ERIC Number: ED569994
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Oct
Pages: 118
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Making Pre-K Count: Improving Math Instruction in New York City
Morris, Pamela A.; Mattera, Shira K.; Maier, Michelle F.
MDRC
In the context of a persistent achievement lag among low-income children despite substantial investments in early education, policymakers and practitioners continue to seek ways to improve the quality of children's preschool experiences. The Making Pre-K Count study addresses whether strengthening prekindergarten (pre-K) instruction in math, hypothesized to be a "linchpin" skill in children's development, can improve children's short- and longer-term learning. Specifically, the study rigorously evaluated the effect of an evidence-based math curriculum called Building Blocks along with ongoing training and in-classroom coaching, relative to the typical pre-K experience. Making Pre-K Count took place in 69 pre-K sites and over 170 classrooms across New York City. Thirty-five of the pre-K sites were assigned to receive the math curriculum, training, and coaching over two years (the "BB-MPC" group), while the other 34 were assigned to continue their typical programming (as the "pre-K-as-usual" group). Outcomes for children were assessed in the second year of the study, after teachers were familiar with the program. Over the course of the study, the typical pre-K experience in New York City was changing rapidly, with a new focus on the Common Core math standards and a major expansion into universal pre-K. This initial report provides early results on teachers and children at the end of pre-K during the second year of Making Pre-K Count implementation. Two appendices are included: (1) Baseline Equivalence of Teachers, Parents, and Children Across Program and Control Groups; and (2) Analysis Model.
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Mathematics Instruction, Mathematics Curriculum, Coaching (Performance), Training, Common Core State Standards, Control Groups, Experimental Groups, Faculty Development, Preschool Teachers, Program Evaluation, Program Effectiveness, Program Implementation, Fidelity, Observation, Achievement Tests, Children, Longitudinal Studies, Surveys, Statistical Significance
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Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Robin Hood Foundation; Heising-Simons Foundation; Overdeck Family Foundation; Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation
Authoring Institution: MDRC
Identifiers - Location: New York (New York)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A