States Key to Ensuring Access and Quality of Effective Preschools

Quality pre-school programs have proven themselves so successful at boosting student achievement that states should expand high-quality preschool systems to as many children as possible as soon as possible, concludes a new study by the National Association of State Boards of Education.

The new NASBE report, Fulfilling the Promise of Preschool, recommends that state boards of education leverage their existing authority — over K-12 system standards and teacher licensure — to vertically align the pre-kindergarten system with the rest of public education.

The report also encourages state boards to collaborate with other state agencies, both to transform disparate preschool service providers into a more cohesive network and move toward universal preschool, in an incremental and phased-in shift that serves low-income and at-risk children first.

State board leaders, the report emphasizes, are uniquely positioned to promote the report’s recommendations on extending pre-k access and ensuring pre-k program quality.

“The goal of leaving no child behind simply cannot be met without high-quality preschools for all,” says Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director. “Given the clear payoff from early childhood programs, in everything from narrowing the achievement gap to boosting student performance,” she adds, “state board members need to take the lead in efforts to nurture the best early childhood practices and ensure access and quality for all students.”

Poor children may have the most to gain from expanded access to preschool, the new NASBE study points out, but all children can benefit from quality preschool. The K-12 system benefits as well, as the experiences young children gain in pre-k programs translate into higher achievement in later grades.

The year-long NASBE study examined how state policymakers can create high-quality learning environments for all children within the current fragmented system of pre-k programs, authority, and funding that stretches from federal and state to local levels and encompasses both public and private entities. State education leaders, the report finds, can surmount this fragmentation by helping to forge a common vision and well-defined preschool standards linked to child outcomes.
“The teacher-child interaction is the linchpin of a quality early learning experience,” says Karabelle Pizzigati, the chair of the report committee and a member of the Maryland State Board of Education. “As we expand preschool education, we need to put in place clear policies in teacher training, instructional supports, and other areas that promote quality early learning. We also need program evaluations that assess how well children are progressing.”

The executive summary, Fulfilling the Promise of Preschool is accessible on NASBE’s website at http://www.nasbe.org/publications/Early_Childhood_Study_Group/early_childhood_exec_summary.pdf

and the full report is available by either calling 800-220-5183 or ordering online.

NASBE represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate quality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in the education of all students; and assure responsible lay governance of education.

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