Designing Studies to Test Causal Questions About Early Math: The Development of Making Pre-K Count

Mattera, Shira; Morris, Pamela; Jacob, Robin; Maier, Michelle F.; Rojas, Natalia

doi:10.1016/bs.acdb.2017.04.002

Cited by 15 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It is not clear if the lack of lasting benefits found was due to the more limited measurement or the kindergarten context. For MPC, the follow-up study is still underway, and analyses so far have revealed impacts on children’s academic and executive functioning outcomes at the end of kindergarten (Mattera & Morris, 2017). Once results are available, MPC will provide information about what an enhanced boost for math in kindergarten (provided to a randomized group of children through math clubs) has for children’s learning and development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…c See Morris, Mattera, and Maier (2016) for more information. d No statistically significant effects in preschool; positive effects in kindergarten not described here (for more information, see Mattera & Morris, 2017). e See Weiland and Yoshikawa (2013) for more information.…”

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Making Pre-K Count Study : A large cluster-randomized controlled trial ( N = 2,715 children) testing the efficacy of the Building Blocks math curriculum, coupled with in-classroom coaching and ongoing training in 4-year-old classrooms, versus business-as-usual preschool. The Making Pre-K Count (MPC) study took place across 2 years in New York City preschools serving low-income children (Mattera & Morris, 2017; Morris, Mattera, & Maier, 2016).…”

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Tools of the Mind–Play did not improve children’s outcomes in preschool, and effects in MPC did not emerge until a year following preschool, when more sensitive measurement was gathered and some children received an intervention boost in kindergarten (the MPC study is still underway; initial findings show no effects in preschool but benefits to children’s academic and executive functioning outcomes at the end of kindergarten; Mattera & Morris, 2017). To be clear, our bar for including these five studies was that the focal curricula were implemented with high fidelity, with some level of evidence that classroom quality increased as a result.…”

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notably, the MPC study used a measure in preschool that did not deeply assess children’s competencies in geometry, one of the unique foci of Building Blocks. When a more comprehensive measure assessing geometry was collected in kindergarten (similar to the measure used in the Boston Study), effects were positive (Mattera & Morris, 2017). This suggests that the program may have had an effect in preschool that went unmeasured and that program effects (or the lack thereof) may be sensitive to child assessment measurement choices.…”

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preschool Curricula and Professional Development Features for Getting to High-Quality Implementation at Scale: A Comparative Review Across Five Trials

Weiland

McCormick²,

Mattera³

et al. 2018

AERA Open

Self Cite

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Experts have heralded domain-specific play-based curricula coupled with regular coaching and training as our "strongest hope" for improving instructional quality in large-scale public preschool programs. Yet, details from different evaluations of the strongest hope model are not systematically compiled, making it difficult to identify specific features across studies that distinguish the most successful implementation efforts. We performed a cross-study review across five diverse large-scale evaluations (n = 6,500 children and n = 750 teachers across 19 localities and multiple auspice types) to identify common features that have characterized successful implementations of this model to date. We identified six features in our exploratory review that may help to flesh out the strongest hope model for localities considering it-a significant focus on specific instructional content, inclusion of highly detailed scripts, incorporation of teacher voice, time for planning, use of real-time data, and early childhood training for administrators. These six features provide more specific guidance for practitioners and help meet calls in preschool and K-12 for more synthesis of implementation lessons from large-scale research trials.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background On the Strongest Hope Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Preschool Curricula and Professional Development Features for Getting to High-Quality Implementation at Scale: A Comparative Review Across Five Trials

Weiland

McCormick²,

Mattera³

et al. 2018

AERA Open

Self Cite

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Examining three hypotheses for pre-kindergarten fade-out.

Burchinal¹,

Foster²,

Garber³

et al. 2022

Developmental Psychology

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Pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) programs typically improve early academic skills, but those gains too often disappear after children transition to elementary school. At least three hypotheses explain this “fade-out” of Pre-K effects: Pre-K does not focus on the “trifecta skills” that uniquely support subsequent learning and development; the quality of school-age experiences as “sustaining environments” are more important for Pre-K attenders than nonattenders; and kindergarten (K) teachers provide “redundant instruction” by teaching the same skills taught in preschool programs. The present sample included the second year of assessments on 455 children living in rural counties in the Southeast recruited from Pre-K classrooms and the first year of assessments for 246 K classmates without center-based preschool experience. Children’s academic, language, executive function (EF), and social skills were assessed each fall and spring, and the quality of classrooms was measured each winter. Propensity scores weighted the two groups on demographic characteristics. Hierarchical linear models indicated that the Pre-K attenders had higher levels of language, academic, and EF skills than nonattenders at the beginning of K, but those differences significantly declined for academic skills. By the end of K, the Pre-K group showed slightly higher language and EF skills than the nonattenders. Results appeared to support the trifecta skills hypothesis to explain fade-out, with no evidence supporting the differential sustaining environments or redundant instruction hypotheses. Implications and the study’s limitations are discussed.

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Does kindergarten instruction matter for sustaining the prekindergarten (PreK) boost? Evidence from individual- and classroom-level survey and observational data.

McCormick¹,

Pralica²,

Weiland³

et al. 2022

Developmental Psychology

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The sustaining environments hypothesis theorizes that the lasting effects of PreK programs are contingent on the quality of the subsequent learning environment in early elementary school. The current study tests this theory by leveraging data from students (N = 462) who did and did not enroll in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) prekindergarten (PreK) program as well as features of their kindergarten instruction measured at the child-and classroom-levels using surveys and observations. Taken together, findings revealed limited evidence for the sustaining environments hypothesis. The bulk of the results were null, indicating that in general, associations between enrollment in BPS PreK and language, literacy, and math skills through the spring of kindergarten did not vary by kindergarten instructional experiences. When examining distinct types of instructional experiences, there were some inklings that child-level observational measures of kindergarten learning experiences-particularly those capturing constrained versus unconstrained instruction-were more predictive of PreK persistence than observed global classroom quality measures or survey-based measures of advanced instruction. However, these associations were not always specific to outcomes matching the content delivered during this instruction (math vs. literacy), consistent with the possibility of either cross-domain effects or that instructional variables are proxies for more general instructional practices. Findings for future research and theory are discussed.

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Designing Studies to Test Causal Questions About Early Math: The Development of Making Pre-K Count

Cited by 15 publications

References 26 publications

Preschool Curricula and Professional Development Features for Getting to High-Quality Implementation at Scale: A Comparative Review Across Five Trials

Preschool Curricula and Professional Development Features for Getting to High-Quality Implementation at Scale: A Comparative Review Across Five Trials

Examining three hypotheses for pre-kindergarten fade-out.

Does kindergarten instruction matter for sustaining the prekindergarten (PreK) boost? Evidence from individual- and classroom-level survey and observational data.

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