Report on New Jersey's Abbott Preschool Program Shows Large Gains in Classroom Quality and Student Progress

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.