Archived Information

Building Strong Foundations

for Early Learning

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIOn'S GUIDE TO

HIGH-QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS

**U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION**

Richard W. Riley

Secretary

**OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY**

Judith A. Winston

Under Secretary (A)

**PLANNING AND EVALUATION SERVICE**

Alan L. Ginsburg

Director

**ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION DIVISION**

Ricky T. Takai

Director

NOVEMBER 2000

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in
whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this
publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of
Education, Planning and Evaluation Service, Building Strong Foundations
for Early Learning: Guide to High-Quality Early Childhood Education
Programs, by M. Christine Dwyer, Robin Chait and Patricia McKee.
Washington, DC: 2000.

The report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education under
Contract EA94053001, Task 64. The views expressed by the authors of this
report do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S.
Department of Education, and no official endorsement by the Department
should be inferred.

This guide was supported by a contract between RMC Research and the U.S.
Department of Education. The document contains contact addresses and Web
sites for information and resources created and maintained by other
public and private organizations. This information is provided for the
reader's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control
or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of
this outside information. Further, the inclusion of information or
addresses or Web sites for particular items does not reflect their
importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or
products or services offered.

**Copies of this report may be ordered in the following ways:**

-   **[MAIL]{.smallcaps}.** Write to: ED Pubs, Education Publications
    Center, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD
    20794-1398.

-   **Fax.** Dial 301-470-1244.

-   **[TELEPHONE]{.smallcaps}** (toll-free). Dial 877-433-7827
    (877-4-ED-PUBS). If 877 service is not yet available in your area,
    call 800-872-5327 (800-USA-LEARN). Those who use a
    telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a teletypewriter
    (TTY) should call 800-437-0833.

-   **ELECTRONIC MAIL.** Send your request to: edpubs@inet.ed.gov

-   **ONLINE.** This report may be downloaded from the Department's Web
    site at: www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/whatsnew.html

-   **ALTERNATE FORMATS.** Upon request, this report is available in
    alternative formats such as Braille, large print, audiotape, or
    computer diskette. For more information, please contact the
    Department's Alternate Format Center at 202-260-9895 or
    202-205-8113.

### Building Strong

Foundations

for Early Learning:

## The U.S. Department of Education's

# Guide to High-Quality Early

# Childhood Education Programs

> M. CHRISTINE DWYER

#### [RMC Research Corporation]{.smallcaps}

> ROBIN CHAIT
>
> PATRICIA MCKEE

#### [U.S. Department of Education]{.smallcaps} 

##### NOVEMBER 2000 

CONTENTS

SECTION l

INTRODuction 1

SECTION ll

VITAL CONCEPTS FOR PLANNING EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS 5

SECTION lll

FEATURES OF HIGH-QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS THAT PROMOTE

COGNITIVE AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 9

SECTION IV

CHILD OUTCOMES IN THE LANGUAGE DOMAIN 23

SECTION V

RESOURCes 29

SECTION VI

PROGRAM SELF-ASSESSMENT 35

**I. INTRODUCTION**

Educators, researchers, and policymakers now acknowledge the importance
of early childhood education for all preschool children. An accumulation
of research recognizes that young children have a much greater capacity
to learn than has previously been recognized. The first five years of
life are a time of enormous growth of linguistic, cognitive, social,
emotional, and motor competence. Because children learn continuously
from birth, child care and education cannot be thought of separately.
High-quality child care and education should provide appropriate
developmental experiences for young children, including attention to the
physical needs of children. Early education promotes the overall
development of a healthy child, but it is also critical because children
who have had the right kinds of educational experiences before
kindergarten do better in school.

A recent study of kindergartners illustrates the importance of early
education for later performance in school more clearly than ever before.
It demonstrates that children begin kindergarten with different levels
of knowledge and skills based on their background, and while the more
disadvantaged children catch up on basic skills in reading and
mathematics during the kindergarten year, the gap widens on measures of
more sophisticated reading and mathematics knowledge and skills. New
syntheses of research developed by the National Research Council show
the positive connection between quality educational experiences in the
preschool years, readiness for kindergarten and first grade, and later
learning outcomes. An accumulation of studies points to the payoff for
children and taxpayers of well-designed early childhood programs,
especially for children from low-income families. As interest in
improving American schools and children's performance continues to rate
high as a public concern, our nation's leaders are increasingly aware of
the critical role of early education.1

Unfortunately, studies have also found that while most preschool
children in the United States spend at least a portion of their days in
care outside the home, they are not in settings of sufficient quality to
produce later learning outcomes. The National Research Council's newly
published synthesis of research, Eager to Learn: Educating Our
Preschoolers, cites the warning that the growing understanding of the
importance of early education "stands in stark contrast to the disparate
system of care and education" available to the nation's preschool
children. The report suggests that many children from low income
families are in child care programs "of such low quality that learning
and development . . . may even be jeopardized."2

Because of concern about the quality and availability of early childhood
education, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) is committed to
raising awareness about the importance of early childhood education, the
characteristics of high-quality programs, and the availability of
federal resources to support preschool services. As part of this task,
the Department is providing information to educators and policy-makers
about why early education is important and what it takes to ensure that
preschoolers' education experiences are of sufficient quality to make a
difference in learning outcomes. Recognizing the scope of the task, the
Department has chosen to focus initially on promoting the development of
children's cognitive and language skills in preschool settings supported
by public schools.

**WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT?**

This guide is an initial step designed to provide information to local,
district, and state educators about the hallmarks of high-quality early
childhood programs. It includes short syntheses of research about the
characteristics of early education programs that have the most influence
on the development of cognition and learning. Then, indicators are
provided to assess the quality of preschool programs. The indicators are
based in research as well as guidelines developed by states and early
childhood professional associations. If a school or district currently
operates a preschool program, the guide can be used as a self-assessment
tool to judge the program's quality and make plans for improvements. If
the district is considering starting a preschool program, the guide
offers quality standards to be used during planning. States may find the
quality indicators and outcomes useful as they prepare guidance for the
operation of early childhood programs.

**WHY TARGET PUBLIC SCHOOLS?**

The target audiences for this document are public school educators and
policymakers who are planning or providing educational programs for
children ages three to five. Elementary school administrators are
beginning to realize that they must invest in the quality of preschools
to demonstrate success in meeting demanding educational standards.
Administrators know that children need to enter the K-12 system with a
strong language and literacy foundation to achieve the goal

####### Side Bar

As part of the Pre-K through grade 3 continuum of learning, the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System (NC) serves 2,000 four-year-olds in
its Bright Beginnings program. Since 1997, the system has used 85
percent of its Title I funds to provide Pre-K services to those students
with the greatest educational needs. Title I funding supports highly
qualified staff, a literacy and language-oriented curriculum,
professional development, family-school partnerships, and
transportation. The program has a fully developed, written curriculum;
program standards; and a curriculum-integrated parent component.
Professional development includes summer institutes, monthly full-day
sessions, and bi-weekly after school opportunities. The program involves
Even Start, Head Start collaborative classes and state-funded community
partnerships (North Carolina's Smart Start) in addition to classes at
elementary schools. Children's progress is assessed using components
from the Child Observation Record and Concepts about Print. Initial
results show that the effects of Bright Beginnings are sustained;
children perform consistently better on end-of-year kindergarten
assessments than do comparable children who did not participate. Most
important, initial results show that participation in Bright Beginnings
has substantially reduced achievement gaps associated with race and
poverty by the end of kindergarten. The district has the goal of
doubling the number of children served in Bright Beginnings with the
long term objective of having at least 85 percent of all
Charlotte-Mecklenburg students reading at or above grade level by the
end of grade three.

of producing competent readers by the end of the primary grades. Public
schools have great potential for improving the quality and increasing
the impact of preschool services. Schools have access to resources and
the capacity to enhance continuity between early education and
kindergarten and first grade. Public funding for pre-kindergarten has
been increasing as the K-12 system recognizes its vested interest in the
preparation of young children for success in the early grades. Local
school districts already have the responsibility to provide education
for preschool-aged children who need special education services. But
public schools can do much more by supporting staff, creating community
connections and providing resources to make an impact on the early
foundation for learning.

