Transcript School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps

Programs and Policies to
Reduce School Readiness Gaps
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development and Education
Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University
March 2, 2009
National Center for Children & Families
Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
NAEP Reading Assessment for
Grade 4 (1994) & Grade 12 (2002) ―
Percentage of Students At or Above
Proficient by Race/Ethnicity
50%
Percentage of Students
45%
40%
44%
43%
37%
34%
35%
30%
22%
25%
20%
16%
13%
15%
9%
10%
5%
0%
White
Black
Hispanic
AsianAmerican
Race/Ethnicity of Student
Grade 12
Grade 4
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Rouse, Brooks-Gunn & McLanahan, 2005
Gaps in Kindergartners’ Achievement:
Ethnicity and Social Class
0
Standard deviation from whites
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.39
-0.45
-0.5
-0.6
-0.61
-0.7
-0.71
-0.8
ECLS-K Reading
ECLS-K Math
-0.9
Blacks
Hispanics
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Duncan & Magnuson, 2005
What defines “school readiness”?
A child’s academic skills (e.g., vocabulary size, complexity of spoken
language, basic counting, “general knowledge”);
A child’s social and emotional skills (e.g., following directions, working
in a group, impulse control) – which are as important as academic skills
but not well studied.
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Children who are not “ready”
for school are more likely to…
Perform less well in elementary
& secondary school;
Become teen parents;
Engage in criminal activities;
Suffer from depression.
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Vocabulary Scores for Black and
White Three and Four-year Olds
30
Percent of Population
25
Black
20
White
15
10
5
0
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60 65
70
75
80
85
90
PPVT-R Score (Black Median=40; White Median=52)
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
(From Jencks & Phillips, 1998)
95 100
Standard Deviation Units
If the standard deviation = 15 and white
students score 12 points more than black
students on average (a white-black gap of 12),
then…
12/15 points = .80 standard deviation units(80%
of the standard deviation)
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
If the white-minority gap in test
scores is 1 standard deviation then…
84% of white children will perform better than the average minority child
16% percent of minority children will perform better than the average
white child
Whites students are 13 times more likely than minority students to score
in the top 5% and enroll in “gifted” class
The average textbook is written so that the average white student
understands 75% of it
The average minority student will understand 53% of the same textbook,
virtually guaranteeing that such a reader will not engage with the text
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
(From Rock & Stenner, 2005)
Racial / Ethnic Gaps in Selected Test
Scores and in Family Socio-economic
Status for Kindergartners
0
Standard deviation from whites
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.39
-0.45
-0.5
-0.6
-0.61
-0.7
-0.70
-0.71
-0.8
ECLS-K Math
ECLS-K Reading
-0.78
Socioeconom ic Index
-0.9
Blacks
Hispanics
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Duncan & Magnuson, 2005
Mean at Each Measurement Point
for Full Sample (top black) & Kids in Repeat Poverty (bottom orange)
100
Full sample
Repeat poverty
50
R e a d i n g IR T S c o re
150
Growth Trajectories of Two Groups of Children
Fall K
0 Mos
Spr K
9 Mos
Spr 1st
21 Mos
Spr 3rd
45 Mos
Spr 5th
69 Mos
Grade/TimeMos point
*Children whose families are in repeated poverty (poverty at the time of the Fall K test and poverty at one or more subsequent measurement points).
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Layzer, 2008
Cumulative Vocabulary (Words)
Poverty Affects Development
College Educated Parents
1200
600
Working Class Parents
Welfare Parents
200
16 mos.
24 mos.
36 mos.
