A Publication of the National Institute for Early Education ResearchFebruary/March 2007 Volume 5, No. 2

NIEER

New State Preschool Yearbook Results

PAGE 3

Why 3-Year-Olds Belong in Pre-K

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FUNDED BY

m a t t e r s

NIEER has tracked theprogress of state-funded pre-school education for severalyears. With each issue of theState Preschool Yearbook, we gather a fuller picture of how and where growth in preschool education isoccurring. (See page 3.)

While no single trendfully represents what’s occur-ring in the states, it is begin-ning to look like there is astrong and pervasive socio-political undercurrent affect-ing all, or nearly all, the states:Preschool education has yetto be accorded the respect itdeserves.

When we issued the firstYearbook for 2001-2002, wesaid that state preschool pro-grams were failing the nation’s

children. Five years later, wefind improvements, but notenough to alter that originalassessment. One problem isan astonishing disconnectbetween rising enrollmentand the allocation of fundsrequired to deliver qualityservices to the kids.

Although there has beendouble-digit growth in enroll-ment in recent years, it hasbeen accompanied by a trou-bling decline in per-childspending. After adjusting forinflation, the national aver-age of $3,482 per child for2005-2006 is the lowest per-child funding level for statepre-K since NIEER begantracking it. Equally startlingis this fact: for every statewhere real per-child funding

rose in 2005-06, there weretwo where it declined.

It’s important to note this occurred during a periodwhen most state budgets haverecovered from their post-Sept. 11 deficits to a sounderfinancial footing. During thatsame period, inflation hasraised the cost of providingpreschool education by atleast 15 percent.

Clearly, many policyleaders continue to treat thefunding of preschool educa-tion as if it were not reallyessential. This might or mightnot work in Higher Educationwhere parents have 18 yearsto save and public programscharge increasingly steeptuition and fees. However,

persistently underfundingstate pre-K is likely to turn it into mere babysitting,undermining the quality thatis necessary to make pre-K asound investment.

Nowhere is this more evi-dent than Florida where thenew state program servedover 100,000 children in its first year of operation.While Florida is to be con-

gratulated for making suchrapid progress on enroll-ment, we have to ask whatchildren are being enrolledin. At the $2,500 per childpaid by the state, providerscan’t afford highly qualifiedteachers, nor does the staterequire them. How longFlorida voters, who wentaround their legislature tomandate high quality pre-school education in the firstplace, will put up with whatis at best a bad case of wish-ful thinking will be telling.

To be sure, the rapidgrowth in access to state-funded pre-K suggests agrowing awareness amongpolicymakers and the publicof preschool education’simportance. Even FederalReserve Chairman BenBernanke’s recent remarksrecognized the high returnshigh quality early childhoodeducation could pay to theeconomy.

However, until politiciansare willing to back up theirexpansions of enrollmentwith the funds and othersupports needed to make theprograms effective, the payoffto our children and nationwill remain in doubt. n

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F R O M T H E D I R E C T O R ’ S C H A I R

How Do We SpellRespect?

W. Steven BarnettDirector, NIEER

National Institute for

Early Education Research

120 Albany Street, Suite 500

New Brunswick, NJ 08901

732-932-4350

Fax: 732-932-4360

www.nieer.org

The National Institute for Early Education Research supports early childhood education initiatives

by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research. NIEER is one component of

a larger early education initiative designed, funded and managed by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

W. Steven Barnett, Director

Carol Shipp, Director, Public Affairs

Pat Ainsworth, Communications Director

Mary Meagher, Communications Assistant

Jen Fitzgerald, Public Information Officer

Sandy Ogilvie, Art Director

© 2006 National Institute for Early Education Research

Send comments, opinions, and news to editor@nieer.org.

Address Changes: Please include mailing panel on page 12when requesting address changes.

NIEER is a unit of Rutgers University.

NIEER

For every state where

per-child funding rose,

there were two

where it declined.

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Anyone digesting theresults from NIEER’s newlyreleased 2006 State PreschoolYearbook can hardly beblamed for feeling like theyjust stepped off a rollercoaster. The growth in accessto state-funded preschooleducation documented inrecent yearbooks took off in2005-2006, posting a steepclimb of 18 percent in justone year. What’s more, themajority of that rise came byway of a single state. Floridaenrolled more than 100,000children in its new VPK program in its first year ofoperation.

That feat and incrementalincreases in other states pushthe total enrollment in the 38states with pre-K programsto 942,766 children served,raising the expectation thatthe one-million-child markmay have been reached in2006-2007. State-funded pre-K is now the largest providerof public preschool educationprograms.

Look at funding, however,and many states take a diveby failing to match increasedenrollments and the effects of inflation with increasedfunding. For every state thatincreased funding per child,there were two that permittedper-child spending to drop in real terms. As a result, thenational average of fundingper child fell to the lowestlevel since NIEER began col-lecting such data in 2000-2001.

