have the potential to meet the needs of some in the early education workforce who are unable to attend school full-time or near their homes. Little is known, however, about these programs. A report from the Center for the Child Care Workforce aims to fill this gap in knowledge.

Through electronic surveys, focus groups, Internet searches, and in-depth interviews, the researchers identified 73 such programs. They found that most are housed in four-year colleges that combine online and campus-based learning. Most of the programs offer an Associate's Degree, but some lead to a Bachelor's and/or Master's.

The report also identifies the most common challenges these programs face when working with early education professionals and offers general strategies and online resources for addressing them. These challenges include lack of basic academic skills (including limited English skills among English Language Learners), work and family issues, and lack of technological know-how. The report concludes with a helpful catalog of the distance learning programs found, organized by type of provider and type of credential and degree offered.

5. New Jersey K-12 educators talk about benefits of community collaborations

Pre-k in New Jersey has long been hailed as a model of quality. In the coming years, its programs will face new challenges as the policymakers expand access across the state. One key to success will be the ability of public schools and community-based providers to collaborate with each other. A brief from the Association for Children of New Jersey offers K-12 administrators lessons from their peers and examples of what successful collaborations look like. To get started, public school leaders advocated visiting community-based programs that serve three and four year olds to build relationships and learn about what resources already exist. A superintendent's active support is also critical. Other tips for K-12 administrators include:

• Establish an Early Childhood Advisory Committee representing different perspectives on early education to assess needs, generate support, and coordinate the expansion effort.

• Create an Early Childhood Supervisor position to oversee the school district’s pre-k and early childhood efforts.

• Once collaborations are implemented, maintain frequent communication with center directors and staff and schedule classroom visits at both public schools and community-based settings.

ACNJ also created a toolkit to help child care centers and Head Start programs begin planning collaboration with school districts.

6. Case study: Massachusetts' Department of Early Education and Care

In an effort to coordinate early childhood programs and increase efficiency, a number of states, including Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, have attempted to consolidate these programs under one governance structure. Another adopter of this approach is Massachusetts, and the creation of the state’s Department of Early Education and Care is the subject of a recent case study.

The authors find that the department, now in its third year of operation, has created more consistency in regulation and policies for early childhood programs, reduced the wait-list for child care, piloted the state's Universal Pre-Kindergarten program, and elevated the stature of early education and care in general.

The case study also found, however, that the department has not been efficient in getting some funds into the communities that need them. It also lacks a long-term vision and has not been a strong advocate for increased resources. Moreover, the department has struggled with its focus on quality, professional development, and the "education" aspect of its mission.

This case study offers other states that are considering creating similar departments important insights and lessons. For instance, it highlights the factors that motivated and put in motion the creation of the department, including well-publicized inefficiencies, increasing support for offering pre-k to all children, and the strategic use of research like public-opinion polls. One major influence was strong advocacy, which helped bridge the philosophical gap between "education" and "care" and resulted in a diverse coalition, meaningful community input into the process, and legislative champions. These forces helped make the new department a reality, despite a budget deficit and opposition from the governor.

7. Systems change: How do you know if it's happening?

As pre-k and early education become more prominent in state and federal policy agendas, advocates and practitioners alike are increasingly talking about “systems change,” or how to make sure expansions of early education and changes in policy are coordinated with existing programs and services that work with young children. Two resources from the National Center for Children in Poverty and First 5 California help the field define what systems change means and how to know if it's happening. Both offer a menu of indicators that provides a comprehensive overview of the status of young children and their families in a community. These indicators include measures of child health, family functioning, early care and education, and social-emotional development.

With help from SRI International and Child Trends, First 5 also has developed indicators for an aspect of systems change that may seem difficult to measure: the performance of the system itself. These indicators examine the accessibility of services, service delivery, cultural competence, coordination and integration of services, accountability, and financial sustainability.

Both resources provide specific criteria for choosing indicators to track, which should be helpful for states and communities interested in examining systems change over time. In its review, NCCP evaluated over 200 indicators and selected 36 that best meet its criteria. Notably, the brief failed to find suitable indicators for family and parenting support.

8. Pre-K Now brief calls for increased federal support for pre-k in rural communities

A recent brief from Pre-K Now lays out the need for greater accessibility to high-quality pre-k in rural communities and proposes a range of options for the federal government to assist in the effort. The brief finds that, compared to their peers in urban and suburban areas, rural children are less likely to have critical early literacy skills at kindergarten entry and more likely to be placed in special education. Also, nearly half of all English Language Learners -- a group proven to benefit from quality pre-k -- reside in rural districts. Still, only about half of all rural children have access to "center-based preschool." At the same time, rural mothers with young children are more likely to be in the workforce than urban mothers but often lack financial resources to afford quality early education programs on their own.

For rural communities with limited resources to address these issues, the federal government must play a role. The brief suggests ways to increase rural communities’ pre-k capacity by providing resources for transportation and facilities. It also proposes building on Head Start and offering a number of financial incentives and programs to expand or improve existing pre-k initiatives. Finally, it provides a number of policy options that would grow and improve the early education workforce in rural areas.

9. Guidance for governors on early childhood public-private partnerships

A new report from the National Governors Association explains what early childhood public-private partnerships are, what functions they can serve, and how to go about creating them. The report describes typical structures of these partnerships and how they allow for independent, bipartisan decision-making as well as statewide coordination of initiatives and local governance at the same time.

The report also outlines common functions of these partnerships, including providing flexible funding for program expansion or improvement, building infrastructure for coordination of services, raising awareness among the public and parents, and promoting and disseminating promising practices. It provides concrete steps that governors can take to create these partnerships and profiles eleven public-private partnerships around the country, examining their governance structures, funding, program activities, and evaluation efforts.

NGA organized a webinar on the report. A recording of it, along with the presentations, can be found here.

10. How economics can help decision-making in early childhood policy

Early education professionals know firsthand that high-quality early childhood programs benefit children and society in the short and long term. For others, the idea that "doing something earlier is better than later" may sound good, but they may need to see the logic behind the statement.

A recent paper from RAND provides this logic with accessible explanations of economic terms like human capital theory, cost benefits analyses, and internal rate of return. More important than the definitions themselves are RAND's illustrations of how these concepts can explain the power behind early childhood programs. Importantly, the paper also offers policymakers five "policy-decision rules" that help them decide how to allocate resources among an array of programs by comparing their costs and benefits and the extent to which their economic returns change when more or fewer children are served.

11. Harvard Family Research Project broadens concept of family involvement

The latest newsletter from the Harvard Family Research Project proposes a broader concept of family involvement to acknowledge the fact that child development occurs in more settings than just schools and homes and across a spectrum of ages, from birth to adolescence.

One article focuses on the importance of family involvement in the transition to kindergarten. Summarizing a study of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- Kindergarten (ECLS-K), the article concludes that the implementation of transition practices by schools, such as visiting families before their child enrolls in kindergarten and inviting them to open houses, is related to student achievement, especially for low- and middle-income children. These practices also increase family involvement once children are enrolled. Unfortunately, the study also found that low-income children and families -- those who stand to benefit the most from transition practices -- are the least likely to experience them.

Although this article emphasizes the need for public schools to implement these practices, it suggests that pre-k programs -- whether they are public school-based or center-based -- can reach out to elementary schools and kindergarten teachers to ensure their graduates' continued success in school.