Child’s Age (Months)
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Hart & Risley, 1995
Language Gaps Increase During
Preschool Years
Age span of children
Median deficit
Sample size
CCDP
3 years to 3 years,11 months
8.7 months
2541
4 years to 4 years,11 months
13.8 months
2360
5 years to 5 years, 9 months
14.8 months
2878
3 years to 3 years,11 months
8 months
2187
4 years to 4 years,11 months
12 months
2805
Even Start
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Layzer, 2008
Parenting Programs as a Strategy
• Parenting
– Home Visiting Programs
– Center-based Programs with Parenting
Component
– Parental Language and Literacy Programs
– Parent Behavior Training Programs
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Early Childhood Education as a Strategy
Access and attendance
• Low access for specific groups
• Head Start and access
• Most common child care arrangements
• Access and school readiness
Quality
• Quality indicators
• High quality programs
• Quality and school readiness
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Preschool Enrollment for Four Yearolds, from 1968 to 2002
Black, Non-Hispanic
Hispanic
60
White, Non-Hispanic
50
40
30
20
10
0
68
9
1
70
9
1
72
9
1
74
9
1
76
9
1
78
9
1
80
9
1
82
9
1
84
9
1
86
9
1
88
9
1
90
9
1
92
9
1
94
9
1
96
9
1
98
9
1
00
0
2
Year
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005
State Pre-K and Head Start Enrollment
as Percentage of Total Population
3-Year-Olds
4-Year-Olds
Pre-K
2.7
17.3
Head
Start
7.3
11.3
Special
Ed
3.9
6.2
Other
24.8
33.6
None
61.3
31.6
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
The National Institute for Early Education Research, The State of Pre-School 2005
Head Start Enrollment
About 10% of all of all 3 and 4 year-olds are in Head Start
– 20% of black children
– 15% of Hispanic children
– 4% of white children
If Head Start did not exist, gaps in preschool enrollment would
increase (compared to white children)
– 9 percentage points for black children
– 31 percentage points for Hispanic children
Gaps in school readiness would increase if Head Start did not
exist
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
School Readiness: Comparing Head Start
and Other Care Arrangements
OLS
Prop
PPVT-III
0.08
0.19
WJ-R Letter-Word Identification
0.11
0.16
Social Competence
0.10
0.14
Attention Problems
-0.11
-0.16
N=2803; OLS includes city- & child-fixed effects; Prop. indicates propensity matching
Bold indicated significance.
Fragile Families Study
Zhai, Brooks-Gunn, & Waldfogel, 2009
Access and School Readiness
If all children whose families were in poverty
were in a preschool, reductions in test gaps
would be:
• 2 to 12 percent for black children
• 4 to 16 percent for Hispanic children
If all children whose families were at or below
200% of the poverty threshold, were in a
preschool, reductions in test gaps would be
possibly double
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Reading Scores By Preschool Attendance
& Kindergarten Reading Instruction
N=7748; ECLS-K
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnuson, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2007
Indicators of High Quality Preschool
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teacher training
Teacher education
Teacher to child ratios
Class size
Language and conversation
Organization of classroom
Continued training
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Child Care Global Quality Measures
Early Childhood Environment Rating ScaleECERS (37 items)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Space and furnishings
Personal care routines
Language-Reasoning
Activities
Interaction
Program Structure
Each item is scored 1-7 with average of all items
used as quality score:
•
•
•
•
1 = inadequate
3= minimal
5= good
7= excellent
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Distribution of Quality in Fragile
Families and Child Well-being Study
Excellent
10%
Inadequate
20%
Good
33%
Data based on 786 three-year-olds in 13 Cities from the Fragile Families Study
Minimal
37%
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Rigby, Ryan & Brooks-Gunn, 2006.