On quality issues, the dataturn back toward positiveterritory. Sixteen states raised

their quality standards suffi-ciently to meet NIEER bench-marks they had not previouslymet and some of them raisedmore than one benchmark.For the first time, two statesmet all 10 of the NIEER bench-marks for state standards—Alabama and North Carolina.

Hidden behind thenational picture is tremen-dous variation among states.Access to state pre-K rangesfrom universally available tononexistent, quality standardsfrom excellent to poor, andfunding varies by several ordersof magnitude. Oklahomacontinues to lead the nationas the only state to close inon universal enrollment, andit does so with high standards.In addition, evaluations ofOklahoma’s pre-K program

provide evidence that it resultsin positive outcomes for thechildren who attend.

Of the 942,766 childrenattending state programs in2005-2006, some 805,807were age 4. That means statepreschool education nowserves 20 percent of the 4-year-old population. Thisraises the concern that 3-year-olds are being over-looked in some states. Only26 of the 38 states with pro-grams offer pre-K to 3-year-olds. Only five states servemore than 10 percent ofthem. Despite numerousstudies showing the benefitsof more than one year of preschool education, statepre-K is largely a programfor 4-year-olds.

While Alabama and

North Carolina achieved perfect scores of 10 qualitybenchmarks, five othersachieved nine of the 10. Atthe other extreme, 10 statesfailed to meet at least half ofthe benchmarks.

While average spendingper child decreased, totalfunding for state pre-Kincreased by $380 million, or 13 percent before adjust-ing for inflation. Florida’s newprogram contributed morethan half of that increase.States spent an average of$3,482 per child on their pre-school education programsin 2005-2006. The decline in per-child expenditure canbe attributed to: (1) increasesin enrollment that outrunincreases in funding and (2) inflation.

“States face a constanttemptation to increase thenumber of children servedwithout a proportionateincrease in expenditure,” saysNIEER Director Steve Barnett.“This is a concern becausewhen enrollment outpacesfunding, states run the riskthat effectiveness will deteri-orate.” He says inflation canhave equally insidious effects,especially since inflation inthe state and local govern-ment sector of the economyruns about twice as high as in the overall economy. Since2001-2002, inflation-adjustedstate pre-K funding per childhas declined by more than 15percent, Barnett says. TheYearbook can be found onthe web at www.nieer.org/yearbook. n

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2006 State Preschool YearbookShows New Highs, a New LowDecline in Per-Child Spending Accompanies Big Jump in Enrollment After Years of Languishing, Quality Standards are on the Move

While overall spending by the states for preschool education rose from 2001-2002 to 2005-2006, average spending per child declined when risingenrollments and the effects of inflation are considered.

SCHOOL YEAR

SCHOOL YEAR

TOTAL SPENDING

STATE SPENDING OVER TIME (2006 DOLLARS)

01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06

01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06

$3,855

$3,482

$4,171$4,076 $3,979

PER-CHILD SPENDING

$3.3

$3.2

$3.1

$3.0

$2.9

$2.8

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

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One need not spend a lot of time with research likethe Perry Preschool Project,Abecedarian or ChicagoChild-Parent Center studiesto understand that startingchildren early in preschooleducation produces the bestresults, whether one meas-ures success by achievementin school or in life. Yet mostof the growth in state-fundedpreschool education hasoccurred in programs for 4-year-olds. That worriesexperts like Yale UniversityProfessor Emeritus and HeadStart co-founder EdwardZigler. “Preschool educationshould take in all ages priorto kindergarten,” he says, “butat the very least, it shouldserve 3- and 4-year-olds.”

That thought isn’t lost on policymakers in states likeNew Jersey, Vermont, Illinoisand Arkansas, where the pop-ulation of 3-year-olds servedhas grown in recent years.

Illinois, which ranks thirdin the nation in serving 3-year-olds through state pre-K, is about to swing the pre-K doors open wider to thisage group. The state is ramp-ing up to serve all 3-year-oldsdeemed to be at risk of school

failure as part of GovernorRod Blagojevich’s new Pre-school for All program.

Oklahoma, with its ster-ling reputation for providingpreschool education for all 4-year-olds whose parents wantthem to attend, is now focus-ing on 3-year-olds as well.Governor Brad Henry has

called for a pilot program for 3-year-olds. At press time,Henry had yet to garner sufficient support in the legislature to make his plan a reality.

In New Jersey, longranked first in the nation inpercentage of its 3-year-oldsserved, expanded access forthis age group could be inthe offing if Governor JonCorzine and the legislatureact on recommendations toextend the Abbott PreschoolProgram to districts not previously eligible.

With more 3-year-oldsheading to pre-K, it would be useful to have a robustbody of research literatureaddressing teaching 3-year-olds in pre-K. Not muchexists despite the substantial

differences in developmentalareas like vocabulary, atten-tion span, motor skills andself-regulation that existbetween 3- and 4-year-oldchildren. While the two agesare often grouped together in the classroom, experts saydeveloping programs thataddress the needs of each isanything but a one-size-fits-all proposition.