There are many ways that the public school system can support early
education: providing universal pre-kindergarten; financing the placement
of high needs children in early education settings; extending services
for some children; offering professional development to Head Start and
private preschool teachers; coordinating local providers and community
resources; and facilitating transitions across settings.3

**WHY EMPHASIZE COGNITION AND LANGUAGE?**

The Department acknowledges that attention in the preschool years to all
domains is vital, but will place more emphasis on cognition and
language. Research now provides clear direction in these domains, which
in the past have often been neglected in preschool settings. The new
research sheds light on the competencies of young children, the role of
a supportive context in development, and specific ways to promote
learning. An extensive body of evidence is now available, for example,
to guide emergent literacy skills and early reading.4 Because
developmental domains are related, however, growth in language and
cognition will optimally occur in the context of other areas of
development. Language development emerges from social interactions and
rich experiences; good health and nutrition are foundational for all
types of learning; and self-assurance in a group setting helps a child
profit from school experiences.

###### **Side Bar**

Missouri's Independence School District became the nation's first School
of the 21st Century in 1988. The district provides child care for
three-and four-year olds and before-and after-school care for
school-aged children in every elementary school. It operates Head Start
and Full Start, a program initiated to blend Head Start and child care.
Independence schools also administer Medicaid and case management and
offer child development training to families and child care providers. A
range of school programs in Texas' Austin Independent School District
illustrates ways that public schools can support preschool education. At
Becker Elementary, parents of pre-kindergarten children learn in the
Parents As Partners program how to facilitate their children's literacy
development. Parents learn about literacy activities to support learning
and also develop supportive relationships with teachers. The school
reports unprecedented progress on observational assessments of literacy.
At Sanchez and Allison Elementary schools, the Parents Advocates for
Literacy (PALS) program trains parents in early literacy so that they
can work as volunteers in pre-kindergarten programs. Each school day
features a 45 minute PALS time when parents and preschoolers work
together in small groups in pre-reading and writing. PALS adds
substantially to the instructional time young children receive.

**WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF STATES AND DISTRICTS IN SUPPORTING HIGH-QUALITY
EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS?**

States and districts can provide leadership, guidance, and technical
assistance in support of early childhood programs. Putting in place
high-quality education programs for preschool children on a large scale
requires action on many fronts simultaneously. States can play a
leadership role by providing guidance for program design and assessment,
acknowledging pre-kindergarten children as learners, creating
partnerships and collaborations to extend services, and offering
financial support to encourage additional and improved services. School
district offices play an essential role in creating effective early
childhood programming because support for young children's learning
requires the involvement of the full community. Early childhood
education is most effective when it is seen as part of the full
continuum of a child's education.

**SECTION ll**

######## VITAL CONCEPTS FOR PLANNING EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS 

**II. VITAL CONCEPTS FOR PLANNING EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS**

The type of early childhood programming that develops young children's
language and cognitive abilities for school success has distinguishing
characteristics that make it a resource-intensive but worthwhile
undertaking. Without specialized training in the early childhood field,
it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the program options and
settings that will have a long-term payoff for young children in later
school achievement from those that merely have the appearance of
quality. Seven vital concepts can guide the planning of effective early
childhood programs.

**1. INTENSITY OF PARTICIPATION MATTERS.**

Intensity refers to the amount and length of time a child participates
in high-quality experiences as well as the degree to which those
services are tailored to a child's individual development. In general,
the younger the child, the more individualized the programming.
Preschool children learn best in small group settings with experienced
adults who have the time each day to devote to their individual
development. Early childhood education is more expensive to provide than
elementary education simply because more adults are needed for the same
number of children. Intensity and length of participation matter a great
deal, especially for children who are living in circumstances that place
them at greater risk of school failure, including poverty, low level of
maternal education, and maternal depression.5 To realize cognitive
benefits from preschool, children need to experience
educationally-focused programming on a regular basis over the course of
their years of development. Fortunately, high-quality education can take
place in a wide range of settings because some children now spend eight
or more hours a day in care settings outside the home. It may be
unrealistic to expect that all aspects of the child's day would have an
education focus, but it is important that time is devoted each day to
cognitive and language development.

**2. TEACHER EXPERTISE IS THE CRUCIAL INGREDIENT.**

Children's cognitive growth and language development are primarily
influenced by the daily interactions between children and the adults who
are guiding their learning opportunities. Quality depends on the
expertise of adults in listening to, observing, talking with, and asking
questions of children over time. How able is the teacher to use a
child's interests and daily activities to extend vocabulary, introduce
numeracy concepts, and reinforce language sounds that are the building
blocks of reading? How facile is the teacher in observing signals that
suggest a child is ready for new cognitive challenges? While the
classroom setup and materials available to children are important
elements of quality, it is the teacher's ability to help the child learn
about his or her environment on a daily basis that makes a long-term
difference for learning. Teachers with early childhood expertise have
backgrounds that are different from those of elementary school teachers.
They require additional training in child development, language
acquisition and early literacy, observation and assessment, cultural
diversity, special needs, and parental involvement.6

**3. LINKS WITH FAMILIES ARE ESSENTIAL.**

Preschool sets the pattern for the family's contact with the formal
learning system. Early childhood teachers have the responsibility for
reaching out to parents and engaging them with their children's learning
so that parents begin to understand the responsibility they have for
supporting their children through the school years. Teachers must work
to bridge cultural and language differences with both parents and
children. If preschool is the child's first independent foray outside
the language and culture of the home, it becomes the job of the early
childhood teacher to recognize and build on the strengths of the child
and family while introducing the expectations of the formal learning
environment. The language of the home that children have used since
birth is most likely the language they will use for meaningful
communication and construction of knowledge. The native language can be
the foundation for English language acquisition.7

**4. CHILDREN'S PACE OF DEVELOPMENT IS NOT UNIFORM.**

Children enter preschool with many significant differences in their
cognitive, social, physical, and motor skills. Those differences arise
from family experiences, individual biology, and social and cultural
contexts, and thus any approach that assumes "lock-stepped development"
is not productive. The role of the preschool teacher is to learn about
and build upon the individual and developmental characteristics that the
child brings to the learning situation.8

**5. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CAN BENEFIT ALL CHILDREN.**

Children with disabilities and children who may be not as advanced as
their age peers in some areas of development are likely to benefit most
from high-quality preschool experiences. Because advantages in literacy
resources and activities, language development, and some aspects of
social and physical development are correlated with higher socioeconomic
status, it is especially important that children from lower income
backgrounds have access to quality early childhood education. Delaying
children's entry into group settings because of disabilities or into
preschool because of presumed lack of readiness denies opportunities for
growth through interaction with peers of the same age. In the words of
the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists referring to the
practice of delaying entry to kindergarten, "\[delaying entry\] implies
that children have failed at school even before they begin."9

**6. CONTINUITY SUSTAINS POSITIVE EFFECTS.**

Continuity has several dimensions. Children thrive in stable
relationships with adults who know and care for them. The strongest
programs keep staff turnover to a minimum, employ staffing patterns that
keep primary caregivers with the same children over several years, use a
team approach, and try to keep the peer group stable over time.
Transitions across institutional structures must be carefully planned.
Children who receive consistent services as they move from preschool to
kindergarten and first grade will be more successful academically and
socially.10

**7. QUALITY REQUIRES RESOURCES.**

Not every early care and education experience yields outcomes that are
visible as success in elementary school; preschool programs that
economize on the extent of children's participation, teacher expertise,
or ratio of adults to children are not likely to provide visible
benefits. High-quality early childhood programming is worth the
investment of resources in terms of its promise of school success.

*If the principles described above and the quality indicators found
later in this document are absent, it is unlikely that learning outcomes
will be realized for many children.*

**SECTION lll**

**FEATURES OF HIGH-QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS**

######### THAT PROMOTE COGNITIVE AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 

**SECTION III. FEATURES OF HIGH-QUALITY EARLy**

**CHILDHOOD PROGRAMSTHAT PROMOTE COGNITIVE AND**

**LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT**

This section of the document addresses six features of early childhood
programs related to cognitive growth and language development: parental
involvement, learning environment, pedagogy, curricula, assessment, and
staff qualifications. Each feature begins with a summary of salient
findings from research followed by a statement of the challenges to be
faced for quality implementation. A series of quality indicator
statements describes what an observer could look for to determine
whether the program is on the track of producing long term meaningful
outcomes for children. Rate your preschool program on each of the
indicators using the five-point scale that ranges from "Not at all
Descriptive of our Program" to "Very Descriptive of our Program." The
final section of this document includes the indicator statements in
instrument format for use in self-assessments.

