Saturday, April 11, 2015

Sharing Web Resources 2



Sharing Web Resources 2
This week I took a closer look at the website for the National Institute for Early Educational Research. (www.nieer.org)  I like the way the home page is set up.  On the left there are “buttons” to click on to access 12 different categories of research.  On the right there are links to the latest news events.
The News article I chose to focus on was “Senate’s effort to rewrite NCLB sparks cautious optimism”.  The No Child Left Behind act of 2002 has been criticized for penalizing schools who do not ensure all children are proficient in math and reading by 2014.  Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have written what is being called the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015.  The new proposed legislation maintains the Obama administration priority of maintaining annual standardized testing to track schools’ effectiveness.  However, it also reduces the federal role in education, allowing states to invest in what works with their unique populations of students.  I share the optimism that this act would be beneficial in allowing states and individual communities to address the inequities found in their areas and create programs to address their unique challenges.
Since one of our topics this week is inequity of access, I clicked on the “access” button under the list of research topics.   I found an article called “Trends in state funded preschool programs: Survey findings from 2001-2002 to 2011-2012.” It contains the following statement: This policy report, co-released by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) and the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO), discusses trends in enrollment, funding, and quality standards, as well as English Language Learner and Special Education students, in state-funded pre-K between 2001-2002 and 2011-2012.
NIEER has tracked the policies of state-funded preschool programs through its State Preschool Yearbook from the 2001-2002 through the 2011-2012 school year. The Yearbook has collected information on enrollment, funding, and quality standards, as well as enrollment of English Language Learners and Special Education students in state-funded pre-K. 
Key findings from the report:
  • Enrollment increased dramatically for 4-year-olds over the decade, but funding did not keep pace. State expenditure per child fell by more than $1,100, adjusting for inflation.
  • Variability across the states is extreme. Ten states do not fund pre-K. Among those that do fund pre-K, enrollment, standards, and funding differ dramatically. Without federal action these interstate inequalities are likely to persist.
  • States have far less detailed data available to inform policy regarding their preschool programs and the children they serve than they do for K-12 education. For example, many states cannot report total funding for programs, including the contributions of the local schools, or breakdown enrollment by ethnicity, home language, or family income.
This report also provides recommendations for the next decade of state-funded pre-K development. (Barnett, 2015)
There is a plethora of information on the NIEER website.  I look forward to spending many more hours accessing this website.  I also signed up for a newsletter and hope to receive it soon.
References
Barnett, W.S. & Carolan, M.E. (2015) Trends in state funded preschool programs:  Survey findings from 2001-2002 to 2011-2012.  Retrieved from http://nieer.org/research/access?page=1.
Brown, E. (2015) Senate’s effort to rewrite NCLB sparks cautious optimism. Retrieved from http://nieer.org/news-events/early-education-news/senate’s-effort-rewrite-nclb-sparks-cautious-optimism on April 8, 2015.

1 comment:

  1. Hello Wendy,
    Your blog is very detailed and interesting. I have been reading about the negativity of No Child Left Behind. I did not understand the full concept behind the criticism; but, from reading your blog, I now have a better understanding. NIEER seems to be very influential in early child care. I will follow your blog for more updates!

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