DOI: 10.3886/icpsr34877
title: Pre-Kindergarten in Eleven States: NCEDL's Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten and Study of State-Wide Early Education Programs (SWEEP)
title: Archival Version

description: The National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL) combined the data of two major studies in order to understand variations among state-funded pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs and in turn, how these variations relate to child outcomes at the end of pre-k and in kindergarten. The Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten and the State-Wide Early Education Programs (SWEEP) Study provide detailed information on pre-kindergarten
teachers, children, and classrooms in 11 states. By combining data from both studies, information is available from 721 classrooms and 2,982 pre-kindergarten children in these 11 states.
Pre-kindergarten data collection for the Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten took place during the 2001-2002 school year in six states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, and Ohio. These states were selected from among states that had committed significant resources to pre-k initiatives. States were selected to maximize diversity with regard to geography, program settings (public school or community setting), program intensity (full-day vs. part-day), and educational requirements for teachers. In each state, a stratified random sample of 40 centers/schools was selected from the list of all the school/centers or programs (both contractors and subcontractors) provided to the researchers by each state's department of education.
In total, 238 sites participated in the fall and two additional sites joined the study in the spring. Participating teachers helped the data collectors recruit children into the study by sending recruitment packets home with all children enrolled in the classroom. On the first day of data collection, the data collectors determined which of the children were eligible to participate. Eligible children were those who (1) would be old enough for kindergarten in the fall of 2002, (2) did not have an Individualized Education Plan, according to the teacher, and (3) spoke English or Spanish well enough to understand simple instructions, according to the teacher.
Pre-kindergarten data collection for the SWEEP Study took place during the
2003-2004 school year in five states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas,
Washington, and Wisconsin. These states were selected to complement the
states already in the Multi-State Study of Pre-K by including programs with
significantly different funding models or modes of service delivery. In each of the five states, 100 randomly selected state-funded pre-kindergarten sites were recruited for participation in the study from a list of all sites provided by the state.
In total, 465 sites participated in the fall. Two sites declined to continue participation in the spring, resulting in 463 sites participating in the spring. Participating teachers helped the data collectors recruit children into the study
by sending recruitment packets home with all children enrolled in the
classroom. On the first day of data collection, the data collectors determined
which of the children were eligible to participate. Eligible children were those
who (1) would be old enough for kindergarten in the fall of 2004, (2) did not have
an Individualized Education Plan, according to the teacher, and (3) spoke
English or Spanish well enough to understand simple instructions, according to the teacher.
Demographic information collected across both studies includes race, teacher gender, child gender, family income, mother's education level, and teacher education level.
The researchers also created a variable for both the child-level data and the class-level data which allows secondary users to subset cases according to either the Multi-State or SWEEP study.
description: (1) All analysis should include the state variable when weights are used. The samples were drawn separately for each state and the weights add to 100 percent within each state, not across each state. (2) For children within a classroom, because boys and girls were sampled and the dispersions were sometimes low, they were considered sampled without replacement, by gender. (3) The child weights were adjusted for nonresponse using a model-based approach. Children were divided based upon important demographic characteristics and then proportionally reweighted within each cell that contained attrition. (4) The weights should be used any time that a cross-sectional analysis within a period is performed. For example, the effect on children's test scores in the spring of pre-k based upon classroom and teacher characteristics should use the spring of pre-k child weights. (5) In Texas, data
are weighted to represent only the central and eastern portions of the state (including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and all points in between). In the other states, programs were randomly selected from the entire state and all values have been weighted to represent the entire state.
description: Response Rates: Multi-State: Of the 40 sites per state, 78 percent of eligible sites agreed to participate (fall of pre-k, n = 238). For fall of pre-k (n = 238), 94 percent of the one classroom per site selected agreed to participate. For fall (n = 940) and spring (n = 960) of pre-k, 61 percent of the parents of eligible children consented.SWEEP: Of the 100 sites per state, 77 percent of eligible states agreed to participate (fall of pre-k, n = 465; spring of pre-k, n = 463). For fall (n = 1,775) and spring (n = 1,840) of pre-k, 55 percent of the parents of eligible children consented.
description: Multi-State: The pool of potential sites was limited to 19 states that served 15 percent or 15,000 four-year-olds. That pool was reduced to six states chosen to represent diversity in length of program day, teacher credentialing requirements, program locales (in schools versus in community settings), and geography. After state selection, 20 ZIP codes from each state/region were randomly chosen, two sites were randomly chosen from each of those, one pre-k classroom was randomly selected from each selected site, and four pre-k children were randomly selected from each of those classrooms. Program sites in California were limited to 20 in the greater Los Angeles area and 20 in the Central Valley area, while selection sites in New York were similarly limited to 20 in New York City and 20 within a 50-mile radius of Albany.SWEEP: In each of the five states, the 100 randomly selected state-funded pre-kindergarten sites for participation in the study were selected from a list of all sites provided by the state. Budget and time constraints prohibited the researchers from randomly selecting from the entire state of Texas. In Texas, selection was limited to the central and eastern portions of the state (including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and all points in between). This region encompasses the vast majority of the Texas population. In order to recruit the 465 sites, 680 sites were contacted. Of the 215 that were contacted but did not participate, 79 were ineligible (e.g., did not receive state
funds, did not serve four-year-olds), and 136 declined or never responded. Thus, of those sites that were eligible, 77 percent agreed to participate. Within each selected site, the researchers worked with the center director/principal to select
randomly one classroom for participation. Eligible classrooms had to receive state funds and include at least five children who were eligible for the study. Of the 465 teachers from the initial random selection, 26 (6 percent) declined to participate.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Classroom Level Data
DS2: Child Level Data
description: Multi-State: Children old enough for kindergarten in fall 2002, who did not have an Individualized Education Plan, who spoke competent English or Spanish, and who were enrolled in center-based programs for four-year-olds that were fully or partially funded by state education agencies and that were operated in schools or under the direction of state and local education agencies within six selected states: California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia.
SWEEP: Children old enough for kindergarten in fall 2004, who did not have an Individualized Education Plan, who spoke competent English or Spanish, and who were enrolled in center-based programs for four-year-olds that were fully or partially funded by state education agencies and that were operated in schools or under the direction of state and local education agencies within six selected states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas,
Washington, and Wisconsin.. Smallest Geographic Unit: state
description: computer-assisted self interview (CASI); coded on-site observation; coded video observation; cognitive assessment test; face-to-face interview; self-enumerated questionnaireAdditional information about this study is available on the Web site of the National Center for Early Development and Learning.In both the Child-Level and Class-Level data certain variables were mitigated or dropped by ICPSR staff in order to address potentially disclosive data about the teachers and children involved in the combined study.