School Readiness Initiatives: Assessing Their Yield

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School Readiness InitiativesAssessing Their
Yield

• Craig T. Ramey, Ph.D. Sharon L. Ramey, Ph.D.
• Georgetown University Center on Health and
  Education
• National Governors Association
• Orlando, FL
• December 16, 2003
• www.che.georgetown.edu

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Why states have a stake in early childhood
education

• Childrens school readiness and academic
  performance are strongly predicted by school
  entry skills (language, pre-literacy, math)
• Majority of children experience non-parental care
  prior to K (majority of which is non-optimal)
• Evidence that high quality early childhood
  education can increase school readiness skills of
  at risk children
• Independent economic analyses confirm positive
  return on investments (from 14 to 17)

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Defining features of high quality, early
childhood education programs

• Adults who are highly responsive and interactive
  with children
• Age-appropriate ratios of adultschildren
• Adults who stimulate childrens language
  development and actively teach new skills
• Frequent monitoring and assessment of adults and
  children used to inform program decisions

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The Abecedarian (ABC) Program(1971 2003)

• Designed to test whether a high quality, early
  education program could significantly improve
  school readiness and achievement
• Provided to families with extremely low economic
  and educational resources
• Provided continuously from infancy through
  kindergarten via a randomized controlled trial
  (RCT)

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Supports and Services for the Abecedarian (ABC)
Program

• ABC Families Children received
• Nutritional Supplements
• Quality Pediatric Care
• Social Services
• Referral Treatment for
• Developmental Problems
• Center-based Childhood Education Full day, Year
  round for 5 years
• Plus Parent Program

• Comparison Families Children received
• Nutritional Supplements
• Quality Pediatric Care
• Social Services
• Referral Treatment for
• Developmental Problems

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Quality Assurance Proceduresincluded in the ABC
Program

• Intensive Pre-Service and In-Service Training for
  Teachers, Assistants, and Education Directors
• Structured Curriculum with Lesson Plans and
  Individualization for Each Child
• Open classrooms with Videotape Monitoring and
  Frequent Classroom Observations
• Daily Documentation of Educational Curriculum
  Activities for Each Child
• Individual Child Assessments (linked to
  curriculum) by Teachers every 2 weeks to Inform
  Individualized Educational Plans (plus
  independent assessments by trained assessors to
  evaluate program impact)

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Key Findings from Child Assessments in the ABC
Program 18 mos. 21 yrs.

• Higher performance on standardized tests of
  intelligence and cognition at all ages
• Superior learning in experimental settings
• More advanced language skills (receptive and
  expressive) at all ages
• Higher reading achievement at all ages
• Higher math achievement at all ages
• Improved social responsiveness
• 
  

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Documented Benefits of Increased Skills for
Children in ABC Program

• Grade Repetition declined 46.5
• (from 56 to 30 by age 15)
• Special Education Placement reduced 75
• (from 48 to 12)
• 4-Year College Attendance increased 300
• (from 12 to 36)
• Age at Birth of First Child significantly delayed
• Tobacco and Drug Use (self-report) decreased
• Adult Academic Skills for Work Force
  increased

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Findings from ABC Program Replicated in Other
RCT Studies

• Project CARE for very low income, multi-risk
  children, using same ABC program
• Note an intensive, 5 yr. home visiting
  program using the same curriculum did not yield
  child benefits
• The Infant Health and Development Program
• for low birthweight, premature infants in 8
  cities, using adaptation of the ABC early
  childhood education curriculum from infancy 3
  years
• 
  
• Randomized controlled trials
  (RCTs)

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Example of Recent Success in a State-led Early
Childhood Education Initiative

• Louisiana Pre-K Program legislative initiative
  with administrative authority in Dept. of
  Education
• Launched in 2000 with free tuition to children
  below poverty
• All teachers have certification in Early
  Childhood Education
• Assessments of classroom environment (very high
  5.7 out of 7) and children on Developmental
  Skills Checklist (major gains from fall to
  spring, with largest benefits to children from
  families with lowest parental education)
• Fall Scores 82, 82, and 90 scored in the
  lowest quartile (national norms) in language,
  print awareness, and math
• Spring Scores only 17, 16, and 25
  respectively scored in the lowest quartile

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Why Direct Assessment of Children and Programs is
Essential for States

• To demonstrate accountability for public
  investments
• To link program objectives to measurable gains
• To protect children and families from poor
  quality and/or ineffective programs
• For monitoring and individualization of
  educational activities for children
• For estimating costbenefit ratios and
  conducting comparative costefficiency analyses

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Safeguards for Responsible Direct Assessment of
Children and Programs

• Outcomes to be measured are clearly linked to
  important program goals
• Assessment procedures (tests, tools,
  observations) are reliable and valid indicators
  sources of bias minimized
• Purpose of assessment and data analysis plans are
  made public in advance
• Independent, ongoing checks on accuracy of data
  collection, entry, and analyses
• Recognition of limits of assessment and ongoing
  plans for quality improvement in assessment

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Recommendations

• Engage multiple, diverse stakeholders in timely,
  comprehensive, and open review of current efforts
  and evidence for quality and benefits
• Build upon scientific findings of what produces
  positive, large gains for at risk children
• Consider innovative ways to coordinate,
  consolidate, and/or enhance multiple early
  childhood initiatives to realize immediate
  benefits for children and their families

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For information and references about effective
early childhood education

• Go to www.che.georgetown.edu
• Contact us at 202-687-2874 (Georgetown University
  Center on Health and Education)
• See Ramey Ramey, 2000, Securing the Future
• See Ramey et al, 2000, Applied Developmental
  Science
• Campbell et al, 2002, Applied Developmental
  Science