Few in early childhoodeducation are as involvedwith integrating 3-year-oldsinto public pre-K as BarbaraBowman, well-known earlychildhood professor and co-founder of Chicago’s EriksonInstitute. She served on thecouncil advising IllinoisGovernor Blagojevich on hisnew plan and also serves asthe chief officer of the Chicago

Leading States are Taking a Fresh Look at Public Pre-K for 3-Year-Olds But One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Mixed-Age Classrooms

Here Come the 3-Year-Olds!

While most of the growth in state-funded preschool education has occurred in programs for 4-year-olds, some states areexpanding access to the 3-year-olds.

Three-year-olds can go

to pre-K in any setting

where 4-year-olds can go—

whether it’s center-based

care, nursery school or

the public schools.

Barbara Bowman

Public Schools’ early child-hood education programs.That means Bowman is up toher elbows in implementingthe program to serve all theWindy City’s 3-year-oldsdeemed at risk of school failure.

Like Zigler, she is a truebeliever in the ability of 3-year-olds to profit from earlyeducation. “Three-year-oldscan go to pre-K in any settingwhere 4-year-olds can go—whether it’s center-basedcare, nursery school or thepublic schools,” she says.Then she emphatically addsthis qualifier: “So long as theprogram has been developedto address their needs.”

Developing ProgramsBy that Bowman means programs must be tailored to recognize 3-year-olds are not as far along in their dev-elopment. She uses early literacy as an example. “Everyday there have to be storiesselected specifically for 3-year-olds, keeping in mindthe kind of story and num-ber of words they can under-stand.” It’s also critical toexpend the extra effortrequired to socialize 3-year-olds in the pre-K setting,something that may requirehaving parents stay in theclassroom longer until chil-dren feel comfortable andmanaging the potential forself-centered behaviors thatare not atypical in children 3 years of age.

Bowman, who, likeZigler, serves on NIEER’s scientific advisory board,says as the Preschool for Allprogram expands, districtswith large numbers of 3-year-old pupils may organizeclasses exclusively for thatage group. Where therearen’t enough pupils to fill a 3-year-old class or whereeducators see no advantage

to organizing by age, mixed-age classes can work just fine—again only when programsand teaching are attuned tothe needs of each age group.

She believes mixed-ageclassrooms can have distinctadvantages. Older childrencan help younger onesaccomplish tasks and dev-elop pro-social behaviors.Both age groups learn valu-able lessons in the process. A veteran pre-K teacher inher own right, Bowman illustrates with this example:“I used to teach in a class-room with children rangingin age from 2 to 5. I hardlyhad to tie a shoe all yearbecause the 5-year-oldshelped the 2-year-olds withit.” The dynamic she describesis one that not many yearsago had some educatorsadvocating for mixed-ageclasses as a primary model in preschool and even ele-mentary school.

Potential ProblemsThere’s a potential downside,however. “The problem wehave traditionally had withmixed-age classes is thatdoing it right requires anenormous amount of plan-ning,” Bowman says. Onereason is teachers must havea story every day for the 3-year-olds and also one forthe 4-year-olds. While theolder kids enjoy the story for

the younger children, it fallsfar short of challenging them.Teachers in mixed-age class-rooms also have to plan effi-ciently so they can interactwith each child in each agegroup during the course ofthe session. Bowman says toooften, teachers in mixed-ageclassrooms end up teaching“to the lowest commondenominator.”

Mixed-age classrooms are well-established in NewJersey’s Abbott PreschoolProgram. Ellen Frede, whoseoffice in the New JerseyDepartment of Educationwas responsible for imple-menting the Abbott Program,also believes mixed-age class-rooms can benefit both agegroups. “But,” she says, “youhave to do it right and thattakes qualified teachers witha strong support system.

“I often remind educatorsthat even if you had a class ofchildren born on exactly thesame day, it would not beappropriate to teach them allthe same thing in the sameway. So why do we think aclass of 3- and 4- year-oldsmixed together is so muchmore challenging? I think itactually forces teachers tothink about individual needsand interests. Mixed-agegrouping also allows pro-grams to implement loopingand that gives the childrenand teachers the gift of two

years together,” Frede says.Looping is the practice ofhaving teachers keep some or all of the same childrenfrom one year to the next.

Since leaving state gov-ernment and resuming herfaculty position at The Collegeof New Jersey, Frede hasassumed the role of NIEER’sco-director. Under her lead-ership, NIEER researchers,many with teaching experi-ence, study pre-K classroomeffectiveness and educationoutcomes in New Jersey andother states. Like Bowman,Frede sees the challenge notonly as a researcher and for-mer teacher, but also as animplementer of policy.

