Background: Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs often expand by offering Pre-K in both public schools and in community-based providers (CBOs). This approach gives families more options and allow UPK programs to increase access more quickly. However, little is known about which CBOs select into these systems. This is an important gap in the…

Background/Context: Literacy stands as a pivotal life skill, especially as it strengthens education across subjects. The elementary years are crucial for mastering literacy, yet national assessments show a decline in elementary students' reading proficiency, with only 33% of American fourth graders reading at grade level (National Center for…

Background: Failure to learn early reading skills leads to lower reading comprehension later in elementary school (Double et al., 2019; Paige et al., 2019), which can then lead to poverty, underemployment, and increased likelihood of being incarcerated (World Literacy Foundation, 2018). Early reading skills are best developed in kindergarten…

Background: Pre-k convergence refers to the tendency for the positive effects of pre-k on children's academic skills to diminish over time, observed across decades of observational and experimental studies (Ansari et al., 2020). Researchers have tested multiple mechanisms to explain convergence, with mixed results; none of the proposed mechanisms…

Background: Learning trajectories (LTs) in early mathematics curriculum and teaching have received increasing attention (Baroody et al., 2019; Clements, 2007; Clements & Sarama, 2021; Maloney et al., 2014; Sarama & Clements, 2009). For example, LTs were a core construct in the National Research Council (2009) report on early mathematics…

Background: Data on children's ability to answer assessment questions correctly paints an incomplete portrait of what they know and can do mathematically; yet, it remains a common basis for program evaluation. Indeed, pre-post-assessment correctness is necessary but insufficient evidence for making inferences about learning and program…

Background/Context: The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the way we conduct research. For some modes of data collection, such as interviews, there was a ready (if not perfect) analog: face-to-face became phone-based; paper and pen surveys moved online. Others, such as direct assessments of child development, proved more challenging. Despite the…

Background/Context: Over the past five decades, policymakers have introduced Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programs in education as a reform in the presence of "government failure," aiming to increase the freedom of school choice, educational productive efficiency, and social equity. While the evidence regarding charters in US is…

Background/Context: Future Forward (FF) is an early elementary literacy program, administered by Education Analytics (EA), that combines one-on-one tutoring with parent engagement to promote student literacy development both at school and at home. In 2011 FF was funded by an i3 grant to develop the program and test its impact in Milwaukee. Two…

Future Forward (FF) is an early primary program that leverages both one-on-one tutoring and parent engagement to develop the literacy skills of struggling readers. In 2010, FF was awarded an i3 grant, under the name of SPARK, to develop and test its impact in seven Milwaukee Public Schools primarily serving low-income Black and Latinx students. In…

Background: A large evidence base suggests that without effective early intervention, young children who exhibit persistent challenging behavior often face a host of long-term social and academic challenges (Bulotsky-Shearer & Fantuzzo, 2011; Hauser-Cram & Woodman, 2016; Kazdin, 1995; Lane et al., 2008; Miller et al., 2017). Challenging…

Background: Parental involvement in early childhood is foundational to a child's later academic achievement (Heckman, 2007). Parent-child book reading is frequently recommended as a way to build a child's early cognitive skills. Evidence suggests that mother-child reading time increases children's vocabulary and reading skills (Price & Kalil,…

Background: Much has been made of whether the evidence supporting mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is consistent or high-quality enough to merit their wide implementation, and numerous meta-analyses, reviews, and meta-analyses of meta-analyses have been conducted in pursuit of this question (e.g., Bockmann & Yu, 2023; Goldberg et al.,…

Background: Dyslexia is a specific reading disability characterized by word recognition difficulties that can qualify a student for special education services under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA; 2004; Yudin, 2015). As of 2024, 49 US states have legislation defining dyslexia and enumerating for schools…

Background: Research highlights the value of coaching to support elementary school teachers' use of effective classroom practices (Cappella et al., 2012; Owens et al., 2017). Coaching is particularly useful when teachers implement new or complex strategies, which can include culturally-responsive and equity-centered practices (i.e. strategies that…