Key National Education Indicators Workshop Summary (2012) / Chapter Skim
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2 Indicators for Preschool
2 Indicators for Preschool
Pages 10-20
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From page 10... ...
These councils are "trying to figure out what data they should collect, how they should collect it, and how to bring together information across multiple government agencies into a single system," he added, so there is still time to influence them. A national indicator system that addresses preschool would have an important influence, not just on state data collection, but policy in general, he and others agreed.
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From page 11... ...
enriching and stimulating home environments percent of families with multiple risk factors number of children or families receiving health, mental health, and social services Index of children's prenatal exposure to hazards Family demographics 11
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From page 12... ...
The most commonly cited data on program participation are from the Current Population Survey, the National Household Education Surveys program (NHES) , and the decennial census (American Community Survey)
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From page 13... ...
. The National Institute for Early Education Research publishes an annual report that includes data on spending for child care and education, teacher-child ratios, and other indicators, but in Barnett's view, these data do not provide a picture of all preschool programs.
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From page 14... ...
She noted that children who experience discontinuity between home and school are at risk for decreased academic performance, and that, conversely, positive partnerships between professionals and families produce positive changes in the family environment, parentchild relationship, parenting skills, and family involvement in children's learning (Caspe and Lopez, 2006; Grolnick and Slowiaczek, 1994; Masten and Coatsworth, 1998; Phelan, Davidson, and Yu, 1998; Sheridan, Bovaird, Glover, Garbacz, Witte, and Kwon, in press; Turnbull et al., 2011)
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From page 15... ...
Cognitive abilities, including language, attention, and math skills are strongly predictive of achievement at the end of primary school and even into high school (Dickinson, 2011; Duncan et al, 2007; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008; Verhoeven, van, Leeuwe and Vermeer, 2011)
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From page 16... ...
For example, if one measure is number of books in the home, simply buying books for families could be the logical policy response, yet it would be unlikely to have much effect. Sue Sheridan agreed, and she focused most of her suggested indicators on aspects of the home environment.
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From page 17... ...
; shared interactive experiences with books and other printed materials; exposure to vocabulary enrichment; positive social interactions; guided exploration and constructive play; and opportunities for learning and problem solving. Parental engagement behaviors and a stimulating home environment in children's first 5 years are highly related to cognitive and social outcomes, she explained, and play an exceptionally important role in shaping the capacity of the developing brain.
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From page 18... ...
. Partnerships with providers of these services can produce changes in the family environment, she noted, and provide potential for changing developmental trajectories, and "moving the needle, particularly for children who show early signs of developmental risk." Index of Children's Prenatal Exposure to Hazards Prenatal exposure to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, environmental toxins, violence, and parental stress also adversely affect child development, and the developmental consequences can be very severe and are long term.
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From page 19... ...
Another participant noted that sampling is a useful way to track basic trends but that if states or districts would like to have formative data that would allow them to plan instruction and to target students' needs, it would be necessary to use a different measurement approach. Other assessment instruments might also be tapped for preschool indicators, and participants mentioned a web-based early childhood assessment used in Australia, the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS)
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From page 20... ...
Part of the difficulty is that while there is a fairly strong consensus about what children need -- which includes secure attachments with adults; supportive and nurturing relationships with caregivers; a stimulating, language-rich environment; and systems to support those experiencing adversity -- these elements are much more difficult to measure than, say, mathematical or language learning. At the same time, the children who are not getting all of those elements in a preschool program are all too often those whose families have the greatest risk factors.
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