We’re only one month into 2014 and there have already been a great deal of interesting reports on preschool and early learning technology.
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) recently released a new paper, “Expanding Access to Quality Pre-K is Sound Public Policy.” While this claim has been made many times in different ways, this article is particularly interesting. Instead of adding to the clamor of 50 years of data, it reviews previous research and presents a statistical summary of data collected since 1960 to the present day to make the case for investment in preschool education.
While I encourage you to read the paper for yourself, here are some of the highlights:
Do high quality preschool programs result in positive, long-term effects for children?
The answer is a resounding yes…with one caveat. The programs must be of good quality. The higher the quality, the more beneficial and long-lasting the program. Unfortunately, many preschool programs do not offer this level of excellence at this time.
What are the estimated effects of state and local Pre-K programs in recent years?
An overwhelming majority of studies conclude these programs improve school readiness. Furthermore, these effects are felt well after the child has left preschool, promoting success in formal schooling.
Is Head Start ineffective?
There is increasing evidence that Head Start is working. While a study showed Head Start failed to make significant improvements past the preschool years, this was in 2002. Since then, government reforms are attributed to increasing the quality of these programs. Data from 2003 to 2009 show the program yielded large effect sizes for language and literacy.
Can government improve the quality of public preschool education?
There are excellent examples that it can. In addition to Head Start’s success, there are local examples. New Jersey is a compelling case in point of the positive impact of government policy on preschool education. After receiving a court order to provide statewide preschool education, the state implemented a continuous improvement system. Within 8 years, the quality of preschool education had changed from poor to good or excellent. In addition, a lasting positive impact was measured when these students had reached the fifth grade.
If states expand preschool education with temporary federal matching funds, what would happen to their budgets when federal money is not available?
The report predicts that in the year 2030 every state except Idaho (which already has low grade repetition and special education costs) would spend less on Pre-K through 12th grade even after federal spending runs out. This would be achieved through meeting quality preschool standards, offering a full school day, and serving all children under 200% of the federal poverty line. Cost reduction estimates range from $25 million in small states to $1 billion in larger states like California and Florida.
The evidence gathered in this report offers exceptionally strong confirmation that high quality preschool programs improve children’s prospects in school and beyond. It is a resounding call for our government to make these available to as many children as possible.
You can find the full article here.
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In other news, I recently spoke with The Children’s Advocate on how to select and use technology appropriately with young children. You can find both of those conversations here and here.
For insight into national literacy levels, you can now see current and past years’ 4th grade reading achievement levels from the Kids Count Data Center state by state. Overall, a very large number of children are below proficient in reading. These results highlight the need to focus intensely on early literacy to improve this situation.
Speaking of literacy, Kathy Roskos and colleagues have just published a study and found that engaging with ebooks in preschool, particularly on mobile devices, “may favor behaviors that support literacy motivation, sense of control, and interaction.” You may remember Dr. Roskos from this fall when she and her colleague Jeremy Brueck were #HatchExpert Webinar speakers, the recording of their presentation on ebooks can be seen here: http://hatchearlylearning.com/events/reading-with-ebooks-webinar/
Jumping from literacy to math, data analyzed by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows how preschool positively impacts student math scores. The good news just keeps adding up!
Finally, the Fred Rogers Center has written a nice piece on what parents and caregivers should consider when choosing technology for young children. I’ve always found that the Fred Rogers Center has an excellent approach to technology and early education. Additionally, the post also features highlights from their updated technology position statement that they jointly released with NAEYC. Good reading all around!
Hard to believe all that came from the first month of the year! Can’t wait to see what the rest of 2014 has in store.
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