The%20Preschool%20Curriculum%20Evaluation%20Research%20(PCER)%20Program

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The Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research
(PCER) Program

• The 2005 OSEP National Early Childhood Conference
• February 8, 2005
• Caroline Ebanks
• James Griffin
• Institute of Education
• Sciences

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AcknowledgementsPCER 2002 and 2003
ResearchersRTI PCER 2002 National Evaluation
Coordinator Ina Wallaceand Holly
RhodesMathematica Policy Research PCER 2003
National Evaluation CoordinatorJohn Love
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Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
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IES Statutory Mission

• Condition and progress of education in the United
  States
• Education practices that improve academic
  achievement access to education opportunities
• The effectiveness of Federal and other education
  programs

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Institute of Education Sciences
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Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research

• Immediate Program Goals
• Provide practitioners with evidence for selecting
  preschool curricula
• Support rigorous evaluations of preschool
  curricula using random assignment
• Additional Goals
• Support complementary research studies to
  supplement the evaluation
• Build capacity for collaboration between
  researchers and practitioners

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PCER General Framework

• Three year longitudinal studies across the
  transition
• from preschool to kindergarten and first grade
• Grantees were funded to implement curricula and
  conduct complementary research studies at each
  project site
• Focus on supporting school readiness, especially
  for disadvantaged children
• Common core of evaluation data collected by an
  outside contractor

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Basic Design of Evaluation

• Two groups of grantees (PCER 2002 and PCER 2003)
  implementing a variety of preschool curricula
• Randomly assigned either schools, classrooms, or
  children to the treatment condition
• Baseline and three follow-up assessmentsend of
  preschool, end of kindergarten, and end of first
  grade

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Primary Research Questions

• What outcomes do specific curricula produce?
• Are outcomes sustained over time?

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Secondary Research Questions

• What is the relationship between level of
  implementation and participation and curriculum
  effectiveness?
• How are experiences in kindergarten and first
  grade related to child outcomes?

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PCER Project Cohorts
IES
Cohort 2 PCER 2003
Cohort 1 PCER 2002
National Evaluator MPR
National Evaluator RTI
5 Grantees
7 Grantees
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Basic Design Features

• 14 Experimental Curricula
• 12 Grantees in 13 geographic locations

-California -Florida -Georgia -Kansas -Missouri -N
ew Hampshire -New Jersey

• -New York
• -North Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

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PCER Curricula

• PCER 2002 Curricula
• Bright Beginnings (TN)
• Creative Curriculum (NH, NC,GA, TN)
• Doors to Discovery (TX)
• Early Literacy and Learning Model (ELLM) (FL)
• Ladders to Literacy (NH)
• Lets Begin with the Letter People (TX)
• Pre-K Mathematics with DLM Express Math (CA/NY)
• Project Approach (WI)

• PCER 2003 Curricula
• Curiosity Corner (FL, NJ, KS)
• The Language Focused Curriculum (VA)
• Literacy Express (FL-FSU)
• Open Court with DLM Early Childhood (FL-FSU)
• Project Construct (MO)
• Ready, Set, Leap! (Newark, NJ)

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PCER 2002 Cohort
Grantee Research Site(s)
Dale Farran Vanderbilt University Tennessee
Cheryl Fountain University of North Florida Florida (Bay, Jacksonville, and Miami)
Richard Lambert UNC Charlotte Georgia and North Carolina
Susan Landry University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston Houston, Texas
Doug Powell Purdue University Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jeff Priest University of New Hampshire New Hampshire
Prentice Starkey University of California, Berkeley California and New York
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PCER 2002 Sites and Curricula
Research Site Curriculum
Tennessee Creative Curriculum vs. Bright Beginnings vs. Comparison
Florida Early Literacy and Learning Model vs. Comparison
North Carolina/Georgia Creative Curriculum vs. Comparison
Texas Doors to Discovery vs. Lets Begin with the Letter People vs. Comparison
Wisconsin Project Approach vs. Comparison
New Hampshire Creative Curriculum with Ladders to Literacy vs. Comparison
California/New York Pre-K Mathematics vs. Comparison
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PCER 2003 Cohort
Grantee Research Site(s)
Bette Chambers Success for All Foundation Florida, Kansas, New Jersey
Anne Cunningham University of California, Berkeley Newark, New Jersey
Laura Justice University of Virginia Virginia (Culpeper and Wise counties)
Christopher Lonigan Florida State University Florida (Taylor and Leon counties)
Kathy Thornburg University of Missouri Missouri
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PCER 2003 Sites and Curricula
Research Site Curriculum
Florida, New Jersey, Kansas Curiosity Corner vs. Comparison
Newark, New Jersey Ready, Set, Leap! vs. Comparison
Virginia The Language Focused Curriculum vs. Comparison
Florida Literacy Express vs. Open Court/DLM vs. Comparison
Missouri Project Construct vs. Comparison
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Grantees Complementary Research

