LOOKING AT QUALITY PROGRAMS AND CHILDREN KATHY R. THORNBURG ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER EARLY AND...
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LOOKING AT QUALITY PROGRAMS AND CHILDREN KATHY R. THORNBURG ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER EARLY AND EXTENDED LEARNING Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary
LOOKING AT QUALITY PROGRAMS AND CHILDREN KATHY R. THORNBURG
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER EARLY AND EXTENDED LEARNING Missouri
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education May 2012 1
Slide 2
Socioeconomic Status Socioeconomic status is one of the
strongest predictors of performance differences in children at the
beginning of 1 st grade. 2
Slide 3
What is the Answer? Supporting families of young children and
early childhood professionals who work with them. Provide high
quality early learning programs. 3
Slide 4
Early Vocabulary Predicts Later Reading Achievement Age 3
vocabulary predicts 4 th grade vocabulary (Hart & Risley, 1995;
Walker et al., 1994; NICHD, 2005) Kindergarten vocabulary predicts
7 th grade reading comprehension and decoding skills (Dickinson
& Tabors, 2001) 4 th grade vocabulary predicts 12 th grade
reading achievement (Snow et al., 1991) 4
Slide 5
Kindergarten teachers speak... December 27, 2004
Slide 6
Missouri School Readiness Study 6
Slide 7
Research Question Do preschool children who attend higher
quality programs show greater gains in school readiness than their
peers who attend lower quality programs? 7
Slide 8
Study Description 38 programs (32 centers and 6 homes) 66
classrooms 350 children ages 3 to 5 were assessed in fall 2008 and
spring 2009 45% female 11% with special needs 30% eligible for
free/reduced lunch 59% White 29% Black 6% Multiracial 4%
Latino/Hispanic 2% Asian 8
Slide 9
Child Measures Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 4 th Ed.
Receptive vocabulary Test of Early Reading Ability, 3 rd Ed. Early
literacy skills, including print concepts, alphabetic knowledge
Uppercase Alphabet Identification Knowledge of uppercase letters
Woodcock Johnson III Applied Problems Counting, addition,
subtraction 9
Slide 10
More Child Measures Basic Shapes and Colors Identification
Knowledge of shapes and colors Devereux Early Childhood Assessment
(DECA) Social skills and behavioral concerns (rated by teacher)
Motor Skills Assessment Fine and gross motor skills 10 Program
Personnel Administra tor Education and Training Staff Education
Education Specializat ion Annual Training Program Content Learning
Environme nt Program Curriculu m Program Manageme nt Family
Involveme nt Business and Administra tive Practices
Slide 11
Program Quality Measures (QRS) Program Personnel Administrator
Education and Training Staff Education Education Specialization
Annual Training Program Content Learning Environment Intentional
Teaching Program Management Family Involvement Business and
Administrative Practices 11
Slide 12
Programs and Children Program Quality Number of Programs Number
of Children Low973 Medium19209 High1068
Slide 13
Analyses No differences among the 3 groups at the pretest
related to: gender age percentage of children with special needs
percentage of children in poverty Differences in percentage of
minority children and number of monthly absencesthey were
controlled for in the analyses. 13
Slide 14
Findings 14
Slide 15
All Children in Low vs. High Quality Programs Compared to their
peers in low quality programs, children in high quality programs
showed greater gains on the following measures: DECA Total
Protective Factors DECA Initiative DECA Self-Control DECA
Attachment 15
Slide 16
Average Gains on Measures of Social and Emotional Development
for All Children 16
Slide 17
Good news... No differences were found among the three groups
on colors and shapes because most children knew many of the colors
and shapesthere was not much room for improvement! 17
Slide 18
Children in Low vs. High Quality Programs by Poverty Status
Children in poverty in high quality vs. low quality programs showed
greater gains on: PPVT-4 TERA Alphabet subtest Gross Motor DECA
Total Protective Factors DECA Initiative DECA Self-Control Poverty
was measured by free/reduced lunch status. 18
Slide 19
Average Gains in Measures of Social Skills for Children in
Poverty 19
Slide 20
Average Gains in Vocabulary for Children in Poverty 20
Slide 21
Average Gains in Knowledge of Letters/Sounds for Children in
Poverty 21
Slide 22
Average Gains in Gross Motor Skills for Children in Poverty
22
Slide 23
Children Not in Poverty Children not in poverty in high vs. low
quality programs showed greater gains on: TERA Meaning subtest DECA
Total Protective Factors DECA Initiative DECA Self-Control These
children showed fewer gains on : Fine motor skills (0-10) (low
quality5.6 to 7.9; high quality5.4 to 7.0) Gross motor skills
(0-22) (low quality9.6 to 15.3; high quality13.1 to 16.4) 23
Slide 24
Average Gains in Social and Behavioral Skills for Children Not
in Poverty 24
Slide 25
Average Gains in Print Awareness/ Comprehension Skills for
Children Not in Poverty 25
Slide 26
Next big question... How does this fit with the Birth to 3 rd
Grade Initiative? Missouri has a Birth to 3 rd grade assessment
system plan that includes observations for quality in K, 1 st and 2
nd grades We need to assess childrens progress, teacher knowledge
and skills, and program quality 26