Using Research to Inform Practice

The Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood is committed to using evidence and ongoing research to create, and continually improve, early childhood programs. We do this through both rigorous analysis of existing data and strong partnerships with research partners who conduct Boston-specific research. Through these research partners we have explored and published many valuable resources including some highlighted below. Additional publications and results will continue to be added!

The Impacts of High Quality Pre-Kindergarten 

The BPS Department of Early Childhood has regularly collected data on the quality of its pre-k program since the 2005-2006 school year. This work has shown that quality improved in pre-k classrooms after investments in coaching and curricula began in 2006-2007. The Boston pre-k model has the highest average instructional quality of any large-scale public prekindergarten program in the U.S.

In addition, a large-scale study of over 2,000 children who attended prekindergarten in 2009-2010 found that Boston’s pre-k has some of the largest impacts on child school readiness of any large preschool program to date. Significant positive impacts were seen in children’s vocabulary, early reading, math, and social emotional skills. 

Selected articles:

• Associations between classroom quality and children’s vocabulary and executive function skills in an urban public prekindergarten program

• Content-rich instruction and cognitive demand in prek: using systematic observations to predict child gains

• Unpacking pre-k classroom organization: Types, variation and links to school readiness gains

The Case for Aligned Curricula

Boston is leading the way in creating and studying aligned curricula from pre-k through 2nd grade. In response to research showing that the positive impacts of pre-k often “fade out” by the time a child finishes kindergarten, BPS began implementing aligned curricula from pre-k through 2nd grade. Our research partners have examined implementation of the model from pre-k-2nd grade, finding high-levels of buy-in and key facilitators and barriers to implementation. The research identified the following core set of practices supported by the curricula across grades that indicate strong implementation and are linked with gains in children’s academic skills through first grade.

• Extending/building on knowledge: the extent to which teachers use the curriculum as a tool to extend what children are learning and help them build on their knowledge;

• Summarizing/making connections across thematic units: or succinctly summarizing key themes and goals of each lessons and connecting them to other activities happening in and outside of the classroom;

• Scaffolding and differentiation: the extent to which teachers provide individualized supports to students;

• Rich vocabulary instruction: or the extent to which students are exposed to advanced vocabulary aligned with the curriculum across different activities.

Children who had more aligned experiences across K1 (pre-K) through 1st grade showed larger language skills, on average, at the end of 1st relative to students whose experiences across grades were less aligned. Specifically, Black and Latinx students showed greater growth in predicted language score than their White counterparts when experiencing higher alignment in classrooms. Additional student outcome analysis has highlighted that enrolling in BPS pre-k was associated with benefits on multiple examined kindergarten through 3rd grade outcomes. These findings together highlight the importance of current P-2 alignment efforts in BPS for promoting strong and lasting gains for all children.

Selected articles:

• Impacts of a Prekindergarten Program on Children's Mathematics, Language, Literacy, Executive Function, and Emotional Skills

• Is skill type the key to the prek fadeout puzzle? Differential associations between enrollment in prek and constrained and unconstrained skills across kindergarten

• Promoting content-enriched alignment across the early grades: A study of policies and practices in the Boston Public Schools

• The effects of enrolling in oversubscribed prekindergarten programs through third grade

Sustaining the Gains - Overcoming the "Fade Out Effect"

Students who attended our BPS Pre-K program outperform their peers on standardized state tests, years after their Pre-K attendance. This is counter to the "fade out effect" in which gains made in the Pre-K year appear to disappear quickly, in some cases in as little as a year. See the tables below, and click here for a more detailed look at grade 3.

Centering Equity

The Department of Early Childhood is committed to exploring how our programs and policies impact each student group, and much of our research has focused on ensuring equitable access to a high quality early childhood experience. The landmark study of the Boston Pre-K program found particularly large positive effects for students from low-income families, Latinx students, and students with disabilities, highlighting the important work of the pre-k program in addressing inequities in child outcomes. In addition, our research found access to center-based care during the summer after pre-k may help promote more equitable learning outcomes for students from varied racial/ethnic, income, and home language backgrounds.

In addition, key research partners at University of Michigan and BPS Early Childhood leadership co-authored a report highlighting the unique “Research Practice Partnership,” what makes it work, and why it is so valuable to both the research and Boston education communities. 

Selected articles:

• Effects of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education Centers

• Fast-response research to answer practice and policy questions