School Readiness

Project

Exploring the Benefits of Early Childhood Education in California

The California Preschool Study sought to understand achievement gaps among the state's children, whether existing preschool education programs is adequate, and what efficiencies could be achieved through public funding of early childhood education.

News Release

California's Preschool System Can Be Improved Now, When Resources Are Scarce, and in the Future

California can improve its early childhood education system in an era of fiscal crisis and lay the foundation for improving access and quality in the future when more resources are available.

Report

California Preschool Study Finds Ways To Improve the State's Childhood Education System Despite Scarce Resources

In an era of fiscal crisis, California can still improve access and quality in its early childhood education system through low-cost improvements, such as adopting efficiencies and better use of existing resources. Such measures will also allow the system to lay the foundation for greater improvements in the future when more resources are available.

Report

Report Quantifies Level of Disadvantage Faced by Boys and Men of Color in California

The first multi-dimensional effort to quantify the disparities faced by African-American and Latino boys and men in California across a broad spectrum of health and social factors provides a disquieting outlook for their lives.

News Release

Most California Children Attend Center-Based Preschools; Educational Quality of Programs Falls Short

More than half of California’s preschoolers attend center-based early care and education programs, but the children who have the most to gain from preschool frequently are those least likely to participate in the programs.

Report

Room for Improvement in California's Use of High-Quality Preschool Programs

More than half of California’s preschoolers attend center-based early care and education programs, but the children who have the most to gain from preschool frequently are those least likely to participate in the programs.

News Release

Studies Examine California's School Readiness and Student Achievement Gaps, and the State's System of Publicly Funded ...

California's sizeable achievement gaps in English-language arts and mathematics in second and third grades have early roots, with the same groups of children that lag in academic performance in elementary school trailing in measures of school readiness when they enter kindergarten.

Report

Examining California's School Readiness and Student Achievement Gaps

California's sizeable achievement gaps in English-language arts and mathematics in second and third grades have early roots, with the same groups of children that lag in academic performance in elementary school trailing in measures of school readiness when they enter kindergarten.

Report

Can Full-Day Kindergarten Enhance Student Achievement?

Recent research shows that large gaps exist, even before children enter kindergarten, in their school readiness. To address these differences, some advocate full-day kindergarten. However, findings suggest that such programs may not enhance achievement in the long term.

Commentary

Preschool Pays Off

Published commentary by RAND staff: Preschool Pays Off, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Research Brief

Children at Risk: Consequences for School Readiness and Beyond

This research brief describes work documented in Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise (MG-341-PNC).

Report

Mom’s Education Matters Most for Student Success

To succeed in school, a child’s ethnic background and immigrant status are not important. Education level of a child’s mother and neighborhood poverty best predict success, according to a study of Los Angeles kids.

People

Andrea Phillips