
The Effects of Enrolling in Oversubscribed Prekindergarten Programs through Third Grade
Weiland, Christina; Unterman, Rebecca; Shapiro, Anna; Staszak, Sara; Rochester, Shana; Martin, Eleanor (2019). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED605893
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examining2,536Students, gradesPK-3
Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: November 2022
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) - ELA Score |
Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Students with observed baseline and outcome data;
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0.41 |
0.49 |
No |
-- |
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) - Math Score |
Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Students with observed baseline and outcome data;
|
0.36 |
0.47 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 52%
Male: 48% -
Urban
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Massachusetts
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Race Asian 9% Black 24% Other or unknown 42% White 26% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 38% Other or unknown 62% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 61% No FRPL 39%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in public prekindergarten classrooms located within the Boston Public Schools.
Study sample
The Boston Public Schools used lotteries to randomly assign 1,101 children to the intervention group and 2,081 children to the comparison group. All children in the city could apply to be included in the lotteries. A total of 2,536 children were included in the study. The study examined four cohorts of students who applied to the program in between the 2007–2008 and 2010–2011 school years during which a total of 12,740 families applied to the program. Approximately 48% of students were male and 61% were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Twenty-six percent of the students were White, 24% were Black, 9% were Asian, and 42% did not report race. Thirty-eight percent were Hispanic or Latino and 62% did not report ethnicity.
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention group were offered admission to the Boston Public Prekindergarten program at the school of their choice. The Boston Public Prekindergarten program operated by Boston Public Schools aims to prepare 4-year-old children for school. The pre-kindergarten classes were located within the public schools. The program employs a curricula and coaching system focused on children’s early language, literacy, numeracy, and social skills. Specifically, the program used branded curricula called Opening the World of Learning and Building Blocks. To teach in the program, teachers must satisfy the same educational requirements as K–12 teachers. The program lasts for an entire school year and is open to any child in the city.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group were not offered admission to the Boston Public Prekindergarten program at their first-choice school and instead attended a range of other preschool programs. Seventy-two percent of the comparison students attended the Boston Public Prekindergarten program at a school that was not their first-choice school. Twenty-four percent attended another center-based preschool, such as a private preschool, Head Start, or other public- or charter-operated preschool. The remaining 3 percent of students attended a family day care or remained at home.
Support for implementation
In the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 school years, teachers were supported in implementing the curricula with trainings and coaching. They received weekly to biweekly support on-site from an early childhood coach who was trained in the curricula. After these 2 years, only new teachers and teachers in schools undergoing the National Association for the Education of Young Children Accreditation process received the coaching.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
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Study findings for this report.
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Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).