National Center for Early Development and Learning Multistate Study of Pre-Kindergarten, 2001-2003

The National Center for Early Development and Learning
(NCEDL) Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten examined the
pre-kindergarten programs of six states: California, Illinois, New
York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia. For this study, pre-kindergarten
(pre-k) included center-based programs for four-year-olds that are
fully or partially funded by state education agencies and that are
operated in schools or under the direction of state and local
education agencies.
The study had two primary purposes:

To describe the variations of experiences for children in
pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs in school-related settings
(public schools and state-funded pre-k classrooms in community-based
settings), and
To examine the relationships between variations in
pre-kindergarten/kindergarten experiences and children's outcomes in
early elementary school.
The study addressed six primary groups of research questions:

What is the nature and distribution of education and
experience of teachers and teacher assistants in pre-k public school
programs?
What is the nature and distribution of global quality and
specific practices in key areas such as literacy, math, and
teacher-child relationships in a diverse sample of pre-k public school
programs for four-year-olds as well as in a similarly diverse sample
of kindergarten classes?
How do quality and practices vary as a result of child and
teacher characteristics (e.g., child gender, race, home language,
family income, and teacher's years of education) and classroom,
program, community, and state structural variables (e.g.,
teacher-child ratio, funding base of the program, teacher salary, and
degree of state regulation) for children with different demographic
characteristics (e.g., race, gender, home language, and family
income)?
Do quality and practice vary in relation to combinations
of these variables? For example, are quality and practice a function
of family poverty and teacher pay or education?
Can children's outcomes at the end of their
pre-kindergarten year be predicted by the children's experiences in
pre-k programs? Are the various dimensions of quality and/or practice
differentially related to outcomes? Are these relationships constant
across a population of children with different characteristics (e.g.,
race, gender, home language, and family income)?
Do pre-kindergarten program quality and practices predict
children's transitions to kindergarten and children's skills at the
end of the kindergarten year? Are these transitions moderated by
children's characteristics, like race, gender, and family
income?
The six states in the study were selected based on the significant
amount of resources they have committed to pre-k initiatives. States
were also selected to maximize the diversity in geography, program
settings (public school or community), program intensity (full day
versus part day), and educational requirements for teachers. Within
each state, a random sample of 40 centers/schools was selected. One
classroom in each center/school was selected at random for
observation, and four children in each classroom were selected for
individual assessment. The children were followed from the beginning
of pre-k through the end of kindergarten. In five of the six states,
families were also visited in their homes.

Classroom Services and Specific Instructional Practices
Within the 40 classrooms in each participating state, carefully
trained data collectors conducted classroom observations twice each
year, while additional surveys were used to gather information from
administrators/principals, teachers, and parents. Data were gathered
on program services, (e.g., healthcare, meals, and transportation),
program curriculum, teacher training and education, teachers' opinions
of child development, and their instructional practices on subjects
such as language, literacy, mathematics concepts, and
social-emotional competencies. Data were also collected as to what
types of steps were taken to aid children in their transitions from
pre-k to kindergarten.
Children
Within each participating pre-k classroom, four randomly selected
children were assessed using a battery of individual instruments to
measure language, literacy, mathematics, and related concept
development, as well as social competence. A panel of expert reviewers
aided the researchers in selecting a variety of standardized and
nonstandardized assessments. The pre-k child assessments were
conducted in the fall and spring of 2001-2002. The same children were
followed into kindergarten and assessed in the fall and spring of
2002-2003 to examine whether specific practices employed by pre-k
teachers made a difference in their transitions to kindergarten.
Families
In individual home-based interviews, information on socio-economic,
socio-cultural, and familial contexts were obtained through open-ended
questions, structured ratings, and videotaped parent-child interactions.
Specifically, parents were asked about (1) family life as it relates
to socio-economic status and socio-cultural environment, (2) family
educational practices and beliefs about the comparative roles of
school and family in educating children, (3) the nature and quality of
the home-school relationship, and (4) their own ratings of their
children's psychological development and social competence.

Demographic information collected includes race, gender, family
income, and mother's education level.
The above information pertains to the Main Child Level Public-Use Version and the Main Child Level Restricted-Use Version. From these main datasets, subsets were created at the classroom level for Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K Classroom Level Public-Use Version and Pre-K Classroom Level Restricted-Use Version) and for Kindergarten (Kindergarten Classroom Level Public-Use Version and Kindergarten Classroom Level Restricted-Use Version).