Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Expanding and Understanding: Evidence on Classroom Processes and Taking Early Childhood Interventions to Scale

(Education)

Support for and investment in early childhood education has expanded dramatically over the past two decades. This is due, in large part, to evidence indicating that participation in high quality preschool can result in improved school readiness. Yet, we know little about the scalability of early interventions, and even less about the influence of classroom processes and contexts in shaping children’s development. This panel focuses on a diverse and complementary set of studies of early childhood interventions and settings. The panel brings together four papers reporting results from timely research on early childhood education issues directly impacting classroom practices and policy. The studies use a range of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, including a randomized controlled trial (RCT), classroom observations, interviews, and a content analysis of the mathematics that is included in widely used (and recommended) early childhood curricula. The panel includes results from a large-scale RCT of a high quality preschool mathematics curriculum as well as results from the expansion of a model prekindergarten program in Boston. In addition to these two papers exploring the effects and implementation of preschool programming, the panel includes a paper that analyzes the mathematics content of 16 widely used preschool curricula from a list recommended by Head Start. The fourth paper on the panel analyzes observations of kindergarten classrooms in a large urban district to understand the quality and quantity of mathematics content kindergartners are exposed to during the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The first paper presents results from a randomized controlled trial of a high quality preschool mathematics curriculum in a large urban school district. In addition to reporting estimates of program impacts, the paper will explore program implementation including results on training attendance, coaching dosage, and technical curriculum implementation. The second paper also examines preschool, focusing on the scaling out of Boston’s high quality prekindergarten program. The authors report results of a 2.5 year pilot effort to implement Boston’s public prekindergarten in community-based organizations, in contrast to existing public schools, where the program originated. Results are reported on program implementation using data on instructional quality and interviews with key stakeholders. The last two papers focus on preschool curricula and instructional content in kindergarten classrooms. They are among the first studies to provide detailed information on what mathematics children are taught in early childhood settings, each using a different approach to glean new information on mathematics instruction for young children. The third paper on the panel analyzes 16 popular early childhood curricula to answer questions regarding math content and instruction in preschool classrooms. The curricula were coded to identify explicit math-related objectives and to identify the primary content of math activities. The final paper in the session uses results from approximately 78 observations of mathematics instruction in 39 kindergarten classrooms across 24 schools. The authors document how much time is spent on math lessons, what content is covered, and instructional quality in a large urban district after adoption of the Common Core State Standards