Early education of dual language learners: An efficacy study of the Nuestros Niños School Readiness professional development program
Castro, D. C., Gillanders, C., Franco, X., Bryant, D. M., Zepeda, M., Willoughby, M. T., & Méndez, L. I. (2017). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 40, 188–203.
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examining303Students, gradePK
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2026
- Single Study Review (findings for Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery (WLPB) Letter-Word Identification |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
96.00 |
94.90 |
No |
-- | |
|
Name Writing Task - English |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
2.10 |
2.00 |
No |
-- | |
|
Phonological Awareness Test (PAT) - English |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
13.30 |
13.30 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3) - Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
84.50 |
82.40 |
No |
-- | |
|
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3) |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
90.40 |
88.70 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Internalizing Problems Scale - Parent-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
14.50 |
14.90 |
No |
-- | |
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Internalizing Problems Scale - Teacher-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
53.20 |
52.60 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Name Writing Task - Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
2.30 |
1.90 |
No |
-- | |
|
Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery (WLPB) Picture Vocabulary Subtest - Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
66.90 |
64.50 |
No |
-- | |
|
Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery (WLPB) Letter-Word Identification - Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
86.30 |
85.90 |
No |
-- | |
|
Phonological Awareness Test (PAT) - Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
15.20 |
15.90 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Social Competence Scale - Teacher-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
52.60 |
52.00 |
No |
-- | |
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Externalizing Problems Scale - Teacher-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
51.90 |
52.30 |
No |
-- | |
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Adaptive Behaviors Scale - Teacher-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
53.20 |
53.00 |
No |
-- | |
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Social Competence Scale - Parent-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
40.20 |
41.10 |
No |
-- | |
|
Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) Externalizing Problems Scale - Parent-Rated |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
15.30 |
14.80 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CLASS - Emotional Support domain |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
5.68 |
5.54 |
No |
-- | |
|
CLASS - Instructional Support domain |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
2.39 |
2.14 |
No |
-- | |
|
CLASS - Classroom Organization domain |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
4.92 |
4.93 |
No |
-- | |
|
Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Addendum - Literacy environment checklist |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
18.38 |
16.35 |
No |
-- | |
|
Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Addendum - Literacy activities rating scale |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
1.23 |
1.05 |
No |
-- | |
|
Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Addendum - Classroom environment scale |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
24.23 |
22.40 |
No |
-- | |
|
Quality of Language Environment for DLLs (LISn) - Basic Quality English |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
18.21 |
19.92 |
No |
-- | |
|
Quality of Language Environment for DLLs (LISn) - Complex Quality English |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
7.17 |
6.99 |
No |
-- | |
|
Quality of Language Environment for DLLs (LISn) - Basic Quality Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
5.23 |
3.76 |
No |
-- | |
|
Quality of Language Environment for DLLs (LISn) - Complex Quality Spanish |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - teachers;
|
3.63 |
2.88 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, Spanish Bilingual Edition (ROWPVT-4) |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
49.60 |
46.20 |
No |
-- | |
|
Expressive Word Knowledge Probe (EWKP) |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
1.90 |
1.50 |
No |
-- | |
|
Receptive Word Knowledge Probe (RWKP) |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
22.50 |
21.20 |
No |
-- | |
|
Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery (WLPB) Picture Vocabulary Subtest |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
79.90 |
80.50 |
No |
-- | |
|
Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test |
Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample - students;
|
36.80 |
38.30 |
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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100% English language learners -
Female: 48%
Other or unknown: 52% -
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California, Florida, North Carolina
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The intervention was delivered at 33 preschool education centers in Florida, California, and North Carolina. All centers had received high quality ratings from their states.
Study sample
The researchers randomly assigned 16 preschool centers to the intervention group and 17 centers to the comparison group. Study participants included 340 preschool students in 56 early childhood classrooms. All participants were Spanish-English dual language learners. None had an Individual Education Program (IEP), received special education services, or had an identified disability. All students participating in the study had at least one foreign-born parent; 45% were of Central American descent and 55% were of Mexican descent.
Intervention Group
The Nuestros Niños School Readiness (NNSR) program provides professional development and content to promote school readiness in Spanish-English dual language learners (DLLs) in the areas of language, literacy, mathematics, and social-emotional development. The NNSR program uses the following instructional strategies: (1) ongoing and frequent assessments to monitor children’s English acquisition; (2) focused small-group activities based on reading aloud sessions; (3) explicit vocabulary and phonological instruction through the small-group activities and emergent writing; (4) development of academic English language through an emphasis on academic vocabulary to increase children’s mathematical knowledge; and (5) strong focus on social-emotional development and a positive social-emotional environment through the promotion of effective teacher–child and peer relationships. Project staff provided professional development over 2 years through institutes, consultation, and professional learning communities. The institutes were conducted at the beginning of each school year, 3 days in the first year and 2 days in the second year. To help teachers implement the new classroom practices they learned in the institutes, bilingual consultants provided ongoing support through meetings with the teachers twice per month. Additionally, professional learning community meetings were held twice per month. During the second year of implementation, teachers continued meeting with their consultants twice per month, and participated in the professional learning community meetings once per month. All classrooms implemented either the Creative Curriculum or High Scope Curriculum as their core curricula.
Comparison Group
The comparison group consisted of pre-school centers within participating regions that had received high quality ratings from their states. They implemented their usual practices and programming. As with the treatment group, all classrooms in the comparison group implemented either the Creative Curriculum or High Scope Curriculum as their core curricula.
Support for implementation
Teachers received materials with detailed classroom activities and home-school activities for parents, and educational materials (e.g., children’s books, posters).
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.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
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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The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
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Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
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).