Transcript Cost & Quality in Massachusetts

Cost & Quality in Massachusetts
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What is the quality
What is the cost?
What is the relationship of quality to cost
Full-day, year round programs in 2000
Serving children 2.9 to 5 years
90 preschool classrooms
Summary of Findings
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Quality averages close to “good”
Quality varies by family income
Quality is related to cost, but not linearly
Labor cost and teacher education are the
most strongly related to quality
• Space was the most commonly donated cost
1
0
5
4.9
Total Score
5.5
Parents &
Staff
5.5
Program
Structure
5.1
Interaction
4.2
Activities
4
3
2
4.4
LanguageReasoning
5.3
Personal
Care
6
5
Space &
Furnishings
Average Subscale and Total ECERS-R Scales
Percent of Classrooms Meeting Good
Benchmark, by Income Group Served
100
80
60
40
20
0
Space & Personal Language - Activities Interaction Program Parents & Total Score
Furnishings Care Reasoning
Structure
Staff
Low Income
Low/Moderate Income
Moderate/High Income
Standardized Estimates of Relationships Between
Regulatables and Process Quality Measures
(N=88)
Stimulation
Warmth
Sensitivity
Engagement
ECERS-R
Process
Quality
Index
Child:Staff
Ratio
-.23^
-.17
-.15
-.27*
-.24^
Group Size
.14
.05
-.07
.17
.05
Teacher
Education
.31**
.23^
.32**
.26*
.26*
.10*
.06
.10*
.10*
.08*
R2
^ = p<.10, * = p<.05, ** = p< .01
How much did the programs cost?
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Revenues: $3.71 per hour, $8,681 per year FT
Expenditures: $3.41 per hour, $7,979 per year FT
Full cost: $4.12 per hour, $9,641per year FT
Cost varies by Quality
– Little change from poor to good
– Substantial increases above good moving toward excel.
Revenue Sources
3%
Fundraising
36%
Government Subsidies
Sponsored
Organization
Parent Fees
58%
3%
Average Expenditures
18%
4%
6%
72%
Other
Food
Occupancy
Labor
Mean Costs by ECERS-R Score
$5.00
$4.50
$4.00
Average $3.50
Expenditures $3.00
$2.50
per Child $2.00
Hour
$1.50
$1.00
$0.50
$0.00
Non-Labor
Labor
<4
4- 4.5- 5.0- 5.5- 6.0+
4.49 4.99 5.49 5.99
Differences by Family Income
• Total revenue goes down slightly from low to moderate,
but is higher for high income
– $3.20, $2.92, $4.38
• Government provides most revenue for low income
• Fees provide most revenue for moderate to high income
• Total Expenditures follow the same pattern
• Labor expenditures increase with income and are much
higher for high income
Expenditures by Income of
Families Served
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Low Income
Low/Moderate Income
Moderate/ High
Income
Total
Labor
Non-Labor
Labor Costs by Center’s Average
Education Level
$2.87
$3.00
$2.29
$2.40
$2.50
$2.00
$1.50
$1.00
$0.50
$0.00
High School
Some College
B. A.
More Information
Nancy Marshall
Center for Research on Women
Wellesley College