Quality of Care in Different Settings
Care ratings:
•
•
•
•
Kith and kin = 3.5
Family child care = 4. 0
For-profit centers = 4.2
Non-profit centers = 5.0
1=inadequate, 7=excellent
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Rigby, Ryan, and Brooks-Gunn, 2007
High Quality Preschool Education
and School Readiness
1. Large effects for small-scale experiments
(one-half to three-quarters of a SD)
2. Small to modest effects for federal
programs (one-sixth to one-quarter of a SD)
3. Effects for mothers with a high school
education or less, but not for mothers with
BA
4. Effects sometimes larger for black than
white or Hispanic children
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Small-scale Early Childhood Education
Evaluations
• Perry Preschool
• Abecedarian
• Infant Health & Development Program
• Parent-Child Development Centers
• Tennessee Program
• Planned Variation Program
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Infant Health & Development Program
Intervention Services
• Intervention Group
– Home visiting in child’s 1st – 3rd years of
life
– Day care center in child’s 2nd and 3rd years
of life
• Transportation available
• Center open all workday
• Intervention and Follow-up Only Groups
– Free medical surveillance, referrals to
specialists in child’s 1st – 3rd years of life
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Infant Health & Development Program:
Impacts from Age 3 to 18
3 Years
5 Years
8 Years
18 Years
IQ
14.3
3.7
4.4
3.3
PPVT
9.4
6.0
6.7
5.1
*Heavier low birth weight children only
*All impacts were significant
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Brooks-Gunn et al., 1994, JAMA; McCarton et al., 1997, JAMA; Table 3 & 4, McCormick et al., 2006, Pediatrics
Infant Health & Development Program:
Impacts on Math Achievement
WJ Math
8 Years
4.9
18 Years
3.6
*Heavier low birth weight children only
*All impacts were significant
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Brooks-Gunn et al., 1994, JAMA; McCarton et al., 1997, JAMA; Table 3 & 4, McCormick et al., 2006, Pediatrics
Infant Health & Development Program:
IQ Impacts Based on Likely Care Situation
Age 3
Age 5
Age 8
Maternal Care
20.2
12.3
8.2
Other Home Based Care
16.4
5.9
7.2
Center Based Care
11.6
2.0
1.7
*Heavier low birth weight children only
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Hill, Waldfogel, Brooks-Gunn, 2002, JPAM
School Readiness: Comparing Head Start,
Parent, and Other Non-center Care
Parent
Non-Center
OLS
Prop.
OLS
Prop.
PPVT-III
0.21
0.33
0.21
0.32
WJ-R
0.39
0.46
0.32
0.41
Social Competence
0.17
0.24
0.03
0.05
Attention Problems
-0.11
-0.10
-0.18
-0.19
N=2803; OLS includes city- & child-fixed effects; Prop. indicates propensity matching
Bold indicated significance.
Fragile Families Study
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Zhai, Brooks-Gunn, & Waldfogel, 2009
School Readiness: Comparing Head Start and
Other Center-based Care
Pre-K
Other Center
OLS
Prop.
OLS
Prop.
PPVT-III
0.06
0.09
0.04
0.09
WJ-R
-0.02
0.01
0.03
0.05
Social Competence
0.13
0.15
0.09
0.17
Attention Problems
-0.06
-0.05
-0.15
-0.18
N=2803; OLS includes city- & child-fixed effects; Prop. indicates propensity matching
Bold indicated significance.
Fragile Families Study
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Zhai, Brooks-Gunn, & Waldfogel, 2009
Infant Health & Development Program:
Impacts As A Function Of Number Of
Days Of Center-Based Care
>350 days
of treatment
Total Sample over 2 years
Age 3
IQ
14.3
16.7
4.4
8.4
Age 8
IQ
*Heavier low birth weight children only
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Hill, Brooks-Gunn, Waldfogel, 2003, DP
Federal ECE Programs and School
Readiness
• Head Start Impact Study
• Early Head Start National Evaluation
• Early Reading First
• Preschool Curriculum Evaluation
Research Study (PCERS)
All randomized trials of center-based early childhood education programs
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Layzer, 2008
Impacts of Federal ECE Efforts
• Head Start: modest effects on letter
recognition, none on language
• Early Head Start has modest effects across a
range of outcomes
• Modest effect of Early Reading First
• Some impacts in PCERS of many different
curricula
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Layzer, 2008
Change in Policy Scores over Time
Average Policy Score
0.6
0.4
0.2
-0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
1991
1994
ECE
Preschool
1998
Subsidy
Tax
2002
Regulation
Notes: N= 50 at each time point. Subsidy policy levels in 1991 unknown. Thus, 1994 policy levels are used to proxy
1991 subsidy policy choices.
