Prekindergarten and Parent Support Programs

by David Denton

During the 1990s, programs designed to improve children’s readiness for school have proliferated in the SREB region. By the end of 1998, 15 of the 16 SREB states had at least one program to provide preschool for children who were not disabled. (Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, all states must provide early intervention services for preschool-age children with disabilities.)

The SREB region has been a clear leader in providing prekindergarten. Six SREB states rank among the nation’s top 10 in the number of children served by state-supported prekindergarten programs. Texas leads the nation with 130,000 children served in 1998-99; Georgia is second with 61,000 (65 percent of all 4-year-olds in the state). In six SREB states, the combined number of children served by the state program and Head Start exceeds the number of children in poverty in the targeted age group (either 4-year-olds or both 3- and 4-year-olds). State-supported programs serve more than 275,000 3- and 4-year-olds regionwide.

The state programs vary significantly in scope and provide services in different ways. They range from pilot programs that serve fewer than 1,000 at-risk children to much more ambitious programs, such as Georgia’s lottery-supported prekindergarten, which is available at no cost to every 4-year-old in the state. While several states fund separate preschool programs like those in Georgia and Texas, others provide funds to expand existing Head Start programs or, like North Carolina (with its Smart Start program), provide grants to communities to meet locally identified needs.

In addition to preschool programs, several states also have or are developing programs that help parents learn to fulfill their roles as their children’s first teachers.

The region’s policy-makers have grown increasingly interested in developing, expanding and improving efforts to prepare children for school. To help each state make the most of its commitment to school readiness and benefit from others’ experiences, this report provides basic information about the structure, goals, funding and, where possible, results of preschool and parenting programs in the SREB states. It also lists some key questions for policy-makers to consider as they try to determine the best uses of limited resources.

Program impact
Among the SREB states, the most impressive evidence of the effectiveness of early childhood education comes from South Carolina, which has been testing the readiness of children entering first grade since 1979 and has had a state-funded prekindergarten program for at-risk 4-year-olds since 1984. In 1979 only 60 percent of new first-graders met the state readiness standard; by 1998 that number had risen to 81 percent.

South Carolina officials attribute the increase in readiness to the prekindergarten program, which served almost 30 percent of all 4-year-olds by 1998-99, and to the move to full-day kindergarten, which began in 1996.

Readiness scores rose steadily following the introduction of the prekindergarten program, and by the early 1990s the passing rate for new first-graders had leveled off at about 75 percent. Then, in 1996-97, the Legislature provided funding for about one-third of students to move from half-day to full-day kindergarten. Funding was increased in each of the next two years until full-day kindergarten was available to all children in 1998-99.

Between 1995 and 1997, the first year after full-day kindergarten became available, the number of new first-graders passing the readiness test rose dramatically, from 74 percent to 80 percent. The passing rate rose again in 1998, to 81 percent.

The South Carolina experience clearly shows that prekindergarten programs can improve the readiness of at-risk children. The biggest improvements in readiness following the introduction of full-day kindergarten were for African-American students and students from low-income families. Between 1995 and 1998, the passing rate for African-American students rose from 65 percent to 74 percent, while the rate for students who qualified for free lunches went from 59 percent to 73 percent.

Although full-day kindergarten continues to be voluntary, 80 percent of kindergartners were taking advantage of it by 1998-99. The state prekindergarten program and Head Start together serve almost 22,000 South Carolina 4-year-olds, substantially more than the estimated 14,000 4-year-olds living in poverty.

Results on the South Carolina readiness test also suggest that children whose parents participate in the state’s Parenting and Family Literacy Program score better than those in the general population. Most participants in this program are parents of at-risk children.

While no other SREB state has produced evidence as compelling as South Carolina’s, several states have undertaken limited efforts to assess their programs’ impact on children’s readiness for school.

