Heading to Arkansas

I'm traveling to Arkansas today, where I'm going to be learning more about the state's excellent pre-k system and also speaking at the University of Arkansas. Arkansas is kind of a sleeper state on early education issues: It doesn't get a ton of national attention, but it's got some really good stuff going on and is a national leader in a number of ways.

First, Arkansas' state pre-k programs, Arkansas Better Chance and Arkansas Better Chance for School Success (ABC), have some of the strongest quality standards in the country. A recent study that observed the quality of teacher-student interactions and environmental factors in ABC classrooms found that 70 percent of ABC classrooms are of "good to excellent" quality--a finding that compares very favorably to research on pre-k classroom quality in other states and nationally. ABC programs also meet 9 out of 10 program quality standards identified by the National Institute for Early Education Research for state pre-k programs. The only reason the states doesn't get a full 10 is that it allows some pre-k teachers in multi-classroom sites to work without a bachelor's degree (but a lead teacher at each multi-classroom site must have a bachelor's degree, and 94 percent of all ABC teachers have a bachelor's degree), and the state is taking steps to ensure all teachers have a bachelor's degree in the near future.

Equally important, the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Education, which administers the ABC programs, and the state Department of Education have worked to ensure that standards and curriculum for pre-k programs are aligned with those used in kindergarten programs children enter following pre-k. Arkansas utilizes a diverse provider system, including public schools, Head Start centers, private child care, and educational cooperatives, to deliver ABC pre-k, but the state has worked to ensure quality across all types of providers, and to ensure that programs offered by all providers are aligned with kindergarten programs in the public schools.

The results of these efforts are clear: A recent study by the National Institute for Early Education Research found that ABC students make vocabulary gains that are 31 percent greater than those of non-ABC students in a control group, math gains that are 37 percent greater than those of the control group, and gains in print awareness that were 116 percent greater than those for the control group. Not too shabby.

Arkansas legislators have seen these results and responded by investing to expand funding for the ABC programs, so that they can serve more students. In 2007 the legislature and governor increased ABC funding for fiscal year 2008 to $111 million , enough to serve all 3- and 4-year-olds from families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line--roughly half of Arkansas 3- and 4-year-olds. Arkansas is a national leader in recognizing the value of pre-k for 3-year-olds, as well as 4-year-olds: currently, it ranks 4th among states in the percent of 3-year-olds it serves, and recent expansions could raise its standing there even further.

Arkansas' experience provides a valuable example of what states can accomplish when they're serious about pre-k quality and do the hard work of aligning quality and educational standards across diverse settings and between pre-k and K-12 education. The state's experience also illustrates that alignment can take place in a system with diverse providers. Finally, Arkansas models the wisdom of a slow but steady approach, starting with a relatively small but high-quality program in the early 1990s, and growing over time while maintaining quality.