National issues rarely creep into local Decatur issues (and vice versa), and here at DPS Chalkboard we usually try to stay in our local lane, but anyone in a local policy-making role (board members, district administration) should take heed of the national conversation on expected outcomes of pre-kindergarten programs. Two new studies on the effects of pre-k attendance on long-term individual success need to guide and direct local policy. I’m not going to do a deep dive into either of these studies – since they address national issues there are excellent analysis of each on multiple publicly accessible websites. What I’d like to provide though is:
1. Links to (easily understandable) summaries of the studies, and
2. Help interpreting these study results locally.
A very, very brief summary:
The two pre-k studies were the first studies of their kind to randomize children through lottery systems to fill pre-k spots (one in Tennessee and the other study in Boston) and then follow the children through college age, reporting on achievement and test scores for the kids. Both studies show unequivocally that pre-k attendance does not result in higher standardized test scores. The Tennessee study, the one with the best statistical design, even shows a decrease in test scores starting at grade 3 for the pre-k attending group and continuing through high school.
Furthermore, while the Tennessee study shows negative impact in test scores, it additionally shows that by third grade the students randomly assigned to the preschool group had more disciplinary issues and were more likely to be sent to special education resources. The Boston study confirms the Tennessee results on test scores but does however show a very small increase in the likelihood of preschool children attending college (the statistical significance of the 70% vs 64% has been called into question.)
For something this important, please read more about the studies here:
· https://www.npr.org/2022/02/10/1079406041/researcher-says-rethink-prek-preschool-prekindergarten
· https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/briefing/universal-pre-k-biden-agenda.html
The local take-away:
There are a few good things in the President’s Build Back Better plan (immigration reform, expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, etc.), but $200 billion dollars to expand access to preschool is not one of them. Last year the White House put out a statement that said that this program was “critical to ensuring that children start kindergarten with the skills and supports that set them up for success in school”. I’m not sure what the President thinks now, as he’s been silent on the issue since these results were released, but if the money does eventually come – we should take it! However, these study results must inform our decisions on the best way to put the money to use. The Tennessee system offered retirement, health care, and pay for the pre-k teachers that matched state teacher pay. Clearly if teacher-based preschool doesn’t work, paying teacher wages is simply not necessary! Pre-k state spending is one case where, according to Dale Farran one of the Tennessee study’s authors, “something is not better than nothing”. If we can utilize the money (if it every comes) toward maximizing basic play-based childcare, at basic childcare profession pay scales, we will be money ahead and give the attending children their best opportunity for success.
Additionally, these studies should inform our policy decisions on our current pre-k programs. Pershing Early Learning Center and Montessori Academy for Peace (I feel silly every time I type the name of that school) both offer pre-kindergarten programs. Taking these study results into account, the administration and the board should do a systematic review of the policies and employee (notice, given the results I cannot call them “teachers”) wage scales for the programs.
And a final note directly from the NPR article referenced above:
“One of the biases that I hadn't examined in myself is the idea that poor children need a different sort of preparation from children of higher-income families." She's talking about drilling kids on basic skills. Worksheets for tracing letters and numbers. A teacher giving 10-minute lectures to a whole class of 25 kids who are expected to sit on their hands and listen, only five of whom may be paying any attention. "Higher-income families are not choosing this kind of preparation," she explains. "And why would we assume that we need to train children of lower-income families earlier?"
Let’s do what is best for our Decatur children and make our pre-k programs (inexpensive) play-based environments without lofty expectations, to accomplish the simple goal of providing a safe, nurturing place for children while parents go to work. Indeed, a requirement to entry into our program should perhaps be proof of employment for both parents or (obviously) only one parent in the case of single parent households.