Supporting High-Quality Early Learning Systems at the U.S. Department of Education Early Education Research: What Does It Show National Education Writers Association 65th National Seminar University of Pennsylvania May 18, 2012 Steven R. Hicks Special Assistant on Early Learning Office of Early Learning U.S. Department of Education

“To win the future, our children need a strong start.” --Secretary Arne Duncan 2

Early Learning Research 3  The Big Three  Abecedarian Intervention Project  Perry Preschool Project  Chicago Child-Parent Centers  Newer Studies  New Jersey Abbott Districts  MI, OK, NJ, SC, & WV State Preschool  TN State Preschool 3

Achievement Gap 4  Hart and Risley: words per year heard by children by 3  professional families – 11M  working class families – 6M  welfare families – 3M  By age 3, significant disparities in language development are apparent between children from low- and high- income families. 4

What’s at Stake 5  School failure  Additional costs: special education, remedial services, mental health care, and juvenile justice programs  Diminished potential to form strong social and family relationships  Long-term costs in social dependency; increased disparities’ sub-optimal productivity; and sub-optimal health 5

A Cradle-to-Career Continuum All graduates have opportunities for success in the 21 st century economy All students graduate high school on time prepared for at least one year of post- secondary All students enter middle school with foundational skills to tackle advanced subjects All kindergarten students arrive ready to succeed and remain on track to 4 th grade Elementary (Grades K-5) Secondary (Grades 6-12) Post- Secondary Early Learning (Birth-grade 3) 6 6

ED Strategic Plan 7 Early Learning Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high school college- and career-ready. 7

Three Subgoals 8 8 Workforce Assessment and Accountability Access

High-Quality Early Learning Systems High-Quality Coordinated Early Learning System Program Standards/ QRIS Early Learning Standards Data Systems Health Promotion Family and Community Engagement Workforce/ Professional Development Comprehensive Assessment System 9

Early Learning in ED Programs  Race to the Top (RTT)  I3 – investing in Innovation  Promise Neighborhoods  SIG  Title I  RTT – Early Learning Challenge 10

Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge 11

Increasing the number of children entering kindergarten ready to succeed Improving the quality of early learning programs by 12 Goal

37 Applicants Arizona Arkansas California (FY11) Colorado (FY12 eligible) Connecticut Delaware (FY11) District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Illinois (FY12 eligible) Iowa Kansas 13 Kentucky Maine Maryland (FY11) Massachusetts (FY11) Michigan Minnesota (FY11) Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico (FY12 eligible) New York North Carolina (FY11) Ohio (FY11) Oklahoma Oregon (FY12 eligible) Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island (FY11) Vermont Washington (FY11) West Virginia Wisconsin (FY12 eligible)

Key Reform Areas Successful State Systems High-Quality, Accountable Programs TQRIS Promoting Outcomes Improving the Workforce Measuring Outcomes Early Learning Standards Comp. Assessment Systems Health Promotion Family Engagement Framework/ Credentials Supporting Improvement KEA Data Systems Investments Reform Agenda 14

Learning from RTT-ELC 15  Validating the effectiveness of the State TQRIS: relationship between the TQRIS ratings and child outcomes  whether the tiers in the State’s TQRIS accurately reflect differential levels of program quality  the extent to which changes in quality ratings are related to progress in children’s learning, development, and school readiness

Story Ideas  New Office of Early Learning at ED  RTT-ELC influence on state policy and funding  WA: KEA mandatory for publicly-funded full-day kindergarten in  NC: Governor’s budget - $40M increase for preschool  RTT-ELC winners balancing reform efforts with State budgets  Non-winning RTT-ELC States’ reforms  CT, MI & HI: New Offices focused on Early Childhood 16

Upcoming  Public Comment on RESPECT Project   RTT-LEA Announcement – May 22 nd at 12pm  Register by May 21 st :  USTREAM: department  RTT-ELC Phase 2 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be posted early Summer for public comment 17

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