Whole-Child FocusIt’s all part of the whole-child focus—an approachthat also makes inclusion of children with disabilities easier. Frede says including3-year-olds was also chal-lenging because some inex-perienced and poorly pre-pared teachers wanted to tryto teach them all the skillsthat kindergarteners or evenfirst graders should be learn-ing. “That’s harmful for 4sbut it’s hideous for 3s. Weactually observed a teacher in the first year trying toteach a group of 3-year-oldsthe silent E rule,” she recalls.“YIKES!”

There were also issueswith facilities and equipmentbeing the right size, toilettraining and parents whobelieved their child was tooyoung. “Overall, it has been a big success though andthese small issues are wellworth resolving when we seethese great results,” Fredeconcludes.

Someone who has expe-rienced the challenges “upclose and personal” is Frede’s colleague and NIEER researchCONTINUED ON PAGE 6 >>

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I often remind educators

that even if you had a

class of children born

on exactly the same day,

it would not be appropriate

to teach them all the

same thing in the same way.

Ellen Frede

>> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

associate Amanda Colon.She’s a veteran New Jerseypre-K teacher who sees thedynamics from the perspec-tive of her five years inmixed-age classrooms and as a researcher evaluatingprograms. She says small-group time can be especiallychallenging in mixed-ageclassrooms because it’simportant to scaffold learn-ing for children at all levels.

“It takes planning tomake sure you’re reachingboth the 3s and 4s,” she says.Colon provides this example:“Let’s say you’re playing withcounting bears, which comein various sizes and colors. It might be appropriate toencourage 4-year-olds tocount them and comparegroups to see if they havemore of one color or size.For the 3-year-olds, this can be overwhelming. Theymight, however, enjoy andbenefit from lining up theirbears by color or size. Theycan then use one-to-one correspondence (lining upone blue bear next to one redbear until they run out) to

figure out if they have moreblue or red bears. One-to-one correspondence is a skill that leads to counting.”

She says without propertraining in early childhoodeducation, many teacherswouldn’t know how theseskills develop. “Contrary towhat some may think it’s notappropriate to simply takewhat is done in kindergartenor first grade and scale itdown for 3-year-olds,” sheadds.

Mixed-age classroomscan prove beneficial forEnglish Language Learners,too. Alexandra Figueras is

another researcher at NIEERand veteran pre-K teacher inNew Jersey’s Abbott districts.Children were taught in bothEnglish and Spanish andFigueras is fluent in both. “At first I had my reserva-tions about 3-year-olds inthe dual language class, espe-cially since the majority ofthem were English LanguageLearners,” she says.

However, by the end ofthe first year she observed aninteresting dynamic: “Whilethe older children were ableto help the younger oneswith things like zipping coatsor tying shoes, the youngerkids at times were helpingwith translations if an olderchild was having difficultywith language.”

That’s when Figuerasbecame a believer in the ideathat the combination mixed-age and dual language class-room could become, in herwords, “a unique learningcommunity where all the

children could feel they had a role to play.” If New Jerseyand Illinois are any example,it’s an idea whose time hascome. n

Here Come the 3-Year-Olds!

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“At first I had my reservations about 3-year-olds in the dual-language class,” says NIEER researcher Alex Figueras,shown here with preschoolers in the classroom where she taught in New Jersey’s Abbott Preschool Program. Those reservations disappeared by the end of the year.

Contrary to what some

may think it’s not

appropriate to simply take

what is done in kindergarten

or first grade and scale it

down for 3-year-olds.

Amanda Colon

Top 10 States Serving 3-Year-Olds in State-Funded Pre-K

PERCENTSTATE SERVED

New Jersey 14.8

Illinois 14.4

Vermont 14.1

Kentucky 11.0

Arkansas 10.6

Massachusetts 8.8

California 5.0

South Carolina 4.0

Texas 4.0

West Virginia 4.0

Source: The State of Preschool 2006,

NIEER, New Brunswick, NJ

America has yet to successfully cope with thefact that our classrooms are experiencing the largestinflux of immigrant childrensince the great migrationsthat powered the industrialrevolution in the last century.

Despite warnings fromeconomists that today’simmigrant children are noless important to America’sfuture prosperity than thegenerations that precededthem, they are entering K-12education poorly prepared tolearn and failing to graduatehigh school and college at farhigher rates than youngstersfor whom English is theirfirst language.

Numerous factors con-tribute to this problem, butonly one lies at the very heartof it—language and the cul-ture with which it is associ-ated. Teaching and Learning

in Two Languages, written by Arizona State Universityprofessor Eugene E. Garciaas part of the MulticulturalEducation Series conducts afresh and authoritativeexamination of the range ofissues involved in educatingEnglish Language Learners(ELL) in America today.

