Prekindergarten in U.S. Public Schools: 2000-2001

Abstract

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries. NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public. We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively.

Preschool Teachers’ Shared Beliefs About Appropriate Pedagogy for 4-Year-Olds

“…One of the major limitations of this study is its small sample of participants which consisted of 18 preschool teachers in the New York City area who volunteered to participate. Thus, the findings of this study should not be generalized to preschool teachers in general, especially those in other regions since recent studies reported regional differences in preschool teachersÕ preparation and professional development (Saracho & Spodek, 2005) and in childrenÕs preschool education experiences (Smith, Kleiner, Parsad, Farris, & Greene, 2003).…”

Can center-based childcare reduce the odds of early chronic absenteeism?

“…The utilization of center-based care is increasing in the U.S. (Blau & Currie, 2004;Claessens, 2012;Smith, Kleiner, Parsad, Farris, & Green, 2003;Yamauchi & Leigh, 2011). Therefore, this study addresses how to improve outcomes for an increasing number of children taking part in these early childhood programs.…”

How Much is Too Much? The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children's Social and Cognitive Development

“…More than 70 percent of upper middle-class children attend center-based programs before starting kindergarten, compared with 45 percent of those from low-income families (Hofferth et al, 1995). However, expansion of Head Start and state preschools has dramatically increased participation by children from poor families since the 1960s (Smith et al, 2003). In fact, it may be that working-class families have less access to centers than their poor counterparts, because they earn just above income eligibility cutoffs for subsidies yet they cannot afford high fees .…”