Early Childhood Education in California
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Technical Report Early Childhood Education in California Deborah Stipek and Colleagues Stanford University March 2019 Version 2 About: The Getting Down to Facts project seeks to create a common evidence base for understanding the current state of California school systems and lay the foundation for substantive conversations about what education policies should be sustained and what might be improved to ensure increased opportunity and success for all students in California in the decades ahead. Getting Down to Facts II follows approximately a decade after the first Getting Down to Facts effort in 2007. This technical report is one of 35 in the set of Getting Down to Facts II studies that cover four main areas related to state education policy: student success, governance, personnel and funding. Early Childhood Education in California Deborah Stipek, Stanford University and Colleagues Acknowledgements Chapter authors are indicated on each chapter. The authors are grateful to very helpful reviews from Beth Meloy, Hannah Melnick, and Marjorie Wechsler, at the Learning Policy Institute; Kate Miller at Children Now; Elizabeth Dabney at the Data Quality Campaign; Mike Olenick at the Child Care Resource Center, LA; Kate Browne at Skyline Community College; Marie Kanne Poulsen at the University of Southern California; Daphna Bassok at the University of Virginia; Elliot Regenstein Foresight Law and Policy Advisors; Lynn Karoly at the Rand Corporation, and Christina Weiland at the University of Michigan; Sean Reardon, at Stanford University. Background research for several chapters was conducted by Elisa Garcia, currently at the Stanford Research Institute, Rebekah LeMahieu and Lisel Alice Murdock-Perriera, at Stanford University. Table of Contents Preface........................................................................................................................................................... i Chapter 1: The Early Learning Landscape .................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Early Learning for Children with Disabilities ......................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Preparation and Training for Professionals in Early Childhood Education ......................... 73 Chapter 4: Strengthening California’s Early Childhood Educaiton Workforce ..................................... 99 Chapter 5: Program Quality Monitoring and Improvement ................................................................ 120 Chapter 6: PreK-3 Alignment .................................................................................................................. 187 Chapter 7: Early Child Care Data Systems ............................................................................................. 215 PREFACE California’s future depends on the well -being and education of its youth. And the evidence is compelling —for children to thrive, they need to be well supported from the beginning of life. Research in neuroscience has revealed that the very foundation of future development and learning is laid during the first five years of life. The most rapid growth of the areas of the brain responsible for language occurs during the first two years of life, and the prefrontal cortex, where crucially important skills related to self-regulation, memory, attention, and planning are based, develops most rapidly between the ages of 3 and 5. 1 The extent and nature of brain development depend substantially on interactions with adults and the level of stress young children experience. The importance of the environment is evident in the early achievement gap. By age 18 months, differences based on family in come and education are seen in children’s language development.2 Risk factors such as such as poverty, caregiver mental illness, child maltreatment, a single-parent household, and low maternal education contribute significantly to the likelihood that a child will have developmental delays. With one in five children in California living in poverty and nearly half living near poverty, these risk factors pervade California’s fami lies. California has one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. But as the chapter on the achievement gap in the GDTFII report shows, California’s poor performance relative to that of other states lies not in the gains students make from third grade on, but in the disproportionate achievement gap when children enter kindergarten.3 Efforts to close the achievement gap clearly need to begin long before school entry. The good news is that we know more than ever about what needs to be done to support young children’s learning and development. For decades , evidence on the nature and value of supportive environments and early interventions was based substantially on a few small and expensive interventions. We now have strong evidence that early intervention can be done at scale with long-term benefits —both for the participating children and for society. Studies have repeatedly shown substantial financial returns on early investments in young children. 4 For example, children who attend high-quality preschool, especially those who are dual language learners or living in poverty, are less likely to be held back a year in school, be placed in a special education setting or become involved in crime. They are more likely to graduate from high school and go to college, and they achieve higher earnings. 5 Supporting young children means supporting families. In addition to promoting positive child outcomes, making reliable, high-quality child care accessible to parents can have immediate effects on the economic well-being of the state. One analysis estimated that child care breakdowns leading to employee absences cost businesses $3 billion annually in the United States. 6 And research indicates that access to child-care directly affects participation as well as the productivity of women in the workforce by reducing absenteeism and turnover.7 i | Getting Down to Facts II California once led the nation in early childhood education. The currently large achievement gap is in part the result of a significant decline in the level of investment in its youngest children. It is time to reverse that trend, and for California to once again become a leader in supporting families and young children, especially the substantial population of very vulnerable children. This report reviews and analyzes California policies that are designed to support early learning in children from birth through age five years. The analysis is limited to EC education- related programs and supports that are likely to directly affect children’s cognitive and social development. Although all aspects of children’s experiences affect their development, to make the report manageable, social services (e.g., related to child abuse and neglect or housing), nutrition programs, and health care services are not included. The information in the report comes primarily from state and locally collected data from original sources, extant reports that summarize information related to the topic, and research on effective early childhood practices and policies. Added to this information are findings from interviews with people who have firsthand experience and knowledge of early childhood programs and resources in California. The chapters include objective reviews of the facts and te evidence as well as the experiences, observations, and recommendations of people who live” the policies. The goal is to inform, not to persuade. The document should, however, provide guidance for advocates and policymakers endeavoring to increase support and opportunities for young children in the state. For each topic, described below, the report examines: · The current situation in California —including current resources, governance and administration, access for different groups of children, and unmet needs; · Research, expert opinion, and other evidence on best practices related to the topic; · An analysis of how well California policies and practices meet the standards for what is known about best practices; · Policy options, including examples of effective policies implemented in other states; · Data identified in the process of the review that need to be collected to inform future practice and policy decisions. The report is divided into seven chapters, described below. 1. The Early Learning Landscape This chapter summarizes information on who the children from 0-5 years are (e.g., demographics, native language), where they are cared for (e.g., home care, center day care, licensed and licensed-exempt family care), and what public resources are available for families and children from 0-5 years for child care, preschool, and transitional kindergarten. It also summarizes sources and amounts of funding, governance at the ii | Early Childhood Education in California state and local levels, eligibility requirements, participation rates, unmet needs, coordination and fragmentation, and the pros and cons of various governance and delivery systems. 2. Early Learning for Children with Disabilities This chapter describes who the children from 0-5 years with special needs are (e.g., demographics), how screening is done (and who is and is not screened), what interventions are available to children with disabilities (who is served, by whom), how resources for families and children are funded, and what training and qualifications are held by the personnel who serve children with disabilities. 3. Preparation