Rhode Island has expanded its State Pre-K program since its initiation in 2009 and, in 2017, the state received a Preschool Development Grant from the federal government. With funding from the grant, the Rhode Island Department of Education elected to evaluate the State Pre-K program and expand the number of State Pre-K classrooms across the state.

The Rhode Island State Pre-K Evaluation has three goals:

1) Describe the quality of State Pre-K classrooms by conducting four classroom observations over a two-year period.

2) Learn whether children who attend State Pre-K are better prepared for kindergarten than those who do not.

3) Understand the costs associated with State Pre-K and conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

Data collection began in fall 2017 and will be completed in spring 2019.

Funder

Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children

Staff

Principal Investigator: Diane Early
Project Director: Amy Blasberg
Fielding Coordinator: Rowan Hilty

May 2019