Longitudinal Study Of Georgia ’s Pre-K Program: Third Grade

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We wish to acknowledge the members of our Georgia’s Pre-K Program Evaluation Team who assistedwith the 2017-2018 study, the previous study PI, Dr. Ellen Peisner-Feinberg; the Research Staff: Dr.Karen Van Manen, Andrea Reubens, Jada Walker, Dr. Treshawn Anderson, Ivonne Carrillo, ShannonCasey, Stephanie Catlett, Elizabeth Gunn, Cristina Luna Evans, Diana Knechtel, Alexis Kokoska, TomLeggett, Carla Moreno, Jennifer Osborne, Judy Owen, Maria Sanchez, Eric Savage, Stefanie Schwartz,Gina Walker; and Data Collectors Brita Alton, Jane Argo, Joan Boudousquie, Elizabeth Bragg, BriannaCastellano, Cynthia Coleman, Ekeshia Crum, Kathy Crumley, Abby Davis, Akua Ducard, CL Dunn,Deborah Hallman, Stacey Harris, Khadija Highsmith, Melissa Johns, Deborah Laing, Kim Lane, LeslieLane, LaJuana Johnson-Mendez, Elizabeth Milling, Ann O’Mahoney, Chigozie Nkemka, JacquelineParker, Nicole Poucher, Katie Rutland, Carolina Sandoval, Steven Schell, Melissa Silva, PatriciaSimpson, Moneesha Smith, Karen Stewart, Alissa Sypsa, Anna Tussey, Peggy Tymes, Lori Warren,Adriana Vivas-Sosa, Ann Zimmer-Shepherd, Heather Zook; and the previous analysis team: IrinaMokrova and Margaret Burchinal.In addition, we share our appreciation to all those who participated in and assisted with this study,including the children and families; the teachers, administrators, and other staff of Georgia’s Pre-KProgram and the kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classrooms and schools; and the staff ofBright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL).Cover by Jennifer Osborne.This study was funded by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Theopinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agency.Suggested citation: Soliday Hong, S., Zadrozny, S., Walker, J., Love, E.N.G., Osborne, J.D., Owen, J. L.,Jenkins, G., & Peisner-Feinberg, E. (2021). Longitudinal Study of Georgia’s Pre-K Program: Third GradeReport. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute.This report is available at en-evaluation or gram.aspx.2

Table of ContentsList of Tables . 4List of Figures. 4Executive Summary . 5Longitudinal Study of Georgia’s Pre-K Program . 6Overview of Georgia’s Pre-K Program . 6Previous Evaluation Studies of Georgia’s Pre-K Program . 7Approach . 8Recruitment . 8Participants . 9Child Assessments . 11Classroom Observations. 13Parent and Teacher Surveys. 13Third Grade Results . 14Comparison of Within Grade Scores with National Averages . 15Patterns of Growth in Children’s Scores Over Time . 17Patterns of Growth in Children’s Scores Over Time: DLL Subsample . 19Predictors of Patterns of Growth in Children’s Scores Over Time. 21Pre-K Program/Classroom Characteristics . 25Third Grade Longitudinal Study Summary . 29Comparison Sub-study . 31Comparison of Third Grade Scores: Georgia’s Pre-K versus No Pre-K . 31Comparison Group Recruitment. 31Parent and Teacher Surveys. 31Comparison Group Participants . 32Child Assessments . 33Comparison Group Analyses . 33Summary and Conclusions on the Comparison Sub-study . 34Appendix A. Child Outcome and Classroom Quality Measures . 35References . 363

List of TablesTable 1. Number of Classrooms and Children Participating in the Longitudinal StudyTable 2. Constructs/Measures and Years Administered in the Longitudinal StudyTable 3. Fall-Spring Gains by Grade – Effect SizesList of FiguresFigure 1. Longitudinal Study TimelineFigure 2. Overview of Study Activities in Third GradeFigure 3. Statewide Distribution of Participating School Districts in Pre-K and Third GradeFigure 4. Children and Family Demographic Characteristics for the Third Grade SampleCompared to Child Who Participated in Pre-K but Not Third Grade (Attrition)Figure 5. Fall-Spring Gains by Grade – Rate of Growth within School YearsFigure 6. Growth in Language and Literacy Skills (Pre-K – 3rd Grade)Figure 7. Growth in Math Skills (Pre-K – 3rd Grade)Figure 8. Growth in Executive Function Skills (1st – 3rd Grade)Figure 9. Growth in Social Skills (Pre-K – 3rd Grade)Figure 10. Pre-K and First Grade versus Third Grade ScoresFigure 11. Rate of DLL Growth in English Language and Literacy SkillsFigure 12. Rate of DLL Growth in Spanish Language and Literacy SkillsFigure 13. DLL Growth in Math Skills Assessed in EnglishFigure 14. DLL Growth in Math Skills Assessed in SpanishFigure 15. DLL Growth in Executive Function SkillsFigure 16. Growth in Picture Vocabulary Skills Over Time by Pre-K English LanguageProficiency LevelFigure 17. Growth in Applied Problem Skills Over Time by Pre-K English Language ProficiencyLevelFigure 18. Growth in Social Skills Over Time by Pre-K English Language Proficiency LevelFigure 19. Growth in Vocabulary Skills Over Time by IEP Status at the Beginning of Pre-KFigure 20. Growth in Problem Behaviors Over Time by Sex of ChildFigure 21. Growth in Letter-Word Identification Skills Over Time by Kindergarten-Third GradeClassroom Quality: Low/Moderate versus HighFigure 22. Growth in Word Attack Skills Over Time by Kindergarten-Third Grade ClassroomQuality: Low/Moderate versus HighFigure 23. Growth in Problem Behaviors Over Time by Kindergarten-Third Grade ClassroomQuality: Low/Moderate versus HighFigure 24. Average CLASS Total Scores by GradeFigure 25. Frequency of CLASS Average Total Scores by GradeFigure 26. Frequency of CLASS Average Total Scores by Domain: Emotional SupportFigure 27. Frequency of CLASS Average Total Scores by Domain: Classroom OrganizationFigure 28. Frequency of CLASS Average Total Scores by Domain: Instructional SupportFigure 29. Third Grade Comparison Group versus Original Pre-K GroupFigure 30. Differences in Standard and Raw Scores for Pre-K Group versus Comparison Groupin Third Grade4

