January/February
2008
At least 25 states have taken steps to evaluate
the quality of their preK programs, according to the National
Early Childhood Accountability Task Force, which late last year
recommended that states adopt one of four approaches for evaluating
preK classrooms.
States that are already devising a wide range
of systems for assessing the quality of early childhood programs
include:
• Texas. A new voluntary
certification system uses scores from the Texas
Primary Reading Inventory, a test for kindergartners, as well
as a social-skills test to rate the quality of preK programs.
Results are posted online for parents to view.
• New Jersey. The education
department uses The
Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale–Revised and
two other state-developed tools to assess instructional practices
in language and math in 300 classrooms chosen randomly from the
state-supported Abbott districts. Results are used to plan professional
development and other supports.
• Virginia. Governor
Timothy M. Kaine has proposed an expansion in the number of four-year-olds
eligible for free preschool in tandem with a new preschool rating
system based on level of teacher training, class size, and expert
observation, such as CLASS.
Source: “Taking Stock: Assessing and Improving
Early Childhood Learning and Program Quality.” The Report
of The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force,
October 2007. Available online at www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_ektid30964.aspx
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