Weiland, Christina; Unterman, Rebecca; Shapiro, Anna; Staszak, Sara; Rochester, Shana; Martin, Eleanor (2019). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED605893
Reviewed: November 2022
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.
|
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) - ELA Score |
Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Students with observed baseline and outcome data;
|
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 |
-- |
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 9% | |
| Black | 24% | |
| Other or unknown | 42% | |
| White | 26% |
| Hispanic | 38% | |
| Other or unknown | 62% |
| Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) | 61% | |
| No FRPL | 39% |
The study took place in public prekindergarten classrooms located within the Boston Public Schools.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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