The statements in the sections that follow describe hallmarks of good
practice that have widespread support, but they are not intended to
serve as a complete list of ideal program qualities. The statements can
be used to help schools set benchmarks for improving the quality of
preschool services. The quality indicators in this section are derived
from the extensive work done in recent years by federal agencies, state
departments of education, academics, and professional associations.
Major sources include:

***The National Research Council's Eager to Learn, The National Reading
Panel Report on Teaching Children to Read, and Preventing Reading
Difficulties in Young Children***

***National Association for the Education of Young Children National
Association of Early Childhood Specialists***

***The standards and guidelines for early childhood developed by several
states, including California, Connecticut, New York, and Texas.***

See endnotes and resource section for more information.

A.  QUALITY OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT

***From the research:***

-   Family variables are powerful predictors of children's subsequent
    language development and academic performance. Parental beliefs and
    attitudes about literacy and reading affect children's literacy
    development. Parents report that they feel less able to positively
    impact their children's intellectual development than any other area
    of child development.11

-   Families contribute to children's literacy and school-related
    competence directly by engaging in language-rich verbal exchanges
    with the child, and in indirect ways, by providing reading and
    writing materials, and serving as role models in the regular use and
    enjoyment of reading and writing in everyday life. Gains in
    children's skills are associated with parents' responsiveness during
    story reading.12

-   Children with multiple risk factors, including poverty, are less
    likely than others to engage in literacy activities frequently with
    their families.13

**The challenge for programs:**

Many professionals have never had training in parental involvement
strategies. Certainly, many parents are not aware of the importance of
their roles in supporting children's learning, nor have they been
exposed to techniques for doing so. In general, the field of parenting
education is less well developed than other fields.
Relationship-building with parents can be especially challenging for
staff when families are from cultural, language, or income and social
groups that differ from their own backgrounds. Engaging parents who have
limited literacy skills poses both a challenge and opportunity. Schools
might initiate or link with a family literacy program specifically
designed to develop parents' literacy skills, while supporting
involvement with their children's literacy development. It is important
for all schools to have clear expectations for parents as well as for
their own roles in the home-school relationship.

QUALITY INDICATORS FOR PARENT INVOLVEMENT: LOOK FOR\...

**DEVELOPMENT OF HOME-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   All parents believe that their child's teacher respects their views
    and express trust in the teacher. Parents are welcome visitors to
    the program at any time.

-   A system is in place for teacher-parent communication of day-to-day
    happenings that may affect children. Staff regularly provides
    information to parents about how their children are progressing and
    does so formally through conferences several times a year.

-   The school has explicit expectations for the parent's role. Staff
    provides information to all parents about their roles in
    family-school relationships, the schedule and school calendar, the
    meaning of progress reports and school forms, and so forth.

-   All parents have opportunities for input into program procedures and
    the plans for meeting their child's needs.

**HOME LITERACY ENVIRONMENT AND PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff routinely provides books and other literacy materials for use
    in the home environment. Staff encourages parent-child book reading
    in a variety of ways. Staff demonstrates ways to read with children.

-   Staff makes home visits for instructional purposes as appropriate.

-   During parent-teacher conferences, staff asks parents for their
    observations about their child's language and literacy development.
    Staff uses the knowledge in ongoing assessment and planning.

-   The program makes available opportunities for parents to extend
    their own literacy learning, directly or through referrals.

**COMPETENCE IN WORKING WITH DIVERSE PARENT POPULATIONS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff has detailed knowledge of the social and cultural contexts in
    which children live. Staff understands and respects the values and
    traditions of culturally diverse families.

-   Staff makes appropriate accommodations for parents with special
    needs, e.g., oral presentations of written material, visits to the
    home.

-   Staff makes arrangements for communicating with parents in their
    preferred language.

B.  QUALITY OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

***From the research:***

-   Class size and adult-child ratios are related to learning outcomes.
    Low ratios allow more interaction and individualization. Small group
    size encourages more extended language opportunities,
    child-initiated learning, and exploration and problem solving.14

-   Children learn best when their physical needs are met and they feel
    psychologically safe and secure. Children need to know that school
    is a safe place where adults will protect them.15

-   A significant part of the variation in performance in Head Start is
    related to the quality of classroom environments. Children's
    performance is higher if the teacher encourages independence, and
    classes have varied and appropriate schedules, are well-equipped,
    and provide rich language learning opportunities.16

**The challenge for programs:**

Most early childhood educators would agree that learning environments
strongly influence what is learned and how it is learned. Unfortunately,
when the rush to provide services to increased numbers of preschoolers
compromises the quality of the learning environment, desired results
might not be achieved. The goal is to create an environment that conveys
messages such as these to children: *This is a safe and comfortable
place. I belong here and I am valued. I know what I'm expected to do.*17

QUALITY INDICATORS FOR THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: LOOK FOR\...

**CLASS SIZE AND TEACHER-STUDENT RATIOS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   The number of adults in the classroom and the adult-child ratio
    follow state-recommended guidelines for age groups. Ratios and
    grouping are adequate so that each child is known well by at least
    one adult.

-   Staff members have assigned responsibility for a particular group of
    children. Programs maintain stable staff relationships, for example,
    keeping the same staff with children over several years.

-   Space is arranged so that children can work individually, in small
    groups, and as a whole group.

**SAFE, SECURE CLASSROOMS, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   The space, including outdoor play areas, is clean, well-lighted and
    ventilated and in good repair.

-   Room arrangements, schedules, and daily expectations follow
    consistent routines that are known to children. Transitions are
    smooth, purposeful, and not rushed.

-   There is at least one adult who speaks the home language of most
    children.

-   Adults are respectful toward children.

-   Adults involve children in the development of clear and consistent
    rules. Adults encourage positive social behavior, e.g., turn taking,
    respecting others' feelings, and model how to solve problems and
    resolve differences.

**RICH LITERACY ENVIRONMENT**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Arrangements and selection of materials engage children's interest
    in exploration. Children's work and products are displayed in the
    classroom.

-   The early childhood classroom has many and varied books, which are
    displayed attractively and are accessible to children. Writing
    materials are available in many different parts of the classroom.

-   The classroom contains alphabet materials, including posted letters,
    labels on objects in the environment, alphabet manipulatives, and
    alphabet books.

-   At least some reading materials have been selected for their
    connections to children's linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

-   Children have access to a wide range of materials useful for
    creative expression, e.g., art materials, dramatic play props.

**ACCOMMODATION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff includes all children in activities and events, e.g., games
    and sports. Adaptations are made in activities to facilitate
    participation by all children, and interventions for children with
    disabilities or other special needs maximize their participation and
    membership in the group.

-   Physical space and materials are adapted to promote engagement,
    interaction, play and learning. Adaptations encourage children to
    initiate learning and do not always depend on adults.

C.  QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD PEDAGOGY

***From the research:*** 18

-   A supportive early childhood context can strengthen young children's
    learning in all domains, e.g., cognition and language, physical and
    motor development, emotional and social development, and cultural
    and aesthetic development.

-   Children are better prepared for school when early childhood
    programs expose them to a variety of classroom structures, thought
    processes, and discourse patterns.

-   Children construct knowledge actively, integrating new concepts into
    existing understandings. Teaching and learning are most effective
    when they begin with and build on children's existing
    understandings.

-   Approaches that encourage children to reflect, predict, question,
    and hypothesize allow children to learn more deliberately.

**The challenge for programs:**

Children arrive at preschool with very different developmental, social,
and cultural experiences, resulting in great variations in their
readiness for the setting. Because individual differences among children
have a strong influence on growth and development, no single
"lock-stepped" approach to teaching is useful. Working with children who
represent a wide range of development requires well-trained staff. Early
childhood programs must explicitly address the development of the whole
child because learning in one domain of development often reinforces or
deepens learning in another area of development. Some curricular
activities such as arts, music, and dramatic play are especially
productive for developing language and literacy concepts.

INDICATORS OF QUALITY IN PEDAGOGY: LOOK FOR\...

**VARIETY OF DOMAINS AND STRUCTURES**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   The early childhood program has the explicit goal of supporting all
    domains of development for all children.