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
NCCF, State ECE policies
Five Different Policy Approaches
Policy Approaches
Number of States
States
All
1
MN
Preschool
Investment
8
KY, IL, NJ, OK
Child Care Tax
8
AR, CO, OH, OR
Subsidy and/or
Regulation
21
RI, VA, VT, WI
Limited Policies
12
AL, AZ, MS, SC
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
NCCF, State ECE policies
Improving Child Care Quality:
Programs
• Be of high quality (e.g., small classes with high teacherpupil ratios, teachers with BA degrees and training in
early childhood education).
• Train teachers to identify children with moderate to
severe behavioral problems and to work with them to
improve their emotional and social skills.
• Include a parent-training component for mothers of lowliteracy.
• Include (and document) high attendance
• Include well-defined and tested curricula
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Challenges
• Sites vs. populations
• Dosage
• Timing and length of early childhood
education
• Immigrants
• Curricula
• Training
Rates of Return to Human Capital Investment
(Return to an extra dollar at various ages)
Heckman, J. “Investing in Disadvantaged Young Children Is Good Economics and Good Public Policy,”
Extra
State Policies Affect All Children
• Preschool investment
• Subsidy generosity
• Regulation stringency
• Tax generosity
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
NCCF, State ECE policies
States with the Lowest Scores (1990-2002)
Standardized Policy Score
2.5
1.5
0.5
-0.5
-1.5
-2.5
Alabama
Preschool Investment
Arizona
Idaho
Subsidy Generosity
North Dakota
Tax Generosity
South Dakota
Regulation Stringency
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
NCCF, State ECE policies
States with the Highest Scores (1990-2002)
Standardized Policy Score
2.5
1.5
0.5
-0.5
-1.5
-2.5
Alaska
Preschool Investment
Connecticut
New York
Subsidy Generosity
Hawaii
Tax Generosity
Minnesota
Regulation Stringency
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
NCCF, State ECE policies
Sustained Impacts of ECE Programs:
Life-time Earnings
• Outcome in adulthood
– Life-time earnings based on completing
high school or some college
• Inputs in early childhood
– Health (reduction of low birth weight)
– Achievement (increase in achievement test
scores)
– Parenting (increase in HOME scores)
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnusson, Brooks-Gunn & Waldfogel, 2009
Reducing Low Birth Weight Rate:
Life-time Earnings
• If LBW, 10 % to 15% reduction in life time
earnings
• Value of $41,156
(10% effect of LBW on life time earnings)
• Value of $61,733
(15% effect of LBW on life time earnings)
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnusson, Brooks-Gunn & Waldfogel, 2009
Increasing Early Math and Reading Skills:
Life-time Earnings
• One SD increase in academic skills in
adolescent is associated with 15% to 20%
increase in LTE
• One SD increase in academic skills at ages 5-6
is associated with .16 (reading) & .22 (math)
SD increase in youth achievement
• One SD increase in math and reading at ages
5-6 is associated with a .38 SD increase in
youth achievement
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnusson, Brooks-Gunn & Waldfogel, 2009
Increasing Early Academic Skills:
Life Time Earnings
If one SD increase in early skills, assuming a
15% or 20% effect of youth achievement on
LTE:
• $33,138 if math & reading skills at 15%
effect
• $44,184 if reading & math skills & 20%
effect
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnusson, Brooks-Gunn & Waldfogel, 2009
Increasing Quality of the HOME:
Life-time Earnings
One SD increase in HOME in early childhood
is associated with .10 to .28 increase in youth
achievement:
• $ 9,941 if .12 improvement in youth
achievement & 15% effect
• $13,255 if .12 improvement in youth
achievement & 20% effect
• $21,125 if .255 improvement in youth
achievement & 15% effect
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) - Teachers College, Columbia University
www.policyforchildren.org
Magnusson, Brooks-Gunn & Waldfogel, 2009