The National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL) is conducting a multi-state study of state funded early education programs sponsored by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Foundation for Child Development. A collaborative team of researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Virginia are working together on the project.
Research Questions
What happens in pre-kindergarten programs?
What does pre-K look like across a number of states and different types of programs?
What do children learn in their pre-K year and does it help in kindergarten?
How do state-level policy decisions relate to classroom practice, classroom quality, and child outcomes?
Participants
Five hundred pre-kindergarten programs in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin were selected at random to take part in the study. These five states were selected because they represent different models of pre-K services. In each program, one classroom was selected at random to participate.
In 2003-2004 we…
- randomly selected 100 pre-kindergarten
classrooms in each of 5 participating states.
- visited
those classrooms in the fall and spring to collect information
on classroom quality and educational practices.
- randomly
selected 4 children from each classroom in the study
and (with parent permission) assessed their literacy,
language, and mathematics skills in the
fall and spring.
- identified characteristics of pre-kindergarten practice
and quality that predict child performance.
In 2004-2005 we …
*Participation in the study is completely confidential. The names of specific schools, teachers, children, and families participating in the study will not be linked to reported findings.
For more information, please call
toll free 877-204-5991
