massachusetts universal pre- kindergarten program evaluation of the first two years of the pilot...
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Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program
Evaluation of the First Two Years of the Pilot Initiative
Alyssa Rulf FountainBarbara Goodson
September 2008
Today’s Presentation
1. Overview of evaluation
2. Key findings
3. Policy implications
4. Next steps for evaluation
05/03/23 2
Massachusetts UPK
• Goal of UPK: to promote school readiness and positive outcomes for children, especially at risk
• Pathway to outcomes: through universally accessible, quality early education and care
• UPK being enacted through mixed service delivery system
05/03/23 3
UPK Pilot Initiative: Implemented FY 2007
• Grants awarded to selected eligible providers to enhance quality of care
• Grants were targeted to settings that already showed commitment to quality
• Grantees in the evaluation received grants in both FY07 and FY08
05/03/23 4
UPK Classroom Quality Grants: FY07 and FY08• Evaluation includes the 68 agencies and 125
program sites (centers, public school preschool programs, and family child care providers) that received Classroom Quality grants in FY07– Child care centers: 52 agencies/81 centers
– School districts: 5 school district program sites
– Family child care: 9 agencies/39 providers
• In FY08, an additional 87 program sites received Classroom Quality grants (not included in this evaluation)
05/03/23 5
Evaluation of UPK Pilot Program
• Current evaluation represents first step in assessing UPK
– Focus on implementation process
– Measurement of most immediate outcomes—use of funds, perception of impacts on quality
• Next steps for evaluation– Measuring longer-term outcomes on quality
and child outcomes
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• Research questions– Characteristics of grant recipients and children they
serve
– How grantees allocated grant funding across allowable expenditure areas
– Grantee/provider satisfaction with grant program
– Areas where greatest program needs remain
• Interviewed all program administrators and a sample of teachers and providers
Summary of Evaluation Design
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Summary Findings: Implementation of Pilot initiative• Pilot grant program being implemented as
planned
• Agency satisfaction with grant program
–High marks for targeting of grant funds to areas linked to quality
–High marks on perceived positive effects of grants on quality of care
05/03/23 8
Abt Associates Inc.
Allocation of UPK Grants by Year—Types of Expenditures for All Grantees
88
98
22
81 79
52
19
31
9295
62
87 89
59
23
82
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Assessment Curriculum/ed.materials
Accreditation Staffcompensation
P rofessionaldevelopment
Comprehensiveservices
Full-day/full-year services
Administrativecosts
%
20072008
UPK Grant Fund Allocations: Any Grant Funds by Year
Types of Expenditures by Grantee Type
96 96
67
90 92
61
86
75 75 75 75 75 75
25
50
100
25
38
13
75
25
757575
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Assessment Curric./ed. Mat.
Accreditation Staff comp.
PD Comp.serv.
Full-day/full-year
Admin. costs
%
Center-based grantees Public school grantees family child care grantees
UPK Grant Fund Allocations: Any Grant Funds by Grantee Type (2008 only)
Abt Associates Inc.
Allocation of UPK Grants by Year—% of Fund Expenditures for All Grantees
16
29
1
24
9 63 3
1014
4
31
16
92
6
0
10
20
30
40
50
Assess
ment
Curricu
lum/ed. m
ateria
ls
Accre
ditati
on
Staff c
ompe
nsatio
n
Profess
ional
deve
lopmen
t
Compr
ehens
ive se
rvice
s
Full-d
ay/fu
ll-yea
r ser
vices
Admini
strati
ve co
sts
%
20072008
UPK Grant Fund Allocation: % Grant Funds by Year
Abt Associates Inc.
% Expenditures by Grantee Type
13
4
32
1717
6 5
44
4
13
6 47
27
5
20
40
622
10 10
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
Assessment Curric./ed. Mat.
Accreditation Staff comp.
PD Comp. serv.
Full-day/full-year
Admin. costs
%
Center-based grantees Public school grantees family child care grantees
UPK Grant Fund Allocation: % Grant Funds by Grantee Type (2008 only)
Summary Findings: Presence of At-Risk Children in Grantee Program Sites• Sixty four percent of children receiving financial
assistance
• Half of children from minority groups
• 1/3 of children from non-English language homes
• 15% of children identified with special needs
• Proportion at-risk children (low income, minority language/cultural groups) varies by type of care, with more at-risk children in family child care
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Abt Associates Inc.