Garcia is Vice Presidentfor University–School Part-nerships at Arizona StateUniversity. He served asdirector of the Office ofBilingual Education at theU.S. Department of Edu-cation during the ClintonAdministration. The currentvolume, published in 2005,follows his 2001 bookHispanic Education in theUnited States and in manyways extends his premise inthat work to other culturaland linguistic groups.

Readers not versed inissues of bilingualism in education will find Garcia’sdepiction of bilingual educa-tion and multiculturalism tobe accessible, nuanced andresearch-based. He explainsin easily understood termsthe theory and research onsecond language teachingand learning and providesexamples of successful pro-grams along the way.

As in his previous writ-ings, Garcia approaches theissue from the perspectivethat language and culturaldiversity in the U.S. are, inhis words, “a resource thatmust be considered if thebroader goal of educationalsuccess coupled with socialsuccess is to be a reality forbilingual students.”

At the outset the circum-stances of bilingual children

are cast in the broad contextof demographic and socialtrends that may surprisemany for the rapidity withwhich they are unfolding.Minority enrollment as aproportion of total enroll-ment in elementary and sec-ondary education has risenfrom 24 percent in 1976 tomore than 40 percent today.As a proportion of totalenrollment, Hispanics haveincreased from 6.4 percent tomore than 12 percent. Thattrend is continuing apace,with white, American stu-dents predicted to become a minority in about threedecades.

Language andDevelopmentHe develops early on thelinchpin argument that manyEnglish-only speakers in andout of education have yet tofully appreciate—that lin-guistic, cognitive and socialdevelopment are interrelatedand proceeding simultane-ously. Bilingualism is notsimply the sum of two lan-guages but a more complexprocess in which cognitiveand even social factors oper-ate within the structuralaspects of language.

The book serves as anengaging primer on school-ing theories and practices in bilingual settings as well as optimal instruction andlearning features that havebeen shown to work. Garciaexplains promising newapproaches such as dual lan-guage programs that aim tocreate bilingual, biculturalstudents by instructing bothELL and English-speakingstudents in a second lan-

guage without sacrificinglearning outcomes.

His policy analysis takesus from the landmark 1974Supreme Court Lau v.Nichols ruling establishingthe language-support rightsfor language-minority stu-dents to subsequent courtrulings that affected thoserights and then to local, stateand federal policies, includ-ing the Bilingual EducationAct, and its reauthorization.Garcia also addresses nega-tive implications for bilin-gual education that resultedfrom the elimination of TitleVII, which distributed fundsfor bilingual education beforethe federal No Child LeftBehind Act was passed in2002.

Teaching and Learning inTwo Languages is anythingbut ponderous. Garcia teachesby example and manages to cover a lot of territory inabout 200 pages. Beyond thedry statistics is anecdotal evidence, not least of whichis a riveting letter from a LosAngeles high school teacherto a former colleague. Itspeaks volumes about thestate of our schools today. As with his previous works,Garcia brings a personaltouch—one forged workingin the fields with his Mexicanimmigrant parents. n

Related Reading

A Primer on Bilingualism in EducationTeaching and Learning in Two Languages Bilingualism and Schoolingin the United States

Eugene E. Garcia, 2005New York: Teachers CollegePress216 pp., ISBN 0-80724536-7,$29.95

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Joining the ranks of fel-low Midwestern states likeOklahoma and Illinois, Iowahas launched a plan to makepreschool universally availableto all the state’s 4-year-olds.

A proposal under consid-eration of the state legislatureaims to provide high-qualitypreschool education programsto 90 percent of 4-year-oldsby 2012. Under the currentstate preschool initiative,Shared Visions, only childrenfrom low-income families orthose at-risk for school fail-ure qualify for state-fundedpreschool.

The proposed legislationwill house the state preschoolprogram at both public andprivate schools but, regard-less of setting, schools musthave a licensed teacher, meetstate standards, and operateat least 10 hours a week inorder to qualify for statefunds. Estimated costs for theprogram would range from$15 million in 2007-2008 to

$87.3 million by 2012-2013,when experts predict the statewill have 90 percent of Iowa’s4-year-olds enrolled in statepre-K. Funding would bebased on a per-pupil formulasimilar to the one used for K-12 spending.

If the legislation, which atpress time was in subcommit-tee is approved, Iowa wouldbecome a nationwide leaderin providing preschool to all4-year-olds. Oklahoma, thestate currently providing themost access to state-fundedpreschool education pro-grams, serves 70 percent ofits 4-year-olds—20 percentless than what Iowa hopes to serve.

