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High-quality early childhood experiences depend upon ongoing formative assessments. High-quality assessments enable teachers to monitor each student’s changing skills and competencies and to tailor instruction to reinforce children’s strengths and support individualized growth. Aggregated assessment data can also be used to identify system-level patterns, strengths, and gaps that can inform equitable resource allocation and investments in early childhood and elementary programs and initiatives.
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Reopening efforts should consider child care and preschool programs alongside k–12. To clarify what is known about COVID-19 transmission in early education programs, LPI researchers synthesized studies from around the world that explore transmission rates and mitigation strategies in these programs. They found that, when appropriate health and safety precautions are in place, there is no increased risk of contracting COVID-19.
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Despite the long-term benefits of early childhood education (ECE) and widespread public support for ECE programs, many children lack access to integrated, inclusive early learning experiences before kindergarten. To build a high-quality, equitable ECE system, federal policymakers can use the tools and resources at their disposal to support state and local efforts to meet the needs of children and families.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced childcare and preschool providers around the country to temporarily close their doors and financial burdens may force thousands of centers to shut down permanently. This could lead to the loss of as many as 450,000 child care slots, jeopardize efforts to reopen the economy, and undermine the development of our youngest learners.
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As California prepares to make major investments in its early childhood education workforce, three programs offer promising models for recruiting and preparing educators through innovative, affordable pathways. These successful programs provide lessons for the state's policymakers about how to ensure all children have teachers who meet high standards and reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of children and their families.
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Three California-based programs offer promising models for recruiting and preparing diverse cohorts of early educators through innovative and affordable pathways. These successful programs provide valuable lessons for policymakers and others interested in ensuring that all children have teachers who meet high standards and reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of students and their families.
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The first years of a child’s life provide a foundation for long-term health and well-being. As states consider policy proposals to update credential or degree requirements for early childhood educators, they can look to promising programs and state policies that recruit and prepare diverse cohorts of educators to teach in early childhood education programs. This report includes case studies of distinct approaches offering innovative, affordable pathways to preparation for diverse candidates.
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Two studies create a through line from children to practitioners to policy, describing the essential skills required for young children to be kindergarten ready, the skills educators need to teach them, and effective policies and practices for early educator preparation.
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Recently released research studies have revisited the question, "Does preschool make a long-term difference in the academic and life-long success of participants?" While these studies underscore the importance of context when assessing the impact of preschool, they don’t change a fundamental finding: Attending a high-quality preschool leaves children better prepared for kindergarten and has lasting impacts on child outcomes, especially when it is followed by high-quality elementary school instruction.
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What skills and competencies do early childhood educators need in order to provide high-quality early learning experiences? What essential skills should children master before entering kindergarten? The Early Childhood Essentials framework answers these questions based on an analysis of relevant research. It is a must-read for local and state decision-makers looking to build and expand high-quality early learning programs.