-   Children's daily schedules include a mix of whole class, small
    group, and individual interaction with teachers.

**INDIVIDUALIZATION**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff spends time each day observing children, including during
    play. Staff records observations for use in planning, and discusses
    observations of progress to match activities to the child's level of
    development.

-   Each day includes some opportunities for child-initiated learning
    activities along with teacher-structured activities.

**LEARNING HOW TO THINK**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   During all types of activities, staff frequently uses open-ended
    questions with all children to develop children's thinking.

-   Staff conducts and facilitates conversations among children on a
    daily basis, ensuring that all children have the opportunity to
    participate in taking turns during conversations.

-   Each day staff provides opportunities for children to ask questions
    and explore responses, reason and problem-solve, and use both
    deliberate and trial and error approaches for investigations. Staff
    encourages all children to participate in hands-on activities and
    interact with peers and adults about their observations.

D.  QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULA

***From the research:***

-   Research does not identify any one best curriculum for preschool-age
    children to prepare them for school. But it is clear that there are
    some important ingredients, including explicit curricular goals,
    planned learning experiences in all curricular areas, and extensive
    language and literacy development.19

-   Children learn from interactions with the physical and natural
    environment and also learn from each other. Children learn through
    play and active exploration of the environment.20

-   Teaching children phonemic awareness significantly improves reading.
    Vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly, e.g.,
    through story reading or listening. Repetition and multiple exposure
    is important for vocabulary learning.21

**The challenge for programs:**

Early childhood programs need to balance consistent curricular guidance
that ensures that all children have an opportunity to attain desired
outcomes with the flexibility that staff needs to meet the wide-ranging
needs of children. The nature of learning should inform the practice of
teaching. Learning activities that take a child just beyond his or her
existing knowledge and skill level are optimal for educational
development. Narrowly focused curricula that emphasize only basic skills
or drills on content have little meaning to children and should be
avoided.

QUALITY INDICATORS FOR CURRICULA: LOOK FOR\...

**PLANNING**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff members in the early childhood program are able to describe
    the theoretical base from which the program operates.

-   The early childhood program has identified foundational concepts and
    specific skills that all children should learn. Curriculum content
    is designed to achieve long range goals for children. The early
    childhood curricular expectations are linked to elementary school
    standards.

-   The curriculum allows for children to work at different levels on
    different activities. Children are not expected to all do the same
    thing at the same time.

-   The curriculum is organized within conceptual frameworks such as
    projects, units, and themes in order to provide context for abstract
    concepts.

**LANGUAGE FOUNDATIONS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Adults engage throughout the day in meaningful conversations with
    children, including conversations initiated by children. Adult
    speech is pleasant in tone, varied in complexity, and understood by
    children.

-   Vocabulary development is part of all learning activities. Staff
    takes advantage of routines, informal daily activities, and play
    opportunities to point out new words in context, and adults expand
    upon children's speech.

-   Staff members exhibit respect for the home language of children.
    Staff may use the language in some daily conversations and include
    stories and materials in the home language.

**EMERGENT LITERACY FOUNDATIONS FOR READING**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff explicitly teaches phonological awareness skills through
    rhyming, categorization of sounds, and identification of syllables.
    On a daily basis, staff uses rhyming, poetry, music, and word play
    with sound clusters to build sensitivity to sounds and awareness of
    phonemic patterns.

-   Staff frequently makes explicit connections between speech and
    print, e.g., pointing out letters of the alphabet associated with
    sounds and speech units and taking dictation from children.

-   Staff explicitly teaches skills associated with conventions of print
    and literacy, e.g., book handling, following print on a page.

-   Adult-child shared book reading of quality children's literature
    occurs every day. During story reading and telling, instructional
    approaches are used frequently to engage children in dialogue about
    the story and telling the story.

-   Teachers encourage children every day to talk about their
    experiences and to represent their ideas in stories and pictures.

-   Children are encouraged to write using their own spellings of words
    to link sounds with letters.

**MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE FOUNDATIONS FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff encourages direct, first hand, interactive experiences with
    natural and manipulative materials. The real world is the subject of
    learning activities. Children have the opportunity to develop
    concepts about the natural world, including the basic needs of
    living things, the differences and similarities among objects and
    organisms, the materials things are made of, and cycles and patterns
    of change.

-   Staff develops children's understanding of key vocabulary associated
    with sequencing, comparisons and sorting, spatial relationships, and
    temporal relationships.

-   Children have the opportunities to learn the functions and
    properties of objects, and classify and group materials.

-   Staff provides instruction and practice in recognizing numerals,
    counting objects, describing and naming shapes, reproducing and
    extending simple patterns, using basic measurement tools, and
    collecting and organizing information.

-   Staff helps children develop simple investigations that involve
    asking questions, making observations, gathering information,
    drawing conclusions, and communicating findings.

E.  QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD STAFF

***From the research:**22*

-   A defining feature of a supportive environment is a responsive and
    responsible adult who nurtures children's dispositions to learn. The
    quality of early teacher-child relationships affects social
    competence and school achievement.

-   Teachers' professional backgrounds are related to the types of
    interactions with children that support cognitive and language
    development. When the teaching staff knows how to observe children's
    approaches to learning, they are able to create challenging learning
    experiences that are within the reach of the child, and as a result,
    extend the child's competence.

-   Stability and consistency of relationships between adults and
    children are important for learning. Building close relationships
    depends upon stability; therefore, turnover of staff is disruptive
    for children's learning.

**The challenge for programs:**

In many areas, there is a shortage of qualified early childhood staff so
maintaining staff, with expertise and experience requires ongoing
attention. Because individualized support for children is critical,
schools need to create professional working conditions that support
continuous learning, enabling teachers to learn more about the children
in their care and reflect on the effectiveness of teaching practices.

INDICATORS OF QUALITY OF STAFF: LOOK FOR\...

**BACKGROUND OF STAFF**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Early childhood teachers have at least baccalaureate degrees,
    ideally with specialization in early childhood education. At a
    minimum, early childhood instructional assistants are high school
    graduates or have equivalent credentials and have been trained in
    early childhood education.

-   Early childhood teachers and instructional assistants have or are
    working towards appropriate state certification for early childhood.

-   At least some members of the staff speak the home language of the
    majority of the children.

**PROFESSIONAL WORKING CONDITIONS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   During the school day, staff spends little time on tasks that do not
    involve children's learning.

-   Early childhood staff members receive supervision from an early
    childhood specialist with at least a Masters degree in early
    childhood education.

**PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   All early childhood staff members (teachers and instructional
    assistants) have training in child development; child observation
    and assessment; early literacy and language acquisition, including
    second language acquisition; curricula, environments and materials
    for young children; parental involvement; cultural diversity and
    special needs; and working with other staff.

-   At least weekly, staff has an opportunity to discuss their
    observations of children's development and seek guidance for
    instructional approaches.

F. QUALITY OF ASSESSMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

***From the research:***

-   Assessment serves several purposes in early childhood: planning
    instruction and monitoring progress, communicating progress to
    parents, identifying children in need of special services or
    intervention, and evaluating how well the program is meeting its
    goals.23

-   There are long-term negative consequences associated with deferring
    identification of and planning interventions for children who need
    additional support for language and literacy development.24

-   Assessment in early childhood is currently in a state of flux and
    the field is continuing to develop.25

**The challenge for programs:**

Assessment is inseparable from effective instruction; teachers daily
guide learning based on their assessments of each child's development. A
wide variety of approaches and instruments is appropriate for
instructional assessment to provide additional support in areas of need.
Those same instruments may not be appropriate for higher stakes
assessments of preschool children, for example, placement decisions.
Much more care needs to be employed when assessment is used for purposes
external to the classroom, e.g., program evaluation and accountability.
Schools certainly need to assess the effectiveness of preschool programs
in terms of their outcomes for children, but the data should always be
collected and reported in ways that bring benefits to children rather
than delaying services. Because the course of development in the
preschool years is uneven and sporadic, assessment results that reflect
only a single point in time can easily misrepresent children's learning.

INDICATORS OF QUALITY OF ASSESSMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: LOOK
FOR\...

**GUIDANCE FOR INSTRUCTION**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Teachers use a variety of assessment procedures that are embedded in
    instruction on an ongoing basis, including observation, performance
    assessment, work samples and interviews.

