The Big Lift is a collective impact initiative extending from preschool to third grade in San Mateo County, California. The collective impact effort consists of people and organizations from various sectors uniting to tackle a single, complicated societal problem -- in this case, third grade reading achievement. The initiative is a partnership of…

This appendix provides additional details on the underlying data, statistical models, and results presented in the main report. We first describe how we created each control and outcome variable and its source (e.g., parent report), followed by an overview of the logistic regression models employed, and then provide the full set of results from…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift) is a preschool-third-grade collective impact initiative in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the County of San Mateo, San Mateo County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency by third grade…

Many children begin school unprepared to meet its academic requirements. If this school readiness gap is not addressed, it can be a precursor to continuing low achievement. One promising approach to this problem is to provide high-quality early learning opportunities to low-income children. Many publicly funded early care and education programs in…

California has fallen behind on many key indicators of education performance, prompting policymakers to look for strategies to improve student outcomes. This research brief summarizes the fourth and final report from the California Preschool Study, synthesizing findings from earlier reports, and recommending policies to improve preschool education…

In an effort to inform preschool policy in California, an interdisciplinary team of RAND researchers conducted a multiyear study of preschool education known as the California Preschool Study. One of the recommendations from that study was the need for a more in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of the early care and education (ECE) workforce…

California has fallen behind on many key indicators of education performance, prompting policymakers to look for strategies to improve student outcomes. Among the policy options being considered is the possibility of expanding public funding for preschool education as part of a broader agenda of education reform. To provide a foundation for…

Research has shown that well-designed early education programs serving disadvantaged children in the year or so prior to kindergarten entry can generate benefits to government and the rest of society that outweigh the costs of the program services. As a result of this evidence and the conviction that children benefit from structured programs…

This document summarizes a full report that sought to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and the efficiencies or additional resources that might be brought to bear in early care and education. This study ascertains the percentage of children who participate…

Growing interest in universal preschool education has prompted researchers to examine the potential costs and benefits of making high-quality preschool available for all children one or two years before kindergarten entry. The analysis reported in this document builds on a previous RAND study which estimated that a high-quality, one-year,…

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in early care and…

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in early care and…

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education in California, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in…

Facing mounting evidence that California has fallen behind on many key indicators of educational performance, policymakers and the public share considerable interest in exploring whether California should expand public funding for preschool education. This expanded funding will be most effective if resources can be directed to their most efficient…