• FSU (Chris Lonigan) Implementation of Open
  Court/DLM and Literacy Express
• NC/GA (Richard Lambert) Implementation of
  Creative Curriculum, 4th edition
• UNH (Jeff Priest) Implementation of Ladders to
  Literacy

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Cross-Site Study Sample Size

• Total sample size
• 2913 children and 317 classrooms
• PCER 2002
• 1,686 Children and 180 Classrooms
• PCER 2003
• 1,227 Children and 137 Classrooms

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Types of Measures in the Cross-Site Study

• Child Assessments
• Classroom Observations
• Teacher interviews
• Teacher reports of child behavior
• Parent interviews

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Overview

• Preschool program type
• Demographics
• Academic Outcomes
• Social Outcomes
• Teacher Characteristics

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Types of Preschool Programs in the PCER 2002
Cohort
6
44
50
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Types of Preschool Programs in the PCER 2003
Cohort
12
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65
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Demographics

• From the Parent Interview

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Childrens Age (in years)
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Childrens Gender ( Male)
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Race/Ethnicity
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Disability Status ( Yes)(Parent report)
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Maternal Employment Status
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Maternal Educational Level
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Sample Comparisons Poverty Indicators
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PCER Sample Comparisons-Child
PCER 2002 PCER 2003 FACES ECLS-K
Gender ( Male) 53 48 51 50
Race/Ethnicity
-White (non Hispanic) 30 36 31 57
-African American (non-Hispanic) 44 52 26 14
-Asian/Pacific Islander 2 1 1 7
-Hispanic/Latino 17 5 30 18
-American Indian/Eskimo 0.4 1 2 2
-Other 6 6 18 3
Disability Status 15 19 9 --
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Teacher Education
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Academic Outcomes

• From the Child Assessment
• -Baseline Data-

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Child Math Assessment (CMA) Composite
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Child Math Assessment (CMA)Composite score, by
treatment status
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Woodcock Johnson-III Applied Problems
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Woodcock Johnson-III Applied Problems, by
treatment status
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Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA) Reading
Quotient
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Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA) Reading
Quotient,by treatment status
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Woodcock-Johnson-III Letter Word Identification
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Woodcock-Johnson-III Letter Word
Identification,by treatment status
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Woodcock-Johnson-III Spelling
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Woodcock-Johnson-III Spelling,by treatment
status
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Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) III
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Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) III, by
treatment status
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Test of Language Development (TOLD) Grammatical
Understanding
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TOLD Grammatical Understanding, by treatment
status
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Social Outcomes
From Teacher Report Form -Baseline Data-
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Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) Social Skills

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Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) Social
Skills, by treatment status
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SSRS Problem Behaviors
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SSRS Problem Behaviors, by treatment status
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Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS)
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Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS),by
treatment status
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What we can learn from PCER

• Which curricula appear to better support school
  readiness
• The type of support teachers need in order to
  effectively implement curricula

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Additional Benefits of PCER

• Support collaboration between practitioners and
  researchers which can produce
• Research that is more relevant to practice
• Researchers and practitioners who understand how
  to be good collaborating partners
• Model for other education research programs

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PCER Contact Information

• Program Officers
• Caroline Ebanks, PhD
• E-mail Caroline.Ebanks_at_ed.gov
• James Griffin, PhD
• E-mail James.Griffin_at_ed.gov
• PCER Websites
• PCER 2002 http//pcer.rti.org/
• PCER 2003 www.pcer-mpr.info