-   Records of assessments document what children know as well as what
    they do not yet know. Teacher records show which children are not
    making adequate progress in order to ensure that attention is paid
    to skill development.

**IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS FOR SPECIAL SERVICES AND INTERVENTIONS**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   The program has a process in place for screening and referring
    children for special education and other services.

-   The process includes provisions for informing parents of the
    referral in advance, along with their associated rights. Parents may
    remain with the child during assessments.

**PROGRAM ASSESSMENT**

NOT AT ALL DESCRIPTIVE VERY DESCRIPTIVE

1 2 3 4 5

-   Staff and parents meet to develop instructional and other goals for
    children.

-   Staff and parents participate in a formal annual review to determine
    the program's effectiveness in meeting the needs of children and
    families.

-   The annual review includes an assessment of the overall context,
    including staff turnover, and parental satisfaction.

-   The annual review of the program includes performance data about
    children collected by teachers. Multiple indicators of progress are
    included to assess program effectiveness in meeting instructional
    goals.

-   Staff make recommendations for program improvement based upon
    findings in the annual review.

SUMMARY

If the indicators listed in the six features above ***are*** descriptive
of your current preschool program, then you are well on the way to
providing experiences for young children that will produce strong
outcomes. The next section lists specific outcomes for language
development, enabling you to determine whether children in your
preschool program are attaining the skills that are important
foundations for school success. If your program ***did not*** rate well
on some indicators, now is the time to take stock and develop an action
plan that answers these questions:

-   Where do we want to be in a year? What changes are most important?
    What goals are reasonable?

-   What strategies, capacities, and resources do we need to achieve
    those goals?

**SECTION IV**

**CHILD OUTCOMES IN THE LANGUAGE DOMAIN**

SECTION IV. CHILD OUTCOMES IN THE LANGUAGE DOMAIN

What should parents and the public expect from the preschool experience?
This section lists examples of benchmarks within the language domain
that most children could be expected to attain as a result of
participation in a quality preschool. Of course, all children would not
be expected to arrive at a benchmark at the same time nor attain the
same proficiency. Assessments should take into account a child's ability
in English and his or her stage of native and English language
acquisition.

There are many ways to measure the attainment of the outcomes listed
below, including observation and performance assessments. The Resource
Section includes a list of assessment instruments that programs might
consider for gauging attainment of outcomes.

The outcomes listed below are expectations that are appropriate for most
children who have participated in high-quality preschool programs.
Children's performance on these outcomes will help you judge the
adequacy of preschool program quality.

By the end of preschool, how many of children in your program are able
to \_\_\_\_?

A.  Oral Language, Communication and Listening

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Communicate to be understood by     |        |     |     |         |
| adults and peers.                   |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Initiate and engage in              |        |     |     |         |
| conversations with adults and       |        |     |     |         |
| peers.                              |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Ask questions for information and   |        |     |     |         |
| to extend learning.                 |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Use multiple word sentences to      |        |     |     |         |
| express ideas.                      |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Listen to others and indicate       |        |     |     |         |
| understanding.                      |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Understand accurately directions    |        |     |     |         |
| with more than one step.            |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

B.  Background Knowledge and Vocabulary

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Learn new vocabulary from everyday  |        |     |     |         |
| situations.                         |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Attempt to communicate more than    |        |     |     |         |
| current vocabulary, extending to    |        |     |     |         |
| create new meaning.                 |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Use correct vocabulary related to   |        |     |     |         |
| position, order, direction, size,   |        |     |     |         |
| and comparison.                     |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Use vocabulary associated with      |        |     |     |         |
| scientific principles, e.g., sink,  |        |     |     |         |
| float, freeze, liquid, alive.       |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Use basic computer vocabulary,      |        |     |     |         |
| e.g., mouse, keyboard, printer.     |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

***[C. Emergent Literacy]{.smallcaps}***

Phonological awareness

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Recognize that words are made up of |        |     |     |         |
| individual sounds.                  |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Recognize that language is made up  |        |     |     |         |
| of words.                           |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Recognize and produce rhyming       |        |     |     |         |
| words.                              |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Perceive the difference between     |        |     |     |         |
| similar sounding words.             |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Identify words that begin with the  |        |     |     |         |
| same sounds.                        |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Break words into syllables.         |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

####### Alphabetic principle

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Understand that sounds are          |        |     |     |         |
| represented in print by             |        |     |     |         |
| combinations of letters.            |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Make some sound-letter matches.     |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

####### Letter awareness

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Know some alphabet letter names,    |        |     |     |         |
| including those in own name.        |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Recognize own name and several high |        |     |     |         |
| frequency words in environment.     |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

####### Print awareness

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Understand that print conveys       |        |     |     |         |
| messages.                           |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Understand that there are different |        |     |     |         |
| text forms used for different       |        |     |     |         |
| functions.                          |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Demonstrate book awareness, e.g.,   |        |     |     |         |
| holding the book right side up,     |        |     |     |         |
| turning pages.                      |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Understand print conventions, e.g., |        |     |     |         |
| left to right, top to bottom, and   |        |     |     |         |
| spaces between words.               |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

####### Writing

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Use symbols or drawings to express  |        |     |     |         |
| ideas.                              |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Use letter approximations to write  |        |     |     |         |
| words or ideas.                     |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Dictate words, phrases, sentences   |        |     |     |         |
| to adults for recording.            |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Write letters in own name.          |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

D. Comprehension

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Retell the sequence of main events  |        |     |     |         |
| in a story.                         |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Predict events in a story.          |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Connect information in books to     |        |     |     |         |
| real life experiences.              |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

E. Interest in Literacy

+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
|                                     | **     | **  | **  | **FEW** |
|                                     | MOST** | MAN | SOM |         |
|                                     |        | Y** | E** | **(less |
|                                     | **     |     |     | than    |
|                                     | (75%or | **( | **( | 25%)**  |
|                                     | m      | 50- | 25- |         |
|                                     | ore)** | 75% | 50% |         |
|                                     |        | )** | )** |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Play with the sounds of language in |        |     |     |         |
| games and songs.                    |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Attend to and engage in discussion  |        |     |     |         |
| about books when being read to.     |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Show interest in reading-related    |        |     |     |         |
| activities.                         |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Attempt to read and write           |        |     |     |         |
| independently.                      |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Have favorite books and request     |        |     |     |         |
| re-reading of books.                |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+
| Enjoy library visits and select     |        |     |     |         |
| books by own criteria.              |        |     |     |         |
+-------------------------------------+--------+-----+-----+---------+

CONCLUSION

The Department of Education offers the information in this guide to
states, districts, and schools to use in developing high-quality early
childhood programs and in supporting the continuous improvement of
existing programs. The guide may also be used to make the case for
providing services to young children and ensuring that those services
are of sufficient quality to have long-term positive effects.

If your self-assessment shows need for improvement, the information in
this guide may help identify the capacities and resources needed to
improve services over the coming year. The resources in the next section
can provide additional help for your improvement efforts.

**SECTION V**

**RESOURCES**

SECTION V. RESOURCES

This section of the guide includes references for additional
information, and endnotes for the text.

A.  Program Quality Instruments

***Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS).*** The ECERS is a
global rating of classroom quality based on structural features of the
classroom. It uses a seven-point rating scale that provides extensive
descriptive information on the classroom. The ECERS was recently
revised, and is easier to train and gain inter-rater reliability. The
ECERS-R features more clearly defined criteria for each scale, as well
as an improved balance between classroom materials, furnishings, and
routine activities with classroom processes and practices. The ECERS-R
subscales include space and furnishings, personal care routines,
language-reasoning, activities, interaction, program structure, and
parents and staff. ECERS was used in the Head Start Family and Child
Experiences Survey (FACES), the Observational Study of Early Childhood
Programs, National Child Care Staffing Study, the Cost, Quality and
Child Outcomes Study, Family and Classroom Correlates of Head Start
Children's Developmental Outcomes, and the Thresholds of Quality Study.
The ECERS-R is currently being used in FACES.

***Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs.*** The Assessment
Profile is an observational checklist containing 147 Yes/No items
designed to assist in self-assessment to improve the quality of early
childhood programs. It focuses on five aspects of the dynamic classroom
environment: (1) the learning environment, (2) the curriculum, (3)
interactions, (4) individualizing, and (5) health and safety. The
Assessment Profile is used in FACES (Learning Environment and Scheduling
scales), and was previously used in the Observational Study of Early
Childhood Programs, the Atlanta site of the National Child Care Staffing
Study, the National Child Care and Family Study and an adaptation was
developed for the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development's Study of Early Child Care.

***Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO).*** The
ELLCO is a 30-40 minute observation period followed by an interview with
the teacher. The observer then rates the classroom on 14 variables that
span four functional areas: 1) classroom functional environment
(organization of the classroom, contents of the classroom, presence and
use of technology, opportunities for child choice and initiative); 2)
the interactive environment (classroom management strategies, classroom
climate); 3) language and literacy facilitation (oral language
facilitation, presence of books, book reading practices, approaches to
children's writing); and 4) broad support for literacy (approaches to
curriculum, recognizing diversity in the classroom, facilitating home
support for literacy, approaches to assessment).

B.  Selected References for More Information

(see also endnotes for major references):

######### Articles and Books

Allin, S. & Love, J.M. (1995). Influences on children's transitions to
kindergarten: A review of the research and practice. Washington, DC:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Barnett, W.S. (1995). Long-term effects of early childhood programs on
cognitive and school outcomes. The future of children: Long-term
outcomes of early childhood programs. 5(3).

Bredekamp, S. & Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997). Developmentally appropriate
practices in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Burns, M.S., Griffin, P., & Snow, C. (Eds.). (1998). Starting out right:
A guide to promoting children's reading success. Washington, DC:
Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children,
National Research Council.

Frede, E.C. (1995). The role of program quality in producing early
childhood program benefits. The future of children: Long term outcomes
in early childhood programs. 5(3).

Katz, L.G. (1993, April). Five perspectives on quality in early
childhood programs. Available on-line:
ericeece.org/pubs/books/fivepers.html

National Governors' Association. (1996). Promising practices to improve
results for young children. Washington, DC: Author.

Regional Educational Laboratories Early Childhood Collaboration Network.
(1995, November). Continuity in early childhood: A framework for home,
school, and community linkages. Washington, DC: Author.

Stief, Elizabeth. (1994). Transitions to school. Washington, DC:
National Governors' Association.

**Organizations**

Center for Improvement of Early Reading (CIERA)

Available on-line: www.ciera.org

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

Available on-line: www.cec.sped.org

ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education
(ERIC/EECE)

Available on-line: www.ericeece.org/

International Reading Association (IRA)

Available on-line: www.reading.org

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Available on-line: www.naeyc.org

National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments
of Education (NAECS/SDE)

Available on-line: ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/naecs/abtnaecs.html

National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL)

Available on-line: www.fpg.unc.edu/NCEDL

National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL)

Available on-line: www.famlit.org

National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)

Available on-line: www.nifl.gov/

National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education, Early
Childhood Institute (ECI)

Available on-line: www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ECI/

C.  Endnotes

1 West, J., Denton, K., and Reaney, L.M. (2000). The kindergarten year:
Findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal study, kinder-garten
class of 1998-99. Washington, D. C.: National Center for Education
Statistics. Available:
\<www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001023: See following
references in Hinkle, D. (2000). School involvement in early childhood.
(U.S. Department of Education Publication: ECI 2000-9039). Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. (a) Ramey, C., Campbell, F., &
Burchinal, M. (1999). The Abecedarian Project. (b) Karoly, L.,
Greenwood, P., Everingham, S., Hoube, J., Kilburn, R., Rydell, C.
Sanders, M., & Chiesa, J. (1998) Investing in our children. Santa
Monica, CA: Rand Corporation; and (c) National Center for Early
Development and Learning. (1999). Cost, quality, and outcomes children
go to school. www.fpr.unc.edu/ncedl/

2 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

3 Hinkle, D. (2000). School involvement in early childhood. (U.S.
Department of Education Publication: ECI 2000-9039). Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.

4 Snow, C., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading
difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Research
Council. www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/prdyc/; and National Research
Council. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment
of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications
for reading instruction. Washington, DC: Author.

5 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

6 National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education.
(2000, March). New teachers for a new century: The future of early
childhood professional preparation. (U.S. Department of Education
Publication: ECI 2000-9038) Available: \<www.ed.gov\> Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.

7 National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1998,
July). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices
for young children. A joint position statement of the International
Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of
Young Children. Adopted May 1998. Young Children, 53(4); and Powell, D.
R., & D'Angelo, D. (2000, September). Guide to improving parenting
education in Even Start family literacy programs. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education. Even Start Family Literacy Program. Available:
\<www.ed.gov\>

8 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

9 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press;
and National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State
Departments of Education (NAECS). (2000, August). Unacceptable trends in
kindergarten entry and placement. Author.
ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/naecs/position/trends2000.html

10 Council of Chief State School Officers. (2000). Early childhood and
family education. Washington, DC: Author.

11 Powell, D. R., & D'Angelo, D. (2000, September). Guide to improving
parenting education in Even Start family literacy programs. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Education. Even Start Family Literacy Program.
Available: \<www.ed.gov\>

12 Snow, C., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading
difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Research
Council. www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/prdyc/; and Whitehurst, G.J.,
Epstein, J. N., Angell, A. L., Payne, D. A., Crone, D. A., & Fischel,
J.E. (1994) Outcomes of an emergent literacy intervention in Head Start.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 542-555.

13 Nord, C. W., Lennon, J., Liu, B., & Chandler, K. (2000, March). Home
literacy activities and signs of children's emerging literacy, 1993 and
1999. (National Center for Education Statistics: NCES 2000-026).
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

14 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

15 Guidelines for appropriate curriculum content and assessment in
programs serving children ages 3 through 8. A position statement of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children and the
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Department
of Education. Adopted November 1990. Available:
\<ericps.crc.uiuc.ed/naecs/position/currcont.html\>

16 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1998, June). Head
Start program performance measures. Second progress report.
(ACYF-IM-HS-98-19) Washington, DC: Author.

17 The University of the State of New York. (1998). Preschool planning
guide: Building a foundation for development of language and literacy in
the early years. Albany, NY: The State Education Department.

18 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

19 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

20 Guidelines for appropriate curriculum content and assessment in
programs serving children ages 3 through 8. A position statement of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children and the
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Department
of Education. Adopted November 1990. Available:
\<ericps.crc.uiuc.ed/naecs/position/currcont.html\>

21 National Research Council. (2000). Teaching children to read: An
evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on
reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC:
Author. Snow, C., Burns, S., & Griffin, P., (Eds.). (1998). Preventing
reading difficulties in young children. Washington, D.C.: National
Research Council. www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/prdyc/

22 National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education.
(2000, March). New teachers for a new century: The future of early
childhood professional preparation. (U.S. Department of Education
Publication: ECI 2000-9038) Available: \<www.ed.gov\>. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.

23 Guidelines for appropriate curriculum content and assessment in
programs serving children ages 3 through 8. A position statement of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children and the
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Department
of Education. Adopted November 1990. Available:
\<ericps.crc.uiuc.ed/naecs/position/currcont.html\>

24 Snow, C., Burns, S., and Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing
reading difficulties in young children. Washington, D.C.: National
Research Council. www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/prdyc/

25 National Research Council. (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our
preschoolers. Executive summary. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

26 Guidelines for appropriate curriculum content and assessment in
programs serving children ages 3 through 8. A position statement of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children and the
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Department
of Education. Adopted November 1990. Available:
\<ericps.crc.uiuc.ed/naecs/position/currcont.html\>

27 Connecticut State Board of Education. (1999). The Connecticut
framework: Preschool curricular goals and benchmarks. Hartford, CT:
Author; Texas Education Agency. (1999, December). Prekindergarten
curriculum guidelines. (Report No. CU 00 200 01). Austin, TX: Author;
California Department of Education. Child Development Division. (2000,
June). Program standards for center-based programs and family child care
home networks: Desired results for children and families. Sacramento,
CA: Author; and California Department of Education (2000).
Pre-kindergarten learning and development guidelines. Sacramento:
California Department of Education.

**SECTION VI**

**PROGRAM SELF-ASSESSMENT**

The following pages contain a self-assessment tool using the quality
indicator statements for the six features of high-quality early
childhood programs described in Section III. For each quality indicator
statement, determine how descriptive that indicator is of your program,
ranging from "Not at all Descriptive of our Program" to "Very
Descriptive of our Program." Write notes to explain the ratings.

