Background/Context: There is a convergence of evidence that the quality of children's early care and education (ECE) experiences is critical for promoting children's development (Gormley, Phillips, & Gayer, 2008). Curriculum combined with professional development is thought to be the "strongest hope" for promoting quality (Weiland…

Quality in early childhood education (ECE) is central to equitable child development and preparation for formal schooling and has been widely studied by researchers and of interest to policy makers. As the federal pre-k program, Head Start is a key ECE context to understand quality and its implications for equity. One central measure of classroom…

The Head Start Act mandates that each Head Start grantee receive a monitoring review at least once every 3 years; each newly designated grantee be reviewed after the completion of its first year (and then at least once every 3 years thereafter); and all grantees that "fail to meet the standards" receive Follow-up reviews. Reviewers…

The Head Start Act mandates that each Head Start grantee receive a monitoring review at least once every 3 years; each newly designated grantee be reviewed after the completion of its first year (and then at least once every 3 years thereafter); and all grantees that "fail to meet the standards" receive Follow-up reviews. Reviewers…

This report presents a summary of the findings of fiscal year (FY) 2018 Head Start monitoring reviews, fulfilling the reporting requirement in Section 641A(f) of the Head Start Act. It highlights the enhancements made to the FY 2018 monitoring review system, summarizes grantee review outcomes, and describes the types of findings most commonly…

This report presents a summary of the findings of fiscal year (FY) 2017 Head Start monitoring reviews, fulfilling the reporting requirement in Section 641A(f) of the Head Start Act. It highlights the enhancements made to the FY 2017 monitoring review system, summarizes grantee review outcomes, and describes the types of findings most commonly…

This dissertation offers empirical evidence for the ongoing debates over targeted and universal preschool. Specifically, I ask: (1) Does universal preschool narrow socioeconomic achievement gaps? (2) To what extent, and under what conditions, does the American public prefer universal to targeted preschool? (3) Is universal preschool better funded…

A socioeconomic status (SES) gap in mathematical knowledge emerges early and widens prior to school entry. To address this gap, a curricular intervention, "Pre-K Mathematics," was developed and found to be effective in prior efficacy research. In the present project, the next step was taken in evaluating this intervention. Specifically,…