Document Information
Going to Scale with High-Quality Early Education
Choices and Consequences in Universal Pre-Kindergarten Efforts
The movement toward universal pre-kindergarten (pre-K) presents policymakers and implementers with many new challenges. In their attempts to go to scale with high-quality early education programs, these leaders and decisionmakers find themselves with little guidance on how to proceed. In an initial effort to respond to the situation, this report looks at the challenges confronting states that are seeking to create statewide public systems of high-quality pre-K services, as well as some of the progress they have made in doing so. Drawing on a review of the literature and interviews with pre-K personnel in a representative sample of eight U.S. states, the report examines the policy choices and debates involved in implementing pre-K in an environment of fiscal uncertainty, focusing on the key issues of funding, auspice, access, accountability, and staffing. In addition, it looks at the unintended effects of particular universal pre-K policy choices on other child populations, families, and communities.
See Also:
Free, downloadable PDF file(s) are available below.
RAND makes an electronic version of this document available for free as a public service.
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or higher for the best experience.
Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
Research Methods and Sample Description
Chapter Three:
Setting the Stage: Impetus and Context for Universal Pre-Kindergarten
Chapter Four:
The Heart of the Matter: Impact of Multiple Funding Sources
Chapter Five:
Whose Baby is This? Auspice and Aegis
Chapter Six:
Approaching “Universalism” and Ensuring Access
Chapter Seven:
Ensuring High-Quality Offerings Through Accountability
Chapter Eight:
The Human Factor: Developing and Maintaining Quality Staff
Chapter Nine:
Conclusion
Appendix:
Program Cuts by State
The research described in this report was conducted within RAND Education, a division of the RAND Corporation. This research was funded by The Heinz Endowments and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, members of the Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative.
This product is part of the RAND Corporation technical report series. RAND technical reports may include research findings on a specific topic that is limited in scope or intended for a narrow audience; present discussions of the methodology employed in research; provide literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research professionals, and supporting documentation; or deliver preliminary findings. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
* RAND research is conducted across divisions, centers, and projects; these organizational components are represented in the "Related RAND Divisions" section above.
Top
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2008 RAND Corporation. 