Child Outcomes of the Arkansas Better Chance Program in Kindergarten and First Grade

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Child Outcomes of the Arkansas Better Chance
Program in Kindergarten and First Grade

• Jason T. Hustedt, W. Steven Barnett,
• Kwanghee Jung
• National Institute for Early Education Research
• Rutgers University

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Acknowledgements

• This research is funded by the State of Arkansas
  and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
• Thanks to Leanne Whiteside-Mansell, Yvonne
  Bradshaw, Paul Lazenby, Tonya Russell, Ellen
  Frede, and Amanda Colon.

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Studies of State-Funded Pre-K

• As more children are served, important to
  understand effects that programs produce
• Until recently, state-funded pre-K programs have
  not been very intensively studied
• NIEER evaluations of programs in 8 states, in
  partnership with local early childhood experts
• Longitudinal studies of high-quality programs in
  AR and NJ

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Arkansas Better Chance Study

• Data from Fall 2005 the starting point for a
  5-year longitudinal study continuing through
  Spring 2010
• Initial sample of more than 1,900 children in two
  cohorts
• ABC classroom data from Year 1 child assessment
  data annually

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Classroom Measures

• Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised
  (ECERS-R) Overall quality
• Support for Early Literacy Assessment (SELA)
  Practices that support early language and
  literacy
• Preschool Classroom Mathematics Inventory (PCMI)
  Materials/methods used to support math skills

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Classroom Results (N 68)

• Mean ECERS-R score 5.26 of a possible 7 a
  score of 5 indicates good quality
• Mean SELA score 3.28 of a possible 5 a score
  of 3 indicates fair/mediocre quality
• Mean PCMI score 2.37 of a possible 5, an
  indication of limited quality

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Child Assessment Measures

• Vocabulary knowledge Peabody Picture
  Vocabulary Test, 3rd Edition (PPVT-III)
• Math skills Woodcock-Johnson Tests of
  Achievement, 3rd Edition, Subtests 5, 6, 10
  (WJ-III)
• Early literacy Preschool Comprehensive Test of
  Phonological and Print Processing (Pre-CTOPPP) or
  WJ-III Subtests 1, 13, 21

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Child Outcomes Vocabulary

• At K entry, ABC children scored significantly
  higher than non-ABC children
• At the end of K, ABC children scored
  significantly higher than non-ABC children in
  pooled analysis
• At the end of 1st grade, a non-significant trend
  for ABC children in Cohort 1 to score higher than
  non-ABC children (p .066)

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Child Outcomes Applied Problems

• At K entry, ABC children scored significantly
  higher than non-ABC children
• At the end of K, no significant differences
  between ABC and non-ABC children
• At the end of 1st grade, a trend for ABC children
  in Cohort 1 to score higher than non-ABC children
  (p .054)

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First Grade Mathematics Measures

• ABC children scored significantly higher than
  non-ABC children on Calculation
• No measurable difference between ABC and non-ABC
  children on Math Fluency
• ABC children scored significantly higher than
  non-ABC children on Broad Math Battery

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Child Outcomes Early Literacy

• At K entry, ABC children scored significantly
  higher than non-ABC children
• At the end of K, no measurable differences
• At the end of 1st grade, ABC children in Cohort 1
  scored significantly higher than non-ABC children
  on Letter-Word ID but not Word Attack

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Interpreting the Results

• Positive impacts of ABC pre-K on vocabulary,
  math, and early literacy
• Comparisons with RDD results suggest that there
  is some selection bias in longitudinal sample
• Good overall classroom quality

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Future Work

• The longitudinal study will continue until Spring
  2010 (4th grade for C1, 3rd grade for C2)
• Tracking the effects of ABC over time, using
  measures of language, math, early literacy
• Additional data on grade retention, special
  education placements