High-quality early care and education (ECE) provides an important foundation for young children’s success in school and in life. Yet fewer than two of three U.S. children are enrolled in center-based ECE programs. Gabriele Fain examines ECE internationally and the factors that may contribute to the high rate of participation ...
Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders are increasingly aware of the powerful potential for summertime experiences and the need to design, implement, and continuously improve summertime experiences for all.
The purpose of the Independent Evaluation of California’s Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT–ELC) Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) is to inform California stakeholders about the ability of the QRIS to accurately measure program quality, differentiate programs with better learning outcomes for children, and provide quality improvement (QI) ...
Micro-credentials are quick competency-based certifications that illustrate mastery of a skill. This research brief describes the existing research on micro-credentials, Leadership for Equity micro-credential content, the analytical approach that informed this research, and findings from interviews with principals. ...
A qualitative study of nonrespondent addresses to the 2019 administration of the National Household Education Survey was conducted to better understand the drivers of nonresponse to mail-based household surveys in general—and to the NHES in particular—and to provide actionable information on how to combat this growing problem. ...
With government-supported preschool alive, recovering from the recession, and growing again at the state level, Susan Muenchow offers three central questions when considering preschool expansion.
The start of the 2022-23 school year marked the beginning of the expansion of California’s transitional kindergarten (TK) program, which provides an additional year of early education prior to traditional kindergarten. Research has shown that transitional kindergarten improves learning for children overall, with especially pronounced benefits for dual language learners. ...
Dr. Deborah Moroney specializes in bridging research and practice, having worked as a staff member for out-of-school programs early in her career. She’s written practitioner and organizational guides; co-authored the fourth edition of “Beyond the Bell®, A Toolkit for Creating High-Quality Afterschool and Expanded Learning Programs,” a seminal afterschool resource; ...
Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a greater emphasis has been placed on academic development during the afterschool hours. Research has found that students’ participation in afterschool program is beneficial to academic achievement and social adjustment. This report shares the findings of the five-year study conducted ...
In 2003, First 5 California approved $100 million to establish the Power of Preschool (PoP) Demonstration Program to expand access but also to provide financial incentives to improve the quality of preschool. This brief addresses what lessons can be learned from the PoP demonstration projects to help inform the development ...