melissa j. neuburger, ph.d., acting director charter schools, research, and accountability
DESCRIPTION
Pre-K Data A Springboard for Decision Making. Melissa J. Neuburger, Ph.D., Acting Director Charter Schools, Research, and Accountability Stockton Unified School District Carl Toliver, Superintendent CERA December 2011. Overview. Stockton Unified Pre-K program results - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Melissa J. Neuburger, Ph.D., Acting DirectorCharter Schools, Research, and AccountabilityStockton Unified School DistrictCarl Toliver, Superintendent
CERA December 2011
Pre-K DataA Springboard for Decision Making
Overview
• Stockton Unified Pre-K program results• Closing the achievement gap• What we learned about retention rates• Identifying students for transitional
kindergarten• Role of early parent involvement in student
attendance• Window for early intervention
2
Pre-K Program Evaluation
• Program and student characteristics– Three cohorts were followed through spring 2011– Met minimum income level eligibility– Homeless students = 1.4%– Languages other than English 48% (16 different
languages)Pre-K Cohorts 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
Pre-K Curriculum Letter PeopleLetter People then Curiosity
CornerCurosity Corner
Pre-K Duration Short Day Both Short and Extended Extended Day
Number of students 1,095 1,041 1,112
Male 52.2% 51.8% 49.9%
Hispanic 70.8% 67.1% 68.2.%
African American 10.6% 12.7% 11.6%
White 6.6% 6.9% 6.8%
3
Pre-K Program Evaluation
• Academic readiness– DRDP Pre and Post-test Results
Desired Result
Cohort Pretest Posttest Pretest Posttest Pretest Posttest Pretest Posttest
2007-08 1.96 2.94 1.72 2.80 2.35 3.38 2.18 3.08
2008-09 1.93 3.01 1.72 2.85 2.42 3.50 2.21 3.16
2009-10 1.99 3.03 1.78 2.85 2.52 3.48 2.20 3.12
Personal and Social Competence
Effective LearnersPhysical and Motor
CompetenceSafe and Healthy
4
Pre-K Program Evaluation
• Longitudinal outcomes for district assessments– Pre-K students scored significantly higher on
beginning of year and end of year exams. – Significant findings for subgroups across all exams
include:• Hispanic students (consistently)• English learners (consistently)• African American students (increasing with newer cohorts)
– Pre-K fosters English language development for students and reduces the number identified as English learners in kindergarten.
5
6
92.2
88.9
79.6
76.1
81.5
77.8
86.3
81.6
63.0
58.3
76.8
72.8
74.0
70.5
70.9
67.9
50.3
44.9
57.1
53.7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
PreK NoPreK
Per
cen
t C
orr
ect
Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2
Cohort 2008-09ELA Math
Cohort 2009-10ELA Math
Cohort 2007-08ELA Math
Cohort 2008-09ELA Math
Cohort 2007-08ELA Math
Pre-K Program EvaluationMultiple Assessment Comparison Over Time
p = .05
Pre-K Program Evaluation
• Longitudinal outcomes for STAR testing– Pre-K students outperformed non-Pre-K students
on the Grade 2 CST exams.• ELA 11% more proficient• Math 11% more proficient
– Significant findings for key subgroups include:• African American students• Hispanic students • English learners
7
Pre-K Program EvaluationSTAR Results – Grade 2 CST
8
Closing the Achievement Gap
• Pre-K program is successful – Across cohorts– Over time– For key subgroups
• CST differences between Pre-K groups are smaller than the differences between the non-Pre-K groups
• Promotes academic readiness• Equalizes early educational vulnerability
• And, we learned much more…….
9
Retention Rates
• As cohorts were tracked over time, analyses of behavior outcomes were also measured.
• For the 2007-08 cohort, retention rates were analyzed.– By second grade, Pre-K participation did not
significantly reduce the overall retention rate of students who had entered kindergarten on time.
– This was very surprising. – Looked further at the African American subgroup
which had shown disproportionate retention rates.
10
Retention Rates
• Further analyses showed:– Pre-K African American students were retained at
the same rate as other ethnicities in the program. – African American students not in Pre-K were
retained at twice the rate of other students.– Only one African American student who was in
Pre-K was retained. – Retention rates were best predicted by early
literacy skill level (literacy component of DRDP).
11
Prelude to Transitional Kindergarten
That Pre-K did not reduce overall retention rates was problematic.
Theory: Children who were not 5 years old near the start of kindergarten might be less developmentally mature and more likely to be retained.
• Compared all age appropriate kindergarten students– “On-time“ (age 5 by August 31) – “Young” (turned 5 between September 1 and December 2)
• Retention rates were higher for the “young” group– A 76% increase in the retention rate – Whereas only 64 “on-time’ students were retained two years later, 49
more students were retained when the “young” group was added. 12
Prelude to Transitional Kindergarten
The Obvious Question: How does Pre-K ameliorate the effect of late birth dates?
• Secondary review of DRDP data for the Pre-K students
• Looked at the differences between “on-time” group and the “young” group
• Results showed that the “young” group: – Had significantly lower pre-test scores on the DRDP– Made greater developmental gains over the course of the Pre-K
program– Had not caught up developmentally to their “on-time” peers.
13
Parent Involvement
• From an achievement gap study, it became apparent that our attendance rate for kindergarteners was much lower than grades 1 or 2 rates.
• The Pre-K evaluation showed that Pre-K students had significantly higher attendance rates than non-Pre-K.
• What was special about this program?
14
Parent Involvement
• Pre-K program requires parental involvement.• Parents MUST bring their children to the program in
order to maintain eligibility.• Children must arrive on time.• Parents who fail to bring their children to school or are
late are visited by a social worker.• The program has parental education components.• Parents are notified of the availability of special
program and services.• Classroom involvement at the Pre-K level is non-
threatening.15
Window of Intervention
• Pre-K study brought to light gaps in our K-12 programs and services.
• Helps us understand the mechanisms of success and pre-cursors to achievement.
• Pre-K data provides a valuable glimpse into early educational issues.
• Provides us with an early opportunity to identify the characteristics of our neediest students and supply appropriate interventions.
16
17
Contact Information
Program EvaluationMelissa J. Neuburger, Ph.D.Charter Schools, Research, and [email protected]
Pre-K Program AdministrationDebra KellerEarly Childhood [email protected]
Pre-K Evaluation Report Linkhttp://ra-susd-ca.schoolloop.com/evaluation