It is helpful to involve a multi-disciplinary team to determine and
discuss the ratings. Use the team discussion to identify the strengths
of preschool services and also determine areas for needed improvements.

A.  QUALITY INDICATORS FOR PARENT INVOLVEMENT:

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **DEVELOPMENT OF HOME-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS**   PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 All parents believe that their child's                                    
  teacher respects their views and express trust                              
  in the teacher. Parents are welcome visitors                                
  to the program at any time.                                                 

  2 A system is in place for teacher-parent                                   
  communication of day-to-day happenings that                                 
  may affect children. Staff regularly provides                               
  information to parents about how their                                      
  children are progressing and does so formally                               
  through conferences several times a year.                                   

  3 The school has explicit expectations for the                              
  parent's role. Staff provides information to                                
  all parents about their roles in family-school                              
  relationships, the schedule and school                                      
  calendar, the meaning of progress reports and                               
  school forms, and so forth.                                                 

  4 All parents have opportunities for input                                  
  into program procedures and the plans for                                   
  meeting their child's needs.                                                
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| **HOME LITERACY ENVIRONMENT AND**           | P  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RO |    |    |    |    |
| **PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS**               | GR |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | AM |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | S  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | EL |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | F- |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RA |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | TI |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | NG |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
|                                             | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 1 Staff routinely provides books and other  |    |    |    |    |    |
| literacy materials for use in the home      |    |    |    |    |    |
| environment. Staff encourages parent-child  |    |    |    |    |    |
| book reading in a variety of ways. Staff    |    |    |    |    |    |
| demonstrates ways to read with children.    |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 2 Staff makes home visits for instructional |    |    |    |    |    |
| purposes as appropriate.                    |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 3 During parent-teacher conferences, staff  |    |    |    |    |    |
| asks parents for their observations about   |    |    |    |    |    |
| their child's language and literacy         |    |    |    |    |    |
| development. Staff uses the knowledge in    |    |    |    |    |    |
| ongoing assessment and planning.            |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 4 The program makes available opportunities |    |    |    |    |    |
| for parents to extend their own literacy    |    |    |    |    |    |
| learning, directly or through referrals.    |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+

+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| **COMPETENCE IN WORKING WITH**              | P  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RO |    |    |    |    |
| **DIVERSE PARENT POPULATIONS**              | GR |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | AM |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | S  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | EL |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | F- |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RA |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | TI |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | NG |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
|                                             | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 1 Staff has detailed knowledge of the       |    |    |    |    |    |
| social and cultural contexts in which       |    |    |    |    |    |
| children live. Staff understands and        |    |    |    |    |    |
| respects the values and traditions of       |    |    |    |    |    |
| culturally diverse families.                |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 2 Staff makes appropriate accommodations    |    |    |    |    |    |
| for parents with special needs, e.g., oral  |    |    |    |    |    |
| presentations of written material, visits   |    |    |    |    |    |
| to the home.                                |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 3 Staff makes arrangements for              |    |    |    |    |    |
| communicating with parents in their         |    |    |    |    |    |
| preferred language.                         |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+

B.  QUALITY OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| **CLASS SIZE AND TEACHER-STUDENT**          | P  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RO |    |    |    |    |
| **RATIOS**                                  | GR |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | AM |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | S  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | EL |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | F- |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RA |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | TI |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | NG |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
|                                             | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 1 The number of adults in the classroom and |    |    |    |    |    |
| the adult-child ratio follow                |    |    |    |    |    |
| state-recommended guidelines for age        |    |    |    |    |    |
| groups. Ratios and grouping are adequate so |    |    |    |    |    |
| that each child is known well by at least   |    |    |    |    |    |
| one adult.                                  |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 2 Staff members have assigned               |    |    |    |    |    |
| responsibility for a particular group of    |    |    |    |    |    |
| children. Programs maintain stable staff    |    |    |    |    |    |
| relationships, for example, keeping the     |    |    |    |    |    |
| same staff with children over several       |    |    |    |    |    |
| years.                                      |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 3 Space is arranged so that children can    |    |    |    |    |    |
| work individually, in small groups, and as  |    |    |    |    |    |
| a whole group.                              |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **RICH LITERACY ENVIRONMENT**                  PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Arrangements and selection of materials                                   
  engage children's interest in exploration.                                  
  Children's work and products are displayed in                               
  the classroom.                                                              

  2 The early childhood classroom has many and                                
  varied books, which are displayed attractively                              
  and are accessible to children. Writing                                     
  materials are available in many different                                   
  parts of the classroom.                                                     

  3 The classroom contains alphabet materials,                                
  including posted letters, labels on objects in                              
  the environment, alphabet manipulatives, and                                
  alphabet books.                                                             

  4 At least some reading materials have been                                 
  selected for their connections to children's                                
  linguistic and cultural backgrounds.                                        

  5 Children have access to a wide range of                                   
  materials useful for creative expression,                                   
  e.g., art materials, dramatic play props.                                   
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| **ACCOMMODATION OF CHILDREN WITH**          | P  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RO |    |    |    |    |
| **SPECIAL NEEDS**                           | GR |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | AM |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | S  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | EL |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | F- |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RA |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | TI |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | NG |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
|                                             | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 1 Staff includes all children in activities |    |    |    |    |    |
| and events, e.g., games and sports.         |    |    |    |    |    |
| Adaptations are made in activities to       |    |    |    |    |    |
| facilitate participation by all children,   |    |    |    |    |    |
| and interventions for children with         |    |    |    |    |    |
| disabilities or other special needs         |    |    |    |    |    |
| maximize their participation and membership |    |    |    |    |    |
| in the group.                               |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 2 Physical space and materials are adapted  |    |    |    |    |    |
| to promote engagement, interaction, play    |    |    |    |    |    |
| and learning. Adaptations encourage         |    |    |    |    |    |
| children to initiate learning and do not    |    |    |    |    |    |
| always depend on adults.                    |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+

C.  QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD PEDAGOGY

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **VARIETY OF DOMAINS AND STRUCTURES**          PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 The early childhood program has the explicit                              
  goal of supporting all domains of development                               
  for all children.                                                           

  2 Children's daily schedules include a mix of                               
  whole class, small group, and individual                                    
  interaction with teachers.                                                  
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **INDIVIDUALIZATION**                          PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Staff spends time each day observing                                      
  children, including during play. Staff records                              
  observations for use in planning, and                                       
  discusses observations of progress to match                                 
  activities to the child's level of                                          
  development.                                                                

  2 Each day includes some opportunities for                                  
  child-initiated learning activities along with                              
  teacher-structured activities.                                              
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **LEARNING HOW TO THINK**                      PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 During all types of activities, staff                                     
  frequently uses open-ended questions with all                               
  children to develop children's thinking.                                    

  2 Staff conducts and facilitates conversations                              
  among children on a daily basis, ensuring that                              
  all children have the opportunity to                                        
  participate in taking turns during                                          
  conversations.                                                              

  3 Each day staff provides opportunities for                                 
  children to ask questions and explore                                       
  responses, reason and problem-solve, and use                                
  both deliberate and trial and error approaches                              
  for investigations. Staff encourages all                                    
  children to participate in hands-on activities                              
  and interact with peers and adults about their                              
  observations.                                                               
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

D. QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULA

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **PLANNING**                                   PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Staff members in the early childhood program                              
  are able to describe the theoretical base from                              
  which the program operates.                                                 

  2 The early childhood program has identified                                
  foundational concepts and specific skills that                              
  all children should learn. Curriculum content                               
  is designed to achieve long range goals for                                 
  children. The early childhood curricular                                    
  expectations are linked to elementary school                                
  standards.                                                                  

  3 The curriculum allows for children to work                                
  at different levels on different activities.                                
  Children are not expected to all do the same                                
  thing at the same time.                                                     

  4 The curriculum is organized within                                        
  conceptual frameworks such as projects, units,                              
  and themes in order to provide context for                                  
  abstract concepts.                                                          
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **LANGUAGE FOUNDATIONS**                       PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Adults engage throughout the day in                                       
  meaningful conversations with children,                                     
  including conversations initiated by children.                              
  Adult speech is pleasant in tone, varied in                                 
  complexity, and understood by children.                                     

