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A new report on New Jersey's Abbott preschool
program, Giant
Steps for the Littlest Children: Progress in
the Sixth Year of the Abbott Preschool Program,
shows the program has made significant gains
in terms of classroom quality and student
preparation for kindergarten. The report, issued by the Early Learning
Improvement Consortium (ELIC), a partnership between the New Jersey Department
of Education and early childhood experts at
several New Jersey state colleges
and universities, details improvements in classroom quality as the preschool
program has expanded from the 1999-2000 school
year, the first year of
implementation following the NJ Supreme Court's 1998 ruling in Abbott
v. Burke (Abbott V). The Court in Abbott V ordered
the state to provide all three- and four-year-old
children residing in New
Jersey's low-wealth urban districts, known as Abbott districts, with a
well-planned, high quality preschool program as part of its constitutional
obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education.
The report finds marked progress in classroom
quality from 1999-2000 to 2004-2005, as measured
on a seven point rating scale (Early Childhood
Environment Rating Scale/Revised-ECERS-R). The percentage of classrooms
scoring in the inadequate to minimal range has dropped from over 17% in 2003
to 2.5% in 2005, while the percentage of classrooms
scoring in the good to
excellent range has increased from 13% in 2003 to nearly 40% in 2005. In 2003,
over 50% of the classrooms scored below the midpoint
on the rating scale; in
2005, 85% of the classrooms scored above the midpoint.
In measuring the extent to which classroom materials,
activities and interactions support children's
early literacy development
(Support for Early Literacy Assessment - SELA), the percentage of classrooms
scoring in the very low quality range has dropped
from 12% in 2003 to 2% in
2005, while the percentage of classrooms scoring in the good to ideal range has
increased from 10% in 2003 to 24% in 2005. In
2003, 83% of the classrooms
scored below the midpoint on this scale while in 2005, 75% scored above the
midpoint.
The report also details the results of
a new research design - "regression-discontinuity" statistical
design - that found the Abbott preschool program
significantly improved language and literacy
skills for entering kindergarteners.
Approximately one-quarter of New Jersey's school
children reside in an Abbott district.
The projected enrollment for the Abbott preschool
program in the 2005-2006
school year is 43,000 children - over 80% of
the total population of three- and four-year-olds in Abbott districts.
Prepared: May 20, 2005
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