Iowa’s Shared Visionsinitiative meets five out of 10 benchmarks for programquality in NIEER’s 2006 StatePreschool Yearbook and forthe 2005-2006 school year,ranked 32 out of 38 stateprograms for access to pre-school for 4-year-olds. n

Look Who’s Moving to UPK Now: Iowa

In late January, NIEER published a study finding stu-dents in Arkansas’ state-funded preschool education pro-gram showed significant improvements in early language,literacy and mathematics as opposed to less impressive gainsby children without the program.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe used these findings as aplatform to push for an additional $40 million in fundingfor the successful Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) preschooleducation program, bringing total funding for the initiativeup to $100 million. Beebe says that the increased fundingwould allow the program to expand and reach all the state’s

at-risk 3- and 4-year-old children. Arkansas’ state initiative also received high marks from

NIEER’s 2006 State Preschool Yearbook—a nine out of 10 forquality, and ranked 9 out of 38 for resources invested in theprogram, and 5 and 15 out of 38 for access to the program for3- and 4-year-olds, respectively. In late 2006, NIEER researchfellow Clive Belfield also found that even using a conserva-tive economic model, expanding the ABC preschool educa-tion program would return $1.58 for every dollar spent onthe program. n

Arkansas Adds Money to Preschool Initiative; NIEER Report Praises Quality

P R E S C H O O L N E W S F R O M A C R O S S T H E N A T I O Nin the trenchesP

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Mississippi to Develop ExperimentalPreschool Education Program

A C R O S S T H E N A T I O N

The lone Southern state without a state preschool program, Mississippi is at last taking baby steps toward developing more access to preschool programs.

Governor Haley Barbour says Mississippi cannot at this time afford a full-scale,public preschool program. So he has included $1 million in his budget to introduce a small scale “preschool program” that functions as a resource and referral service.Barbour has said his vision for the service is “to teach little children’s parents how to do things for themselves and for their children.”

Critics point to the stark contrast between Governor Barbour’s $1 million referral service and state School Superintendent Hank Bounds’ proposed $10 million plan to fund 88 pilot public preschool programs throughout the state.

Governor Barbour has also said he would like to see more educational content in the Head Start program, which Mississippi relies heavily on to reach low-income and at-risk children. The state provides no funds for the program, however, relying entirely on federal funding for the program, making Mississippi the state with the highest federal Head Start spending per capita. Still, the program enrolls only about 26,000preschoolers, while another 40,000 plus Mississippi children attend no preschool program.

Overall, slightly more than 50 percent of the state’s 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in some sort of preschool program—6 percent more than thenational average, according to Education Week’s “Quality Counts” report. n

Two High-Level Reports Call for Universal Access to Preschool Education

Two sets of policy leadersincreasingly concerned aboutthe future ability of ournation’s workforce to com-pete in the global economyand contribute to balancingthe federal budget have rec-ommended in their reportsadoption of public policiesthat provide universal accessto high-quality preschooleducation for 3- and 4-year-old children.

In Tough Choices or ToughTimes, the New Commissionon the Skills of the AmericanWorkforce says the educationsystem in the U.S. was builtfor an era when work nowdone by machines or beingfarmed out to low-cost over-

seas workers was done byAmericans. Too few Ameri-can children are learningenough creative and criticalthinking skills to compete forfuture jobs in an era whenbetter-educated youngstersin other countries can com-pete thanks to computersand the Internet.

Among the recommenda-tions are ending high schoolat age 16, paying teachers ona scale based on merit andlocation of school (i.e., urbanversus rural), turning schoolsover to independent contrac-tors, and having every statemake high-quality preschooleducation available to all 3-and 4-year-old children. To

read more about the report,visit http://www.skillscom-mission.org/executive.htm.

In its report, titled Cost-Effective Investments in Children, The BrookingsInstitution analyzed universalprovision of pre-K to all 3-and 4-year-olds as part of itsproposed formula for balanc-ing the federal budget by 2013.According to the authors,who included economist andBrookings Institution seniorfellow Isabel Sawhill, it wouldtake spending $94 billion todeliver high-quality earlychildhood education for thenation’s 3- and 4-year-olds aswell as spending $39 billionon three other childhood ini-

tiatives over a 5-year periodto deliver the returns thatwould help pay off the federaldebt. Other recommendedsteps include trimmingdefense spending, revisingthe tax code and modifyingSocial Security to account for the increased longevity of retirees. The full report,which is part of theBrookings Budget OptionsSeries, is available at http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/200701isaacs.htm. n

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newsmaker P E O P L E M A K I N G N E W S

Great Expectations:

Graciela Italiano-Thomas and Washington’sThrive by Five Partnership

Two of the biggest pre-school education stories havebeen the movement towarduniversal preschool educa-tion in California and therise of Washington’s public-private partnership dedicated

to developing a new modelfor delivering pre-K services.Dr. Graciela Italiano-Thomashas been at the center ofboth. As CEO of Los AngelesUniversal Preschool, GracielaItaliano-Thomas waged thestruggle for UPK in theGolden State. More recently,she was named CEO ofThrive by Five Washington, a position that enables her toleverage her experience andsome of the best strategicminds our country has tooffer in an effort to develop anew model for deliveringearly childhood education.Preschool Matters askedItaliano-Thomas how shesees the challenge.