  2 Vocabulary development is part of all                                     
  learning activities. Staff takes advantage of                               
  routines, informal daily activities, and play                               
  opportunities to point out new words in                                     
  context, and adults expand upon children's                                  
  speech.                                                                     

  3 Staff members exhibit respect for the home                                
  language of children. Staff may use the                                     
  language in some daily conversations and                                    
  include stories and materials in the home                                   
  language.                                                                   
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **EMERGENT LITERACY FOUNDATIONS FOR READING**  PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Staff explicitly teaches phonological                                     
  awareness skills through rhyming,                                           
  categorization of sounds, and identification                                
  of syllables. On a daily basis, staff uses                                  
  rhyming, poetry, music, and word play with                                  
  sound clusters to build sensitivity to sounds                               
  and awareness of phonemic patterns.                                         

  2 Staff frequently makes explicit connections                               
  between speech and print, e.g., pointing out                                
  letters of the alphabet associated with sounds                              
  and speech units and taking dictation from                                  
  children.                                                                   

  3 Staff explicitly teaches skills associated                                
  with conventions of print and literacy, e.g.,                               
  book handling, following print on a page.                                   

  4 Adult-child shared book reading of quality                                
  children's literature occurs every day. During                              
  story reading and telling, instructional                                    
  approaches are used frequently to engage                                    
  children in dialogue about the story and                                    
  telling the story.                                                          

  5 Teachers encourage children every day to                                  
  talk about their experiences and to represent                               
  their ideas in stories and pictures.                                        

  6 Children are encouraged to write using their                              
  own spellings of words to link sounds with                                  
  letters.                                                                    
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE FOUNDATIONS FOR      PROGRAM                      
  PROBLEM-SOLVING**                              SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Staff encourages direct, first hand,                                      
  interactive experiences with natural and                                    
  manipulative materials. The real world is the                               
  subject of learning activities. Children have                               
  the opportunity to develop concepts about the                               
  natural world, including the basic needs of                                 
  living things, the differences and                                          
  similarities among objects and organisms, the                               
  materials things are made of, and cycles and                                
  patterns of change.                                                         

  2 Staff develops children's understanding of                                
  key vocabulary associated with sequencing,                                  
  comparisons and sorting, spatial                                            
  relationships, and temporal relationships.                                  

  3 Children have the opportunities to learn the                              
  functions and properties of objects, and                                    
  classify and group materials.                                               

  4 Staff provides instruction and practice in                                
  recognizing numerals, counting objects,                                     
  describing and naming shapes, reproducing and                               
  extending simple patterns, using basic                                      
  measurement tools, and collecting and                                       
  organizing information.                                                     

  5 Staff helps children develop simple                                       
  investigations that involve asking questions,                               
  making observations, gathering information,                                 
  drawing conclusions, and communicating                                      
  findings.                                                                   
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

E. QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD STAFF

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **BACKGROUND OF STAFF**                        PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Early childhood teachers have at least                                    
  baccalaureate degrees, ideally with                                         
  specialization in early childhood education.                                
  At a minimum, early childhood instructional                                 
  assistants are high school graduates or have                                
  equivalent credentials and have been trained                                
  in early childhood education.                                               

  2 Early childhood teachers and instructional                                
  assistants have or are working towards                                      
  appropriate state certification for early                                   
  childhood.                                                                  

  3 At least some members of the staff speak the                              
  home language of the majority of the children.                              

  **PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT**                   PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 All early childhood staff members (teachers                               
  and instructional assistants) have training in                              
  child development; child observation and                                    
  assessment; early literacy and language                                     
  acquisition, including second language                                      
  acquisition; curricula, environments and                                    
  materials for young children; parental                                      
  involvement; cultural diversity and special                                 
  needs; and working with other staff.                                        

  2 At least weekly, staff has an opportunity to                              
  discuss their observations of children's                                    
  development and seek guidance for                                           
  instructional approaches.                                                   
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **PROFESSIONAL WORKING CONDITIONS**            PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 During the school day, staff spends little                                
  time on tasks that do not involve children's                                
  learning.                                                                   

  2 Early childhood staff members receive                                     
  supervision from an early childhood specialist                              
  with at least a Masters degree in early                                     
  childhood education.                                                        
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

F. QUALITY OF ASSESSMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **GUIDANCE FOR INSTRUCTION**                   PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Teachers use a variety of assessment                                      
  procedures that are embedded in instruction on                              
  an ongoing basis, including observation,                                    
  performance assessment, work samples and                                    
  interviews.                                                                 

  2 Records of assessments document what                                      
  children know as well as what they do not yet                               
  know. Teacher records show which children are                               
  not making adequate progress in order to                                    
  ensure that attention is paid to skill                                      
  development.                                                                
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| **IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS FOR**             | P  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RO |    |    |    |    |
| **SPECIAL SERVICES AND INTERVENTIONS**      | GR |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | AM |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | S  |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | EL |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | F- |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | RA |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | TI |    |    |    |    |
|                                             | NG |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
|                                             | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 1 The program has a process in place for    |    |    |    |    |    |
| screening and referring children for        |    |    |    |    |    |
| special education and other services. The   |    |    |    |    |    |
| process includes provisions for informing   |    |    |    |    |    |
| parents of the referral in advance, along   |    |    |    |    |    |
| with their associated rights. Parents may   |    |    |    |    |    |
| remain with the child during assessments.   |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 2 Teachers know the signs of children who   |    |    |    |    |    |
| may be having difficulty acquiring language |    |    |    |    |    |
| skills. Assessments take into account a     |    |    |    |    |    |
| child's ability in English and his or her   |    |    |    |    |    |
| stage of native and English language        |    |    |    |    |    |
| acquisition.                                |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+
| 3 Results of screening tests are not used   |    |    |    |    |    |
| as the sole criterion for placement into    |    |    |    |    |    |
| special programs.                           |    |    |    |    |    |
+---------------------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
  **PROGRAM ASSESSMENT**                         PROGRAM                      
                                                 SELF-RATING                  

                                                 1             2    3    4    5

  1 Staff and parents meet to develop                                         
  instructional and other goals for children.                                 

  2 Staff and parents participate in a formal                                 
  annual review to determine the program's                                    
  effectiveness in meeting the needs of children                              
  and families.                                                               

  3 The annual review includes an assessment of                               
  the overall context, including staff turnover,                              
  and parental satisfaction.                                                  

  4 The annual review of the program includes                                 
  performance data about children collected by                                
  teachers. Multiple indicators of progress are                               
  included to assess program effectiveness in                                 
  meeting instructional goals.                                                

  5 Staff make recommendations for program                                    
  improvement based upon findings in the annual                               
  review.                                                                     
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ---- ---- ---- ----

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In addition to the work on the document by M. Christine Dwyer of RMC
Research Corporation, Nicholas Zill of Westat provided information about
program quality and child outcome assessments for the resource section,
Jenny Suh of Policy Studies Associates (PSA) provided the list of
references for more information, and Elizabeth Witte of the Department
of Education provided recommendations of resources.

Members of a work group at the Department of Education (the Early
Childhood Initiative Group), provided guidance throughout development of
the project, and engaged in several helpful rounds of review. The group
included: Frances Bond, Bridget Bradley, Robin Chait, Alan Ginsburg,
Gail Houle, Connie Jameson, Naomi Karp, Patricia McKee, Elois Scott,
Miriam Whitney and Alex Wohl. The group was chaired by Carol Rasco and
Frank Holleman.

In August 2000, the Department convened a group to shape the content of
the document. The members of that group provided ideas and materials
generously and continued to offer suggestions through the review
process. Their insights and suggestions were extremely helpful and
contributed greatly to the quality of the document. In addition to
members of the work group identified above, the group included: Frank
Holleman, Deputy Secretary of Education; Ruth Gordner, Council of Chief
State School Officers; Anthony F. Bucci, Director of Title I Services,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg District; Harriett Egertson, Administrator of the
Nebraska Office of Children and Families; Susan Henry, New York State
Even Start Coordinator; Michael Jett, Director of the Child Development
Division of the California Department of Education; Jim Lesko, Delaware
Department of Education; Gary Resnick, Senior Study Director, FACES,
Westat, Inc.; Nancy Wilson, Associate Secretary of the Delaware
Department of Education; and Grover J. Whitehurst, Chair of the
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Design of the document was the work of Diane Draper of By Design.

NOTES