3-226 - Unpacking Variation in Early Childhood Education Quality Across States and Classrooms

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Early childhood education (ECE) quality varies greatly (LoCasale-Crouch et al., 2007). Sources of variation include classroom practices such as interactions between teachers and students, instructional and emotional support, and learning materials; and state policies including Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), teacher credential requirements, and the presence of a state-funded pre-k program. A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of ECE quality for positive child development and closing the income-related achievement gap (Yoshikawa et al., 2013). Together, the three papers in this symposium identify and explore gaps in ECE quality across the U.S., examine state- and classroom-level factors associated with access to high-quality ECE, and estimate the association between ECE quality and children’s school readiness skills.

Paper 1 uses data from eleven states to calculate standardized gaps in ECE quality. It identifies classroom- and state-level factors such as students’ competency upon program entry and variation in rates of program expansion across states to explain gaps. Paper 2 uses Head Start Impact Study data to examine how Head Start’s impacts on children’s enrollment in high-quality ECE vary by states’ commitment to ECE and policy characteristics such as QRIS and the presence of state-funded pre-k. Paper 3 uses the same data to examine how children’s experiences of switching from lower- into higher-quality Head Start centers offsets the hypothesized negative impacts of Head Start instability on school readiness. The discussant will provide integrative comments regarding the complex relationships between state ECE policies, ECE quality, gaps in ECE quality, and children’s school readiness.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chair

• Allison Hope Friedman-Krauss, New York University

Discussant

• Bridget K. Hamre, University of Virginia

Individual Presentations

• Will Public Pre-K Really Close Achievement Gaps? Gaps in Access to Quality Pre-K between Students and Across States - Presenting Author: Rachel A Valentino, Stanford Univ

• Varying States of Head Start: Impacts of a Federal Program Across State Policy Contexts - Presenting Author: Maia C Connors, New York University

• Impacts of Instability of Head Start on Children’s School Readiness: The Role of Center Quality - Presenting Author: Allison Hope Friedman-Krauss, New York University