Continuity & Pathways

Toward an Instructional Infrastructure to Support Instructional Improvement in PreK-3 Mathematics: Four Districts’ Experiences with the California Education Partners

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This study investigated the experiences of four midsized school districts in California that participated in the Pre-K to 3 Coherence Collaboration, convened by California Education Partners (CEP). This report highlights four primary implications: [1] how the districts used supports to coordinate and maintain instruction quality that bridges pre-k and the early elementary grades; [2] the […]

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A Path to Equity: From Expanded Pre-Kindergarten Access to Success in Elementary School

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Do district policy changes that increase access to full-day school-based pre-kindergarten relate to improved 2nd grade academic outcomes? How? A study from Start Early, NORC at the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research examined these questions based on a set of Chicago Public School (CPS) policy changes that began

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Transition to Kindergarten: Findings from Recent Research

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This brief provides a review of recent research (2016-2021) on transitions to kindergarten. It focuses on [a] transition practices that children and families may experience directly; and [b] the policy levers that state and local policymakers can enact to support effective transitions to kindergarten. This brief was prepared for Education Commission of the States as

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Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating P-3 Approaches

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This Framework anchors much of the work conducted by the National P-3 Center. It is designed to address key questions facing those who are developing and implementing comprehensive P-3 approaches in their school, district, or community. The Framework is divided into eight major “buckets” or categories of effort that require alignment within and between 0-5

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Using Local, State, and Federal Dollars to Improve Pre-K to K Transitions

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This report discusses why transitions from PreK to K matter, highlighting effective transition and alignment practices, explaining funding streams that can support transition planning and activities, and sharing state and local examples. The authors conclude with action steps for states, school districts, and elementary schools to consider to ensure smooth transitions into kindergarten using federal,

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Moving into Kindergarten: How Schools and Districts are Connecting the Steps for Children and Families

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This report describes innovative efforts by schools and districts to ease the transition into kindergarten for families and students, including students without access to an ECE program prior to kindergarten. The paper highlights a range of approaches at different stages of development in schools and districts, highlighting Blue Mountain Early Learning Hub (Northeast Oregon), Multnomah

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Teachers, Schools, and Pre-K Effect Persistence: An Examination of the Sustaining Environment Hypothesis

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This paper provides compelling evidence that Tennessee PreK students who subsequently experienced “sustaining environments” – meaning they attended high performing K-3 schools and were taught by highly effective teachers – significantly outpaced their peers who also attended high performing schools and had highly effective teachers but who had not attended Tennessee’s Voluntary PreK program.

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Fostering Pre-K to Elementary Alignment and Continuity in Mathematics in Urban School Districts: Challenges and Possibilities

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This report takes an in-depth look at two school districts’ efforts to increase alignment and continuity between PreK and elementary schools, paying particular attention to mathematics. The comparative case study approach lays bare the complexity of this work – and also highlights how it can look quite different from one district to another. The authors

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How the Opportunity Gap in K-3 Teaching Is Failing Our Students

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This blog research about the quality of teaching in K-3. The punchline of the study is that dosage matters (year after year of consecutive good teaching) in closing achievement gaps. And, of great consequence, very few children receive consecutive years of good teaching during the early grades of elementary school (K-3). This is important as

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