Race/Ethnicity of Children in UPK Programs—All Grantees
Abt Associates Inc.
Race/Ethnicity of Children in UPK Programs—All Grantees
51%
25%
16%
8% WhiteHispanicBlack, non-HispanicOther
Children in All Programs
Abt Associates Inc.
Race/Ethnicity of Children in UPK Programs by Grantee Type
Abt Associates Inc.
Race/Ethnicity of Children in UPK Programs by Grantee Type
50%
23%
18%
9%
49%
39%
9% 3%60%19%
11%
10%
Children in Center-based Programs
Children in Family Child Care Homes
WhiteHispanicBlack, non-HispanicOther
Children in Public School Programs
Abt Associates Inc.
• Classroom teachersAverage = 14 years early childhood experience 18% had an associate’s degree 6% had a CDA 47% had a bachelor’s degree 29% had a graduate degree
• Family child care providersAverage = 18 years of early childhood experience 8% had an associate’s degree 67% had a CDA 25% had a bachelor’s degree
UPK Teacher/Provider Backgrounds
Grantee Views of Remaining Needs (Beyond Current Grant Funding)• Program sites
– Most pressing need identified by majority of grantees: Staff compensation
– Half of child care center programs also see need for professional development
• Family child care agencies– Wider range of needs identified– Needs identified by more than half of agencies:
professional development, comprehensive services (60%)
– Half of agencies also see need for curriculum/ educational materials and staff compensation
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Overview of Policy Implications
• Need strategies to improve quality of care for all program sites, regardless of starting point
• Develop strategies for promoting quality in different types of care settings
• Refine allowable uses of grant funds, especially by same sites over time
• Bring parents into the equation
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Policy Implications: Strategies to Improve Quality of Care• Need two-pronged approach
– Research about effecting child outcomes supports targeting quality to achieve excellence
– Need simultaneous support for lower quality programs
• Need to consider providing more quality-related technical assistance/training to ensure maximum impact on quality--programs can’t do it alone
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Abt Associates Inc.
Policy Implications: Improving Quality in Different Types of Care Settings• Family child care grantees present unique challenges
Agencies focus on materials even with time for planning
Providers more removed from grant programHigh priority because of presence of high % of at-risk
children/children from minority language and cultural groups in family child care
• Public school programs present different challenges– School districts serve a greater number of children
with special needs
– Perceive a need for longer days with children
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Abt Associates Inc.
Policy Implications: Guidance on Use of Grant Funds
• Possible changes in allowable areas of spending to target areas with closest links to child outcomes
– Consider becoming more prescriptive/ narrowing allowable fund uses
– Possibility of tightening spending uses over time, leaving broader in first years and narrowing allowable uses in later years
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Abt Associates Inc.
Policy Implications: Bringing in Parents
• UPK program currently low-profile for public
• Parents need to play a more critical role as the program grows
– Programs need help with parent materials to explain program and its relevance to families, children
– Parent choices still mostly driven by personal considerations (cost, location, hours, etc). Quality considerations often secondary.
05/03/23 22
Abt Associates Inc.
Next Steps in Evaluation: Assessing Program Quality• Looking at longer-term outcomes for early
care and education system
• Level of quality of care in all programs and separately for UPK, UPK-eligible settings
– Directly measure program quality in sample of including all types of settings
• Accessibility of quality care for all children but especially at-risk children
– Examine, for sample of communities, the supply of UPK and UPK-eligible care settings compared with demand
05/03/23 23
Abt Associates Inc.
Next Steps in Evaluation: Descriptive Study of Child Outcomes
• Assess skills in early literacy, math, social adaptation, self-regulation
• Assess children in random sample of settings
• Stratify by type of care settings, UPK status• Assess at multiple points in time to create
longitudinal picture over time–Beginning & end of Pre-K, end of kindergarten
& grade 1
• Continue assessments over multiple years, to establish trends over time
05/03/23 24
Abt Associates Inc.
Measuring Child Outcomes: What This Can Tell Us• Status of MA children over time vs national
norms
• Status of subgroups of children–Children in UPK settings, UPK-eligible
settings, other settings–Children in different types of settings–At-risk children
05/03/23 25
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