
Independent evaluation of the Midwest CPC Expansion Project: Final report
Gaylor, E., Wei, X., Ferguson, K., Williamson, C., Davies-Mercier, B., Fikes, A., & Spiker, D. (2016). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. https://www.sri.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/i3CPC_FR_Final_June_2021_wAppx.pdf.
-
examining964Students, gradesPK-2
Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: January 2022
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for Child-Parent Center Education Program)
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a cluster quasi-experimental design that provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
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-Johnson III (WJ-III): Letter-Word Identification subtest |
Child-Parent Center Education Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
376.83 |
369.34 |
No |
-- |
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Applied Problems subtest |
Child-Parent Center Education Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
419.15 |
418.11 |
No |
-- |
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minnesota Work Sampling System |
Child-Parent Center Education Program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
52.10 |
54.50 |
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.
-
31% English language learners -
Female: 51%
Male: 49% -
Rural, Suburban, Urban
-
- B
- A
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- I
- H
- J
- K
- L
- P
- M
- N
- O
- Q
- R
- S
- V
- U
- T
- W
- X
- Z
- Y
- a
- h
- i
- b
- d
- e
- f
- c
- g
- j
- k
- l
- m
- n
- o
- p
- q
- r
- s
- t
- u
- v
- x
- w
- y
Illinois, Minnesota
-
Race Asian 5% Black 53% Other or unknown 37% White 5% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 27% Not Hispanic or Latino 73%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in low-performing elementary schools in five school districts in Illinois and Minnesota. The intervention was implemented in preschool classrooms in or near elementary school classrooms in the school district. In a few cases, the preschool classroom was in a community setting that fed into an intervention elementary school.
Study sample
The intervention group was comprised of 53% Black or African-American students, 27% Latino/a students, 5% White students, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander students, and 4% Other race/ethnicity students. Nine percent of intervention students had an IEP. The intervention sample was mostly balanced in gender, with 51% identifying as female. Eighty percent of students in the sample came from low-income families.
Intervention Group
The Midwest Child-Parent Center (CPC) Expansion Project aims to use the developing evidence-base of PreK to 3rd grade initiatives and approaches to expand and improve upon key components of the original CPC program model. The program also aims to improve school readiness and student achievement in math and reading. The six components include: (1) effective learning experiences; (2) curricula and instructional practices that emphasize language, literacy, and math skills; (3) comprehensive family services; (4) leadership team run by the head teacher in collaboration with the principal; (5) kindergarten and 1st to 3rd grade continuity through co-located or close-by PreK centers, small classes with teacher aides, and instructional coordination by school coordinators; and (6) ongoing professional development.
Comparison Group
Students in the business-as-usual comparison condition did not participate in the intervention and were exposed to typical instruction. Teachers of comparison group students participated in professional development as they had in the past.
Support for implementation
Teachers in the CPC intervention condition participated in collaborative leadership teams including head teachers, parent-resource teachers, principals, and school-community representatives (SCR), an orientation session, quarterly meetings with school facilitators, and online professional development modules.
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.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
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.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
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).