The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects
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The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects 2017 Consensus Statement from the Pre-Kindergarten Task Force A Pre-Kindergarten Task Force of interdisciplinary scientists reviewed the evidence on the impact of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs. Members included: Deborah A. Phillips of Georgetown University, Mark W. Lipsey of Vanderbilt University, Kenneth A. Dodge of Duke University, Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, Daphna Bassok of the University of Virginia, Margaret R. Burchinal of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Greg J. Duncan of the University of California-Irvine, Mark Dynarski of the Brookings Institution, Katherine A. Magnuson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Christina Weiland of the University of Michigan The Task Force reached consensus on the following findings, conclusions, and recommendation: Studies of different groups of preschoolers often find greater improvement in learning at the end of the pre-k year for economically disadvantaged children and dual language learners than for more advantaged and English-proficient children. Pre-k programs are not all equally effective. Several effectiveness factors may be at work in the most successful programs. One such factor supporting early learning is a well implemented, evidence-based curriculum. Coaching for teachers, as well as efforts to promote orderly but active classrooms, may also be helpful. Children’s early learning trajectories depend on the quality of their learning experiences not only before and during their pre-k year, but also following the pre-k year. Classroom experiences early in elementary school can serve as charging stations for sustaining and amplifying pre-k learning gains. One good bet for powering up later learning is elementary school classrooms that provide individualization and differentiation in instructional content and strategies. Convincing evidence shows that children attending a diverse array of state and school district pre-k programs are more ready for school at the end of their pre-k year than children who do not attend pre-k. Improvements in academic areas such as literacy and numeracy are most common; the smaller number of studies of social-emotional and self-regulatory development generally show more modest improvements in those areas. Convincing evidence on the longer-term impacts of scaled-up pre-k programs on academic outcomes and school progress is sparse, precluding broad conclusions. The evidence that does exist often shows that pre-k-induced improvements in learning are detectable during elementary school, but studies also reveal null or negative longer-term impacts for some programs. States have displayed considerable ingenuity in designing and implementing their pre-k programs. Ongoing innovation and evaluation are needed during and after pre-k to ensure continued improvement in creating and sustaining children’s learning gains. Research-practice partnerships are a promising way of achieving this goal. These kinds of efforts are needed to generate more complete and reliable evidence on effectiveness factors in pre-k and elementary school that generate long-run impacts. In conclusion, the scientific rationale, the uniformly positive evidence of impact on kindergarten readiness, and the nascent body of ongoing inquiry about long-term impacts lead us to conclude that continued implementation of scaled-up pre-k programs is in order as long as the implementation is accompanied by rigorous evaluation of impact. Table of Contents Overview Introduction 3 1. The Current Landscape for Public Pre-Kindergarten Programs 5 Ajay Chaudry and A. Rupa Datta A Consensus Statement 2. Puzzling It Out: The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects 19 Deborah A. Phillips, Mark W. Lipsey, Kenneth A. Dodge, Ron Haskins, Daphna Bassok, Margaret R. Burchinal, Greg J. Duncan, Mark Dynarski, Katherine A. Magnuson and Christina Weiland Issues and Challenges 3. Do Some Groups of Children Benefit More Than Others from Pre-Kindergarten Programs? 31 Helen F. Ladd 4. Do Pre-Kindergarten Curricula Matter? 37 Jade Marcus Jenkins and Greg J. Duncan 5. Characteristics of Pre-Kindergarten Programs That Drive Positive Outcomes 45 Dale C. Farran 6. Universal vs. Targeted Pre-Kindergarten: Reflections for Policymakers 51 William Gormley 7. The Costs and Benefits of Scaled-Up Pre-Kindergarten Programs 57 Lynn A. Karoly 8. Challenges to Scaling Up Effective Pre-Kindergarten Programs 67 W. Steven Barnett 1 9. The Promise of Preschool Education: Challenges for Policy and Governance 75 Ajay Chaudry 10. Financing Early Childhood Programs 85 Ron Haskins 11. Reframing Early Childhood Education: A Means to Public Understanding and Support 93 Craig T. Ramey and Sharon Landesman Ramey 12. Bibliography of Studies on the Effects of State- and District-Funded Pre-Kindergarten Programs for the Consensus Statement 100 13. Contributors 102 2 Introduction The question of how the U.S. will develop a citizenry with the it is not surprising that different pre-k programs produce skills necessary to meet the challenges of the 21st century has different patterns and magnitudes of impact. attracted the attention of legislators, scientists, and educators. Answering this question leads inevitably to its roots: how well The good news, according to numerous studies, is that are we preparing young children to enter kindergarten ready children attending publicly-funded pre-kindergarten to learn? Educators in k-12 school systems are faced with wide programs are better prepared for kindergarten than similar disparities in skill levels of entering kindergarteners, which children who have not attended pre-k. While some studies means that all too many children are already far behind many have shown that the advantages persist well into elementary of their peers. Findings in developmental science point toward school, two reports—one based not on pre-k but on Head the importance of early-life experiences in shaping brain Start and one on the Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K program— development and suggest that if we knew how to provide these have led some policymakers to question whether pre-k can experiences in our early education programs, we could have a provide the persistent effects that undergird an ambitious lifelong impact on children’s success. agenda for pre-kindergarten programs. Both studies found positive impacts on children’s skills at the end of the pre-k Our evidence-based era has produced a cacophony of year but not later in elementary school. These findings have evaluations that seek to determine whether, and under what caused policymakers and educators to turn to the scientific conditions, the experience of structured, publicly-supported community for clarification about the likely impacts of pre-k education in the year prior to kindergarten (called pre- programs and identification of those factors that might kindergarten) helps to promote children’s development. distinguish effective early learning programs. Legacy programs such as the Perry Preschool Project and the Abecedarian Project have shown that research-based, Findings in developmental science provide the rationale for generously-funded efforts can enhance the development of the hypothesis that a year of publicly-funded pre-k might small numbers of low-income children. These extraordinary promote both school readiness and longer-term educational programs, however, differ in important respects from success. Neuroscientists have estimated that the brain grows at most of the large-scale, publicly-funded programs that are an astounding rate over the first several years of life, reaching being implemented today. State-funded pre-k education is about 80 percent of its ultimate adult volume by age three. sometimes portrayed as a monolithic strategy for preparing During the first several years of life, about 700 new neural children for formal schooling. In practice, however, pre-k connections are formed every second. This is a time when is better conceived as a funding stream that supports many fundamental skills, knowledge, and beliefs about the world are widely divergent practices in different settings, with teachers developed. After several years of exploding growth, the brain who have experienced different types and amounts of begins to prune itself. So, although the early years are not preparation. Furthermore, in a given program, pre-k funds the only time when a child’s development can be influenced, are often blended with Head Start, special education, and this evidence suggests that the year before kindergarten is an childcare subsidy funds that, collectively, support the early opportune period. education of enrolled children. Under these circumstances, 3 The quality and reliability of early experiences and they approached Martha Moorehouse and Kimberly environments are the building blocks of early brain Brenneman of the Heising-Simons Foundation seeking architecture. Parents and trained adult caregivers who are financial support to assemble a small blue-ribbon panel to in tune with a child provide the “serve and return” stimuli review the evidence and write a report directed toward the through conversation, interactive play, guided exploration, policy world. They identified additional funding from the and orderly progression that serve as the raw materials of early David and Lucile Packard Foundation. At the same time, but child development. Unfortunately, in many neighborhoods, independently of the first group, Kenneth Dodge at Duke