This is the sixth and final report from the Georgia’s Pre-K Longitudinal Study that followed a statewide sample of 1,169 children from Pre-K to fourth grade. The six-year study, covering 2013–2019 and conducted by researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, examined the children’s learning outcomes through standardized assessments and the quality of their school experiences over time through classroom observations. The study also included a subsample of English-Spanish dual language learners and a comparison sample of children who did not attend any pre-k.

The fourth-grade results make clear that Georgia’s investment in early education is paying off and should continue. While the students continued to gain skills and overall were still performing at or above the national average at the end of fourth grade, most skills were not acquired as quickly as they were in Pre-K and kindergarten, continuing the trend from first grade. Children in the Pre-K longitudinal sample had better language, literacy, and executive function skills in fourth grade than children in the comparison sample who did not attend any pre-k. Overall, results suggest that a key strength of Georgia’s Pre-K Program is building foundational literacy skills for reading.

Longitudinal Study of Georgia’s Pre-K Program: Pre-K through 4^th Grade Report

Executive Summary

In 2021, Quality Rated implemented the Temporary Alternate Rating Option (TARO), which enabled child care programs to earn a rating through a virtual rating process during the COVID-19 pandemic. DECAL partnered with Child Trends to learn more about TARO through surveys, interviews, and analyses of administrative data. Findings and considerations are summarized in a set of reports.

Awarding Child Care Education Scholarship Supplements (ACCESS) is a temporary initiative to mitigate the negative financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families who receive Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) scholarships by paying child care providers their full published rate from May 2021 through at least October 2023. Beginning in December of 2021, DECAL partnered with Child Trends to administer an online survey to families who receive CAPS scholarships to understand their awareness of ACCESS and how the decrease in child care costs had affected their family’s finances. This report provides a summary of the findings from the survey. Families reported an overall high awareness of ACCESS and a decrease in child care costs and improvement in their finances as a result of ACCESS.

Georgia’s Pilot Language and Literacy Endorsement (the Endorsement) was created to recognize and promote high-quality language and literacy practices by providing professional development opportunities, materials, and financial stipends to child care providers. The pilot consisted of eleven child care centers throughout Georgia. In 2020, DECAL partnered with Child Trends to evaluate the pilot Endorsement process to understand the experiences of participating programs. Child Trends collected the experiences of programs through two rounds of semi-structured interviews with an administrator from each program and a series of online surveys of teachers. This report outlines administrators’ and teachers’ reasons for participating in the Endorsement and the extent to which the programs were able to benefit from their involvement. Overall, teachers and administrators found the Endorsement to be a positive and beneficial experience. This report also provides a series of considerations for improving the Endorsement and expanding it to reach more programs, teachers, and children across Georgia.

Researchers at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are currently conducting a series of studies that measure the impact of Georgia’s Pre-K Program. Reports and summaries from the studies are found here.

DECAL has contracted with Child Trends to assist with its Quality Rated validation efforts, including ongoing analysis of Quality Rated administrative data and conducting a study of the effectiveness of Quality Rated. Findings related to these efforts will be posted here.

In 2021, DECAL contracted with Care Solutions, Inc. to conduct a Market Rate Survey. The purpose of the survey is to determine local child care market rates and other information about child care providers in the state. The survey is conducted, in part, to meet the state's Child Care and Development Fund requirements related to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization of 2014. The final report and appendices are posted here.

DECAL commissioned researchers from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University to conduct a study of the importance of the early care and education industry to Georgia’s economy. The report and executive summary are available here.

Researchers at Child Trends compared third-grade scores on the Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (EOG) tests for children who had and had not taken part in Georgia's Pre-K. The study utilized data from GA*AWARDS, the state’s Pre-K through workforce (P20W) longitudinal data system.

Utilizing funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, DECAL offered Short Term Assistance for Licensed Entities (STABLE) grants to support child care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Licensed child care providers were eligible to begin applying for Round 1 of these grants on April 30, 2020. In July 2020, DECAL Collaborated with researchers from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government to conduct a survey of licensed child care providers regarding STABLE funds and their perception of DECAL’s administration of the grants. This report details those findings.

Lifting Infants and Toddlers Through Language-rich Environments (LITTLE) grants, which began in 2017, are designed to support language and literacy instruction in high-quality infant and toddler classrooms throughout Georgia by providing on-site coaching, professional learning opportunities, and materials. As a first step in evaluating the LITTLE grants, researchers from Child Trends analyzed data collected by DECAL during the first two years of the grants. This report provides a summary of some demographic characteristics of LITTLE grant participants and examines changes in classroom practices and language environment over time for the first two years of the program.

Drawing on data collected as part of Georgia’s Quality Rated Validation Study, researchers from Child Trends investigated the extent to which work climate and teacher characteristics were interrelated and associated with classroom quality. This brief details the results from addressing the following research questions in center-based child care classrooms for preschoolers and toddlers: How are various aspects of the work climate and teacher characteristics related to one another? How are work climate and teacher characteristics related to observed teacher-child interactions?

In 2018, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) contracted with the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government (Institute of Government) to study lottery-funded Georgia’s Pre-K waitlist. The study comprised two parts: (1) a series of focus groups with Georgia public and private Pre-K directors to better understand their perspectives on Georgia’s Pre-K enrollment in local communities and (2) a survey of parents and caregivers of children currently on Georgia’s Pre-K Program waiting list.

DECAL contracted with Georgia State University to conduct a customer satisfaction survey in spring 2012. The report detailing the 2012 findings is available here. A similar survey will be conducted in late spring 2013.

Researchers at UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and Child Trends evaluated the impact of two professional development models on teacher-child interactions in Georgia’s Pre-K classrooms. Georgia’s Pre-K has followed up on that evaluation with new professional development initiatives. Results from these evaluations are posted here.

Beginning in summer 2010, DECAL has implemented a Pre-K Summer Transition Program. In 2013, DECAL began piloting a Rising Pre-K Summer Transition Program targeted to dual language learners. Reports from the evaluations of the Summer Transition Programs are available here.

Research related to DECAL’s Child Care Services Division includes a study validating the current system for determining if a child care facility is compliant with Georgia’s rules and regulations; a study comparing injury and fatality rates in child care facilities to injury and fatality rates for similarly aged children in the general population; and an in-depth examination of Georgia’s licensing procedures.

With grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Georgia State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care (now part of the Georgia Children’s Cabinet) commissioned several studies relating to services for Georgia’s children and families. Studies listed here include an exploratory evaluation of Georgia’s Resource and Referral System and a study from the Department of Public Health that looked at the use of health screenings. Other studies funded by the Georgia State Advisory Council are found under Research Related to DECAL’s Child Care Services Division, responsible for licensing, monitoring, and supporting the various types of child care programs in Georgia.

Researchers at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have published three reports from their study of the quality of early care and education across Georgia. The first report focuses on quality in child care centers in infant toddler and preschool (non Georgia’s Pre-K) classrooms. The second report focuses on quality in Georgia’s Pre-K classrooms. The third report focuses on quality in family day care homes. All three reports are available here.

The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) was awarded $3.5 million dollars per year for five years to serve as a grantee for the DECAL Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP). The partnership currently serves infants, toddlers, and their families. Reports related to this partnership will be posted here.