Executive SummaryThe following summarizes results from the Georgia’s Pre-K Longitudinal Study Third Grade Report. Thestudy followed a representative sample of children (n 1,169) from their pre-k experience (2013-2014)through the third grade (2017-2018). The study was conducted by researchers at the Frank Porter Graham(FPG) Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Study Components: Standardized child assessments that measure skills across learning domains. By using standardizedchild assessments, children’s scores can be compared to a nationally representative sample ofchildren of the same age; Observations of classroom quality over time that measure the quality of teacher-child interactions; Inclusion of a subsample of dual language learners (English-Spanish); and A comparison sample of children who did not attend any pre-k added in the third grade year.Key Results of the Longitudinal Study: The largest gains (higher than expected scores relative to the norming sample) were observedduring the Georgia’s Pre-K year. Small to moderate gains were found in measures assessing literacy,math, and social skills; Initial gains persisted through Kindergarten with scores starting to level off in first grade and thendecreasing or stabilizing through third grade. For four of the nine assessments, children’s scores were higher in third grade than at the pre-kbaseline; At the end of third grade, children’s scores, on average, were below the national norm on two of themeasures: Vocabulary and Passage Comprehension. Vocabulary scores were below the nationalnorm throughout the study; Scores for children classified as Dual Language Learners (DLL) were slightly below the nationalnorm in third grade for skills measured in English and well below the national norm for the skillsmeasured in Spanish; The strongest predictor of children’s scores over time is English Language Proficiency at pre-k entry.Predictors associated with small differences in a few outcomes included: Individualized EducationPlan (IEP) status at the beginning of pre-k, children’s sex, and K-3 classroom quality; and Classroom quality, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Pre-K andK-3 versions, was in the moderate range, on average, and highest in Pre-K but only declined slightlyin later grades.Key Results from the Comparison Sample:Children who attended Georgia’s Pre-K Program had literacy skills that were moderately higher andexecutive function skills that were somewhat higher in the fall of third grade than children whose parentsreported that the child did not attend any pre-k program (comparison group). These results are similar tothe findings of the Longitudinal Study where children who attended Georgia’s Pre-K had higher scores infoundational literacy skills relative to the national norming sample. Together, these results suggest thatfoundational literacy skills, which are a focus of pre-k, were not obtained by children in the comparisonsample.5

Longitudinal Study of Georgia’s Pre-K ProgramThird Grade ReportThe purpose of this study was to examine associations between attendance in Georgia’s Pre-KProgram and children’s academic and social outcomes through third grade. Different fromprevious years’ reports, this includes a sub-study that incorporates a comparison group ofchildren who did not attend any pre-k program. This report focuses on third grade outcomes,but it also includes pre-k to third grade outcomes collected during the 2013–2014 to 2017–2018school years and a comparison sub-study of children who did not attend any pre-k.The longitudinal study began with a sample of 1,169 children (139 Spanish speaking duallanguage learners/DLLs) attending a random sample of 199 Georgia’s Pre-K classes in the firstyear of the study. Eight-hundred fifty-seven children (109 Spanish-speaking DLLs) werefollowed into third grade. Professional assessors conducted individual child assessments nearthe beginning and end of each school year. The assessment measured multiple areas of learning,including language, literacy, math, executive function, and teacher ratings of behavior skills.For the DLL subsample, parallel assessments were conducted in English and Spanish.Researchers also conducted observations in all pre-k classrooms and a subset of children’sclassrooms each year from kindergarten through third grade. In addition, parents and teacherswere surveyed, and some administrative pre-k data were used.Overview of Georgia’s Pre-K ProgramGeorgia’s Pre-K Program is a state-funded, universal prekindergarten program for four-yearolds from all income levels that serves more than 80,000 children each year. Georgia’s Pre-KProgram was established in 1992, and Georgia became one of the first states to offer a universalprogram in 1995. The program is administered by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department ofEarly Care and Learning (DECAL). The following are key components of the program: Variety of settings: public school systems, private providers, and blended HeadStart/pre-k classrooms Based on a school-year model with instruction for 180 days/year and 6.5 hours/daya Class sizes limited to 20–22 children with a lead and assistant teacher, and adult: childratios of 1:11 Lead teachers required to have at least a bachelor’s degree in early childhood educationor a related field or a bachelor’s degree in any field along with an approved earlychildhood education credential Assistant teachers required to have at least a Paraprofessional Certificate (issued by theGeorgia Professional Standards Commission) or a Child Development Associate (CDA)credentialBefore 2011–2012, Georgia’s Pre-K Program provided 180 instruction days per year, but budget restrictions led to areduction to 160 days in 2011-2012. In 2012–2013, the program year was increased to 170 days, and in 2013–2014, it wasreturned to 180 days.a6