High quality matters in early education through elementary school. Simply put, it is the only way we will see results. Each year of a child’s education should build upon the next. The most promising and effective models focus on:
- Curriculum aligned from preschool to third grade that focuses on building skills from year to year
- Professional development & coaching for teachers
- Classroom quality
- Teacher-child interactions
- Assessment & data that shows progress and areas to improve
- Longitudinal data
Fadeout studies give us an opportunity to understand why some programs are effective and why some are not.
- Focus on the kindergarten through third grade experience and continuity between early education and the elementary school years.
- Implement models with fidelity and greater quality control.
- Ensure the same level of quality exists in early education and our neighborhood elementary schools.
- Show children are better off with longitudinal data from preschool through third grade.
It is time to build a system that ensures continuity between early education and third grade.
“If quality is high in an early childhood program but not in K-3 classrooms, it stands to reason that sustained achievement will likely be low.”
– Future Of Children, December 2016
Boston and Dallas are changing the traditional approach and seeing results.
Boston Schools Shift to More Play-Based, Kid-Led Curriculum in Early Grades
A Recipe for Closing the Opportunity Gap from PK-3 from Dallas ISD
Dallas Independent School District's thoughtful, thorough, and data-informed implementation of CLASS creates benefits that reverberate from pre-k through early elementary and beyond.
In Building Early Education Leaders, New America takes a closer look at how states and districts are equipping principals to support young learners.