High-quality Preschool Curriculum Exists. It’s Just Not Used Enough

Public U.S. early education programs are, by and large, safe and emotionally supportive, and enrollment in state-funded programs is at an all-time high. But, says Associate Professor Dana Charles McCoy, participation is not sufficient to ensure students are actually learning: “We also have to make sure that the experiences that kids have in classrooms are high in quality.”

Of course, high-quality curricula — that have a defined scope and sequence, engage children through play, and are backed by real evidence — exist. Unfortunately, they aren’t widely used. So, the question becomes, how can they be scaled to more schools?

McCoy is collaborating with researchers from the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative and Northwestern University to investigate that question via a series of case studies about states and communities across the country.

So far, they’ve released two case studies from Maine and Mississippi. Both states are adapting curricula based on the Focus on Early Learning (Focus) curriculum, which was designed by the Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood, and rigorously studied to show lasting benefits in elementary school and beyond. However, the contexts are entirely different. For one, Mississippi mandated programs use the curriculum, while Maine left the choice up to individual schools, and even teachers.

Still, here are some key lessons learned for policymakers — and anyone who cares about early education — from the approaches that Maine and Mississippi have taken to build buy-in and implement high-quality early learning curricula in their states on a larger scale.

1. Curriculum policy matters. Maine started its search for curricula with a proven track record in large part because the state legislature passed a rule in 2015 that required all state-funded pre-K programs adopt evidence-based curricula. And in Mississippi, where early learning curricula also must be evidence-based under state policy, the Mississippi Department of Education made implementing their version of the Focus curriculum, Mississippi Beginnings, a condition of receiving certain funding. As one Mississippi education official told researchers, “If you can get it in policy, you can make it happen.”
2. It takes time to adapt curricula to local contexts. Wide-spread implementation doesn’t mean that it’s going to look exactly the same in every state, town, or school. For example, students in Boston might have a lesson about counting stoplights on their way home from school. But, said Christina Weiland, Ed.M.’08, Ed.D.’11, a professor at the University of Michigan who is leading the research, that’s not going to work in a more rural setting. “Being joyful and giving kids agency is important,” she says, “as well as having kids at that age really see themselves and their world in the curriculum.” And it takes time. Both Maine and Mississippi spent years making the Focus curriculum their own. Michelle Bellino, Ed.D.’14, also part of the research team adds, “The cases also suggest that adaptation continues after state-level curriculum design: teachers make day-to-day decisions about pacing, examples and materials, and how to connect lessons to children’s lived experiences.”
3. Put teachers front-and-center. Teachers are on the frontlines of ensuring that new curricula are adopted in practice, not just in theory. But they need support to make that happen, like coaching and protected planning time that allows them to focus on how to meet the needs of their specific classrooms. In both states, many teachers were skeptical of the new curriculum and concerned that its set scope and sequence of lessons would mean losing control of their classroom. But, Weiland says, having a plan made it easier to “individualize for the kids in front of them.” Once a few teachers were excited about the change, other teachers were more likely to get on board. This is particularly of value in Maine, where individual teachers can decide whether to opt-in to the curriculum. 
4. The work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Scaling up anything requires big, systemic changes. Mccoy, Weiland, and fellow researchers are currently helping Mississippi expand supports for teachers so that they have the resources to implement the curriculum to its full potential. And a high-quality early education curriculum is most effective when it's in conversation with curricula farther down the education pipeline, so, for example, students aren’t repeating the same material in later grades. Curriculum might be just one component of a quality early education but changing it at scale requires many parts to click into place.