Early Education Initiative: Policy Papers

Today, preschool and other services for young children are delivered through what is widely recognized as a non-system, with programs like child care, pre-kindergarten, special education services and Head Start operating in separate policy silos, each with differing objectives and different funding streams. This uneven and uncoordinated character of early childhood policy can impede access, quality, and return on investment to these programs. Indeed, stories of avoidable dysfunction-of low-income parents who are unaware that their child

If children are the future, then looking at a state's educational system is like peering into a crystal ball. California is a state teeming with young children -- 4.7 million under age 8, to be exact. One in every eight young American children lives in California. And many of these children come from minority ethnic and racial backgrounds and speak languages other than English. If Americans want to get a glimpse at our future as a "majority minority" country they don't have to look beyond California.

In April, the states and school districts began receiving the first installment of more than $48 billion in federal economic stimulus funds for education and child care appropriated under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). This unprecedented federal investment in education—from early childhood through college—is a tremendous opportunity for state and local investments to improve our nation's schools. The danger is that states and school districts may squander these funds on ill-conceived projects or use them simply to maintain… more

On April 1, 2009, the states began to receive education and child care funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, or "the stimulus").[1] Child care advocates in several states have urged policymakers to use some of the stimulus funds to launch or expand a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for providers of early childhood education and care.

As a new congress and new administration take their places in Washington, early education is attracting more attention. The 111th Congress will have numerous opportunities to enact policies that improve access, quality, efficiency, and alignment in early education, including the forthcoming economic stimulus package and the scheduled reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative proposes

Over the past eight years, states have dramatically expanded their support for publicly-funded pre-k programs, and the number of children enrolled in these programs has grown significantly. States are investing in pre-k because research shows that high-quality pre-kindergarten programs can have a positive long-term impact on children’s life outcomes, help narrow the achievement gap between poor and affluent youngsters, and that the benefits of these invest­ments to children and the taxpaying public outweigh their costs. In other words, high-quality pre-k is a key weapon in the… more

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) seeks to improve student learning and narrow academic achievement gaps that place low-income and minority students at a disadvantage relative to their affluent and white peers. Evidence shows that the roots of children’s academic success or failure are already firmly in place by third grade and as much as half of the black-white achievement gap already exists before children enter first grade. Therefore, to achieve its ambitious goals NCLB must do a much… more

Access to quality pre-kindergarten (PK) programs varies widely among and within states. While PK enrollment is growing, large disparities in access and quality threaten to undermine the capacity of early childhood education to close achievement gaps. Research shows that at-risk children can catch up to their non-disadvantaged peers by participating in highquality PK programs that are linked to K-3 structures. However, fewer than half of children ages 3 and 4 engage in some type of early childhood education—before quality… more

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) The PK-3 Workforce is Subject to an Array of Entry Standards. Public school teachers in grades K-3 must meet the quality standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Pre-kindergarten (PK) teachers in Title I-funded programs also are regulated by NCLB. But Head Start teachers have their own separate entry standards. In some state PK programs, all teachers must possess a bachelor’s degree and have engaged in additional early childhood or PK-3 training. In others,… more

A Dissenting ViewThank you for the opportunity to review "Closing the Achievement Gap Through Expanded Access to Quality Early Education in Grades PK-3.” The paper examines the very important issue of how to better prepare young children for kindergarten and presents a highly ambitious policy response to advance that goal. The following review endorses the aspiration but questions the recommended means of achieving it and suggests that the proposal might both undermine the author’s laudable ambitions and… more

A significant, albeit still insufficient, expansion of access to publicly supported early education programs for children ages 3 to 5 has occurred over the last decade. This trend bodes well for children at risk of academic failure, but is endangered by uneven, halting, and at times inadequate attention to program quality in grades prekindergarten through three.

Expanded access to pre-kindergarten in recent years is primarily the result of individual state legislative, state agency, state executive, and state referendum efforts. States… more

It’s a good news, bad news situation. The good news is an increasing body of evidence shows that children’s participation in high quality pre-kindergarten (PK) programs helps them begin kindergarten ready to succeed. Similarly, there is growing evidence that children who start kindergarten behind but participate in a full-day kindergarten (FDK) program catch up to their peers by the end one academic year. The bad news is these effects often appear to “fade out” over time. As children move… more

Never before has the connection between our economic growth and our education system been so critical. In the antiquated industrial economy of the past, a country that could efficiently manufacture and produce material goods succeeded. In today’s new knowledge-based economy, a nation’s success is contingent on its citizens’ human capital. As the Council on Competitiveness predicts, “where once we optimized our organizations for efficiency and quality, now we must optimize our entire society for innovation.”

The drive for innovation demands that… more