Although high-quality early care and education (ECE) is widely accepted as one of the most effective means for promoting early learning and development, many ECE programs have limited impact perhaps because of issues with how ECE quality is defined and measured. This study seeks to expand definitions of ECE quality by asking which preschool ECE…

This "Success Gaps Rubric: Addressing Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity" is designed to help any school district or school identify the root causes for success gaps, which are gaps in performance between groups of children in a district or school. The rubric uses the term children because, although the children may range in age from…

Contemporary perspectives on emergent literacy in preschool emphasize the importance of providing developmentally appropriate, authentic, early writing experiences and supporting students' home language and culture. The current study analyzed kindergarten outcomes for 82 linguistically diverse, low-income children (60% Black, 40% Latino) who…

The vast majority of youth experiencing symptoms of a mental health (MH) disorder never access services. Barriers to access include unawareness of symptoms or where to get help, stigma, or lack of transportation or finances. Many school, family, and community collaboration models have begun to enhance access to MH supports. The present study…

Early fine motor ability is significantly associated with later achievement, even after controlling for typical child-level predictors of school outcomes. Previous longitudinal studies have confirmed this but typically have not included low-income, at-risk populations. Research has distinguished two different aspects of fine motor skills: those…

This paper uses meta-analytic techniques to estimate the separate effects of the starting age, program duration, and persistence of impacts of early childhood education programs on children's cognitive and achievement outcomes. It concentrates on studies published before the wide scale penetration of state-pre-K programs. Specifically, data are…

This study sought to answer the following questions: (1) Is it feasible to develop Academic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and collect data on them across member urban school districts? (2) Are comparisons between districts on academic performance measures valid and reliable? (3) Do districts collect and maintain requested KPI data in a way…

This comprehensive strategic plan lays out a vision for an education system that offers every Rhode Island student the opportunity to be a lifelong learner. While this plan is informed by the events of the pandemic, it looks beyond to address the root issues that impede students from thriving at every level of their education. It lays out…

This article reports findings from an evaluation study of a 10-week interactive drama residency in a large Head Start preschool in a southeastern state. The goal of the study was to learn about what happened when three to five-year old children and their teachers experienced interactive drama, with particular questions about how the young…

Early learning programs impact students, especially those with developmental delays. These formative years play a vital role in the overall development of the students' skills. School districts want to reach these special education students during these crucial years to help close the developmental delay gap. This quantitative study examines the…

Quality preschool programs that develop the whole child through age-appropriate socioemotional and cognitive skill-building hold promise for significantly improving child outcomes. However, preschool programs tend to either be teacher-led and didactic, or else to lack academic content. One preschool model that involves both child-directed, freely…

This study examines whether the physical location of Pre-K programs--whether in elementary school buildings or stand-alone centers--leads to differences in student outcomes in elementary school. Over the past several decades, public investment in Pre-K programming has burgeoned. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, 32…

Research indicates that a high-quality, full-day kindergarten experience is a crucial component to setting students up for ongoing academic success, yet vast differences exist in the quality of kindergarten programs and how they are funded across the states. As states continue to develop strong pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs, many are also…

Two decades ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court in "Abbott v. Burke" mandated that the state establish high quality preschool education in the 31 highest-poverty school districts. New Jersey created a pre-K program with high standards and a continuous improvement system that transformed a patchwork of private and public programs into a…

The measurement of self-regulation in young children has been a topic of great interest as researchers and practitioners work to help ensure that children have the skills they need to succeed as they start school. The present study examined how a revised version of a commonly used measure of behavioral self-regulation, the…