A longitudinal study of at-risk children who participated in Georgia’s prekindergarten program during its first two years of operation found that participation in the program had a positive effect on the development, attendance and promotion of children in first grade. That study was discontinued after the program was opened to all 4-year-olds in the state in 1995. A study conducted during the 1997-98 school year examined program quality using the nationally recognized Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. When results were compared with results from other national and state studies that used the same rating scale, Georgia’s prekindergarten classrooms were found to be generally of higher quality than other states’. The classrooms were led by well-qualified teachers who knew how to teach children at that age level. However, teacher turnover rates, at 45 percent during the year studied, remain comparable to high turnover rates in early childhood programs nationally.

Evaluation of the Kentucky Family Resource and Youth Services Centers program has continued since its inception in 1990. The study has found “substantial evidence” that the centers are improving academic performance by removing barriers to learning. Classroom teachers said they observed significant gains in areas such as completing classwork and homework; following directions; obeying school rules; remaining on task; relating to peers; and cooperating with others. They did not report improvements in class attendance or tardiness.

Evaluation of Maryland’s Extended Elementary Education Program has shown a positive effect on participants’ performance through elementary and middle school as well as a significant reduction in referrals to special education. To date, participants have been followed as far as ninth grade.

In North Carolina, several studies of the Smart Start program have found that it has led to significant increases in both the quality and availability of child-care and preschool programs. Between 1994 and 1996, for example, the highest educational levels of center directors and teachers — essential to program quality — both increased. Not surprisingly, quality improvements were greatest in those counties that spent the highest percentage of their Smart Start funds on child care.

A longitudinal study of the Texas Public School Prekindergarten program in the early 1990s found that participants were less likely to be held back a grade or referred to special education and were more likely to be reading on grade level than nonparticipants.

Outside of the SREB region, long-term program evaluation results are available only in Washington state. Washington’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program provides at-risk 4-year-olds (those below the poverty level) with educational, social, health, nutritional and cultural services to increase their chances of success in school. Results through the first eight years of the program indicate that children who participate in the program subsequently improve academically, behave better in school and have fewer health problems. In addition, parents of these children are more involved in their activities both in and out of school than parents of children who do not participate. Staff/child ratios of 1-to-6 are required, and each teacher must have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or child development, plus two years of experience in a preschool, child-care or kindergarten setting.

Prekindergarten and Parent Support Programs in SREB States

Individual State Reports

Key policy questions

When considering how to develop or expand preschool programs, state policy-makers should ask the following key questions:

• What is the target population and how will eligibility be established?
• What are the desired results of the program and how will they be measured?
• What minimum standards must be in place in critical areas to ensure that the program will be good enough to achieve the desired results?
  • Staff qualifications?
  • Staff/child ratios?
  • Curriculum?
  • Facilities?
• Are enough qualified people available to staff the program? If not, what steps must be taken to provide training to increase that number?
• Are enough facilities that meet program standards available to house the program? If not, what steps must be taken to increase that number?
• How will the program be funded and how can funding be structured to ensure program continuity and stability?
• How will participants be chosen if need exceeds capacity?
• What state agencies will need to be involved in the program and which agency will be primarily responsible for policy decisions?
• What impact will existing educational or child-care rules and regulations have on the program?
• Could the program objectives be served better by putting additional resources into existing services — for example, raising state child-care standards and providing training in child development to child-care providers?
• How can local community support for the program be created most effectively, and what must be done to inform the public about the program?
• What issues not related to the program must be addressed to prevent problems that might limit its impact — for example, how do transportation and the program’s hours of operation affect working parents’ needs?
• When children move from the preschool program to the public schools, how can continuity be ensured?

High-quality preschool and parent-support programs can improve children’s readiness for school. Such efforts can help to reduce the need for and the expense of special programs for children who require extra help after they enter school. But these benefits can be expected only if program standards are high enough and all service providers meet those standards. A successful program requires a long-term commitment of adequate, consistent financial support.

The types of programs that will be most appropriate and effective will vary from state to state. By carefully considering other states’ experiences and answering the questions posed above, policy-makers can help to ensure that funds are used as effectively as possible to improve school readiness.

(99H01)

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