Q: Public-private partner-ships like Thrive by Fiveseem to be on the increase inearly childhood education.Why do you think that is? A: The research is clear. The

21st century education sys-tem that can prepare ourchildren for today’s globaleconomy must include earlylearning. Public-private part-nerships like Thrive by FiveWashington join the best the public and private sectorshave to offer. The public sec-tor brings experience, expert-ise, and considerable resourcesand infrastructure. Privateorganizations, such as foun-dations and businesses offercredibility, nimbleness, andmarket-based knowledge.Both are essential to creatinglasting, meaningful change in the field of early learning.Several states, such as Illinoisand Oklahoma, have benefit-ed from the public-privatepartnership model and wehope to do the same here inWashington state.

Q: You come to Thrive by Five from Los AngelesUniversal Preschool, anorganization you wereinstrumental in creating and which continues tostrive for preschool for all.How is your task at Thriveby Five different? A: I am excited about theopportunity to build a morecomprehensive, birth to 5approach to supportingyoung children’s develop-ment and learning. Whilehigh-quality preschool serv-ices can make an incredibledifference, other supportssuch as parenting education,home visitation programs,developmental screening andhigh-quality child care also

have a big impact. I amextremely pleased to be ableto develop, evaluate and assessthis comprehensive approachhere in Washington.

Q: Thrive by Five is backedby philanthropies of somewell-known business lead-ers. How do they affect thedynamics of the organiza-tion?A: The private sector backersof Thrive by Five Washingtonare smart strategists whobelieve in a collaborativeapproach to problem-solving.Our private partners repre-sent a great cross-section ofWashington businesses andfoundations—there’s a gen-uine hunger within the pri-vate sector in our state tobetter align dollars for earlylearning and to move thingsforward in important ways.So this is a historic time forWashington, and it is truly aprivilege to serve alongsideall of these funders, publicfunders and the many parents,providers and policymakersinterested in this issue.

Q: We’ve read your organi-zation is creating an earlylearning model the rest ofthe country can use. Couldyou talk about that? A: A lot of attention hasfocused on our two demon-stration communities wherewe are drawing heavily fromthe experience of otherstates, and local efforts with-in Washington communities.We hope that these compre-hensive community efforts

will better illustrate the manybenefits that access to high-quality early learning holdsfor children and their fami-lies. Demonstration commu-nities in East Yakima andKing County’s White Centerneighborhood are bringingtheir unique characteristicsand strengths to bear inbuilding early learning choic-es and programs for families.We plan to evaluate bothcommunities rigorously, andcertainly will share our keylessons with the field. Wealso hope that over timethere will be lessons to sharefrom our investments in vali-dating and expanding otherpromising programs acrossWashington, from our strate-gic investments in statewideinfrastructure, and from this“model” of joining publicand private interests.

Q: The drive for universalpreschool education failed as a ballot initiative inCalifornia. What lessons, ifany, does that have for thosedeveloping early childhoodpolicy in other states? A: First, according to exitpolls, voters supported pre-school. What they rejected is the tax measure. The ini-tiative was complex and people in the field were fear-ful of it. When trouble camewe didn’t have the strengthof support on the groundnecessary to win.

Q: The low rate of pre-K participation of Hispanic CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 >>

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study observed how teachersschedule and manage chil-dren’s time, what childrenactually do with their time,the behaviors used by teach-ers and the nature of theirinteraction with children,according to study directorJeanne E. Montie.

“The findings highlightthe importance of allowingchildren to be active partici-pants in their own learning,and of providing ampleopportunities for children tochoose their own activities,work individually or in smallgroups, and work directlywith a variety of materials,”said Montie, who along withHigh/Scope FoundationPresident Lawrence J.Schweinhart and ZongpingXiang co-authored the study.“The findings also reinforcethe importance of the edu-cation of early childhoodteachers,” added Montie.

Montie said the researchis unique because of themany diverse countries thatparticipated and commoninstruments used to measurefamily background, teachers’characteristics, structural fea-tures of settings, children’sexperiences and children’sdevelopmental status. Shealso pointed out that thefindings refute the widely-

held belief that no universalrelationships exist betweenpreprimary practices andlater behavior.

According to co-authorSchweinhart, “The positiverelationship between thenumber of years of teachers’education and children’s lan-guage scores seems intuitivebased on past research inhome and preschool settings.However, the relationshipbetween children’s languagedevelopment to free choiceactivities is less obvious.”

Child’s PerspectiveHe said that from a child’sperspective the activities thechild selects are interestingand engaging and suit thedifficulty level of the child,whereas activities selected bythe teacher may be too easyor difficult or simply notinteresting.

“Free choice activitiesprovide the opportunity and,often, the necessity for chil-dren to interact verbally withother children in one-on-oneor small group play—assign-ing roles for dramatic play,establishing rules for games,making plans for blockbuilding, and so forth,” saidSchweinhart. “Further, theinformal nature of free playprovides an opportunity forteachers to engage children

in conversation specific totheir play and to introducenew vocabulary relevant tothe children’s interests,thereby promoting languageacquisition.”

