Early Ed Roundup: Week of April 7 - April 11

Thin Budget Threatens Pre-K Expansion in Tennessee

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (D), a longtime champion of pre-k in his state, has told lawmakers he has to be "realistic" about what the state's $212 million budget shortfall will mean for education funding, including a proposed $25 million expansion for pre-k. Bredesen said education will be the last area targeted for cuts, but admitted that because the state budget has been getting tighter by the month, lawmakers should lower their funding expectations. Unfortunately, we have heard this story before. Last August, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) abandoned his plans for universal pre-k because of a tight budget, opting instead to focus on modest expansion targeted to at-risk children.

Early Ed is Focus of Colorado Education Budget

While other states have struggled to maintain early ed funding amidst budget shortfalls, the Colorado legislature has set pre-k and kindergarten as the centerpiece of the state's 2008-09 School Finance Bill. Gov. Bill Ritter (D) proposes $40 million to expand full-day kindergarten, and hopes to gradually increase FDK funding to $100 million in four years. An additional $35 million would be appropriated to build new kindergarten classrooms or fund rental of temporary space. The bill would also increase funding for the state's pre-k program for low-income children, with the goal to boost pre-k enrollment from the current 14,000 to more than 20,000.

Report: Pre-K Boosts School Readiness in Maryland

More Maryland kindergarten students came to school ready to learn thanks to quality pre-k programs, according to the latest Maryland School Readiness Report. An average 68 percent of kindergarteners across the state were assessed as "fully ready" to learn, up 19 percent from 2001-02, a year before the state began a large expansion in the state pre-k program. Overall, students who attended private pre-k programs or child care showed more improvement in school readiness than students who did not attend such programs. Low-income students who qualify for free or reduced lunch also posted impressive grains, from 34 percent "fully ready" in 2001 to 59 percent today.

Caution in the Rush To Reduce Class Size in K-3

Class size reduction policies can cause have either positive or negative impacts, depending on how they're designed, according to a new assessment of statewide initiatives across the country. The report finds smaller class sizes produce the greatest achievement gains among socio-economically disadvantaged children. Class reduction efforts that targeted this group, such as those in Tennessee and Wisconsin, showed impressive results. Other states, such as California and Florida, implemented across-the-board class reduction policies for all schools in the state,--with the unintended consequences of reducing teacher quality and putting the crunch on facilities. Report author Douglas Ready of Columbia Teachers College called for deeper study of class-size efforts and their resulsts, noting for example that students in medium sized classes (18-25 students) often show similar achievement as their peers in smaller classes.