Setting
The study was conducted in 14 Head Start classrooms in New Hampshire.
Study sample
This randomized controlled study, conducted during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 school years,
included an intervention group that implemented The Creative Curriculum® supplemented by
the Ladders to Literacy curriculum and a comparison group that implemented just The Creative
Curriculum®. In 2002–03 (the study’s pilot year) the researchers recruited 12 Head Start
classrooms to participate in the study, grouped them according to whether their respective
Head Start programs are located in a rural or urban area and are full- or half-day programs,
and then randomly assigned the classrooms within each group to intervention and comparison
groups. In the study’s evaluation year (2003–04), 11 of the pilot-year classrooms and nine of
the teachers were retained. One comparison classroom was replaced with another classroom
from the same center, and two additional classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention
and comparison groups. This resulted in a sample of 14 classrooms (seven intervention
and seven comparison). For most of the classrooms, the intervention condition had been in
place for a full year when the evaluation year started. After parental consent was obtained, the
sample included 123 children at baseline; 105 children were included in the final sample (54
intervention and 51 comparison). Baseline equivalence between the analytic sample of intervention
and comparison children was established from data on baseline outcome measures
provided by the study authors. At baseline, children in the study averaged 4.6 years of age,
44% were male, 39% were Caucasian, 31% were Hispanic, and 11% were African American.
Intervention Group
Intervention classrooms implemented Ladders to Literacy as a supplementary curriculum to
The Creative Curriculum®. Researchers selected 27 of the 60 Ladders to Literacy activities for
implementation in the classrooms assigned to the intervention group. Teachers were trained to
implement those 27 language and literacy activities across three domains (print/book awareness,
metalinguistic awareness, and oral language). In November and December 2003, teachers
were expected to implement nine activities (three from each of the three major domains).
For the rest of the preschool year (January to May 2004), teachers were expected to continue
implementing those nine activities and to implement an additional three to six activities each month so that, by May 2004, teachers had implemented all 27 activities. Fidelity of implementation
was assessed by conducting observations from December 2003 through April 2004
in the classrooms assigned to use the Ladders to Literacy curriculum. Researchers used a
global fidelity measure to rate the overall fidelity with which the curriculum was implemented.
On a four-point scale (0 = “not at all” to 3 = “high”), classrooms implementing the Ladders to
Literacy curriculum were rated in the high-medium range (2.71).
Comparison Group
The comparison group implemented The Creative Curriculum® without Ladders to Literacy.
The Creative Curriculum® is a comprehensive curriculum for 3- to 5-year-old children. It
addresses four areas of development: social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language
development. The curriculum required the physical space of the classroom to be structured
into 10 interest areas: blocks, dramatic play, toys and games, art, library, discovery, sand and
water, music and movement, cooking, and computers. Time was also allotted for outdoor
activities. The 10 interest areas were designed to address curriculum content such as literacy,
math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology, as well as process skills such as
observing, exploring, and problem solving. The Creative Curriculum® included a developmental
checklist that teachers were asked to use in ongoing assessments of child progress. Fidelity
of implementation was assessed by conducting observations from December 2003 through
April 2004 in the classrooms assigned to use The Creative Curriculum®. Researchers used a
global fidelity measure to rate the overall fidelity with which the curriculum was implemented.
On a four-point scale (0 = “not at all” to 3 = “high”), classrooms implementing The Creative
Curriculum® were rated at the medium level (2.0).
Outcome descriptions
The outcome domains of oral language, print knowledge, phonological processing, and math
were assessed with standardized measures. Oral language was assessed with the PPVT-III
and the Grammatic Understanding subtest from the TOLD-P:3. Print knowledge was assessed
with the TERA-III and the WJ-III Letter-Word Identification and Spelling subtests. Phonological
processing was assessed with the Elision subtest from the Pre-CTOPPP. Math was assessed
with the WJ-III Applied Problems subtest, the composite score from the CMA-A, and the
Building Blocks Shape Composition test. Pretesting was done in the fall of the preschool year,
and posttesting was done in the spring of the preschool year. Trained research staff administered
all assessments, which were conducted in English. For a more detailed description of
these outcome measures, see Appendix B.
Support for implementation
All 14 teachers (both intervention and comparison) received at least one day of training on The
Creative Curriculum® from a staff member at Teaching Strategies, Inc. Intervention group teachers
received Ladders to Literacy training in September 2003, and ongoing training on a monthly
basis throughout the 2003–04 school year. In addition to the September 2003 training, six intervention group teachers received training on Ladders to Literacy activities in September 2002.