The findings are consis-tent with those from otherstudies including the HarvardGraduate School of Educa-tion Home-School Study ofLanguage and LiteracyDevelopment. David K.Dickinson, co-principalinvestigator of the Harvardstudy said, “free play is thetime when children flex theirlinguistic and conceptualmuscles and contribute toeach other’s development.”And other research in theUnited Kingdom by Siraj-Blatchford, Sylva, Muttock,Gilden and Bell, found thatmore highly trained teacherswere the most effective intheir interactions with chil-dren, using the most sus-tained shared-thinking inter-actions.

The IEA research projectshowed the relationshipbetween teacher-proposedwhole group activities andchildren’s cognitive per-formance at age 7 is just the opposite.

The report suggests thatduring large group activitiesthere is little opportunity for children to have lengthy

reciprocal conversations forthe purpose of planning theirplay or solving problems.Further, when adult-centeredteaching is used, adults areprimarily giving childreninformation, with interactionunder the control of the adult.When children respond as agroup they generally repeatwhat is expected of themwith little thought given tothe automatic responses.

“If an activity does notchallenge a child or if it is too difficult, little usefullearning takes place,” saidSchweinhart. “In order tobuild cognitive skills, chil-dren need to solve problemsand explore materials ontheir own. Learning and creativity takes place whenchildren confront situationsthat pique their interest andstretch their imaginations.”

The researchers from theMichigan-based High/ScopeFoundation coordinated theproject in collaboration withcolleagues from the 10 coun-tries studied. An article basedon the findings was pub-lished in the Fall 2006 issueof Early Childhood ResearchQuarterly. The preprint version of the report is athttp://www.highscope.org/Research/international/IEA_Age_7_ecrq_art.pdf. n

Ten-Country Study Finds Four Pre-K Practices That Make a Difference

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compared to non-Hispanic children nationally (thoughsome areas of the country have very high rates forHispanics) is receiving more attention these days. What’s your perspective on this?A: Hispanic parents, like all of us, have big dreams for theirchildren. According to an August 2006 New America Mediasurvey, less than 10 percent of the ethnic parents surveyedwould be satisfied if their child only graduated from high

school. Although ethnic parents see preschool as playing animportant educational role for their children, less than 30percent of parents with children under the age of 5 haveenrolled them in such a program. Why? We know that cul-ture and language play a role, but half of Latino parents whoresponded said that there are no quality child care or daycare centers in their neighborhood or town that they canafford. That’s something that we need to improve. n

Great Expectations: Graciela Italiano-Thomas

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discoveries S C I E N C E N E W S Y O U C A N U S E

Young children who participate in high-qualityprekindergarten programsbenefit from enriched cogni-tive, social and emotionaldevelopment—that much isclear based on years of con-clusive research. But, ques-tions persist about the educa-tion levels needed for effec-tive teachers as well as whatspecific classroom activitiesprovide the greatest advan-tages—in short, what are theelements of a high-qualityeducation that transcendcountries and cultures andthat can help refine classroompractices to improve chil-dren’s learning capabilities?

Thanks to new resultsfrom a longitudinal studywith data collected from 10countries, we now have evi-dence of four policies andpractices that are consistentlyrelated to positive child lan-guage and cognitive outcomesfor children at the age of 7.

The InternationalAssociation for Evaluation

of Educational Achievement(IEA) Preprimary Project,coordinated by researchers atthe High/Scope EducationalResearch Foundation, foundthat teacher education leveldoes matter and that childrenmake greater progress whentheir teachers emphasizechild-initiated activities, limit the use of whole-groupinstruction and provide

abundant materials in theclassroom.

According to the study,Preschool Experience in 10Countries: Cognitive andLanguage Performance at Age 7, after controlling forfamily and cultural influ-ences, improved language for children at age 7 is linkeddirectly to:

• Classroom activities whereteachers let children choosethe activities in which theywill participate, includingdramatic play, arts, crafts andmusic, rather than teacher-prescribed activities; and

• Teachers with greater numbers of years of full-time schooling.

Further, children’s cognitiveperformance at the age of 7improved as:

• Children spent less time inwhole group activities, and

• More equipment and mate-rials were made available tothe preschool classrooms.

More than 1,400 4-year-olds across Finland, Greece,Hong Kong, Indonesia,Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain,Thailand and the UnitedStates took part in the longi-tudinal study that measuredchildren’s cognitive and lan-guage status at the ages of 4and again at 7. At age 4, theCONTINUED ON PAGE 11 >>

Ten-Country Study Finds Four Pre-KPractices That Make a Difference

Children make greater progress when their teachers emphasize child-initiatedactivities, limit of the use of whole-group instruction, and provide abundantmaterials in the classroom.