STATE-FUNDED FULL-DAY 4K - South Carolina General …

FY2017-18 & FY2018-19

STATE-FUNDED FULL-DAY 4K

Annual Report

With contributions from: University of South Carolina, College of Education and RAND Corporation

01.15.19

Jo Anne Anderson

PO Box 11867 I 502 Brown Building I Columbia SC 29211 I WWEWx.EEOcCu.StC.iGvOEV DirEctor

803.734.6148 JANDER@EOC.

Reporting facts. Measuring change. Promoting progress.

Evaluation of State-Funded Full-Day 4K for Fiscal Year 2017-18 and 2018-19 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................iii

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. v

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1

Section I: CERDEP Program Results in 2017-18 (Education Oversight Committee) ................... 3 CERDEP: Participation in Public Schools and Program Budget........................................................... 4 CERDEP: Participation in Non-public Centers and Program Budget ................................................... 8 CERDEP: Expansion and Waiting Lists .............................................................................................. 11 Findings and Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 17

Growth: Projection of Children in Poverty Served Statewide....................................................... 19 Findings and Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 22

Section II: Student-Level Assessment Results in 2017-18 (University of South Carolina) ....... 51 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 51 Prekindergarten (4K) Assessment Results..........................................................................................53

IGDIs-EL Discussion & Findings ............................................................................................. 53 PALS PreK Discussion & Findings..........................................................................................61 B3-GOLD Discussion & Findings ............................................................................................ 71 Summary of 4K Assessment Findings.................................................................................................74

Section III: Preliminary CERDEP Program Results in 2018-19 (Education Oversight Committee) ......................................................................................................................................... 79 CERDEP Participation in Public Schools ............................................................................................ 79 CERDEP Participation in Non-public Settings.....................................................................................84 Findings and Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 89

Section IV: Cost Analysis for Future CERDEP Funding (RAND Corporation)............................ 91

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Acknowledgements

The EOC is grateful for two formal partnerships that contributed greatly to the development of this report. The University of South Carolina College of Education evaluation team played a critical role in the collection and analysis of student assessment data and consideration of 2017-18 language and literacy assessments. The RAND Corporation team provided expert analysis of the costs associated with South Carolina's state-funded full-day 4K program. Below is a list of contributors to this report:

RAND Corporation: Anamarie Auger Whitaker Mark Barrett Celia Gomez Lynn Karoly

SC Department of Education: Wendy Burgess Ginger Catoe David Mathis Taylor Seale Nancy Williams

SC Department of Social Services: Libby Chapman Cathy Kovacs Noelle McInerney

SC Head Start Collaboration Office: Mary Lynne Diggs

SC Office of First Steps: Mark Barnes Georgia Mjartan Martha Strickland Dan Wuori

University of South Carolina, College of Education: Bill Brown Christine DiStefano Fred Greer Jin Liu

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Executive Summary

The General Assembly first created and funded the Child Development Education Pilot Program by a budget proviso in Fiscal Year 2006-07. In 2014 the General Assembly codified the program in Act 284 and renamed it the South Carolina Child Early Reading Development and Education Program. For purposes of this report, the program is referred to as CERDEP or state-funded fullday four-year-old kindergarten. CERDEP provides full-day early childhood education for at-risk children who are four years of age by September 1. In school year 2017-18, eligibility is defined as an annual family income of 185 percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines as promulgated annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or Medicaid eligibility. Both public schools and non-public childcare centers licensed by the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) may participate in the program and serve eligible children. The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) oversees implementation of CERDEP in public schools and South Carolina Office of First Steps to School Readiness (First Steps) oversees implementation in non-public childcare settings, including private childcare centers and faithbased settings.

Scope of the CERDEP Report

Over time, the General Assembly has tasked the Education Oversight Committee (EOC) with an annual evaluation of CERDEP and has asked recurring questions every year, and occasionally has requested additional information about various aspects of CERDEP. In response, the EOC undertakes its annual evaluation with a strong focus on programmatic results, quality and growth in CERDEP and participation rates for at-risk four-year-old children. For this evaluation, the EOC partnered with RAND Corporation to address also the per pupil cost of CERDEP and how teacher qualifications and professional development affect student readiness and program quality. RAND's services were procured through a formal request for proposal process managed by the State Procurement Office. Due to time constraints and some data challenges, teacher qualifications and professional development will be included in a subsequent report released later this calendar year. This report addresses the following questions:

? Does CERDEP affect young children's learning and their readiness for kindergarten?

? What are the costs of CERDEP program components, and what is the estimated per pupil cost of CERDEP?

? Is CERDEP expanding statewide? Are formal early childhood education programs serving more four-year-olds living in poverty?

Structure of the CERDEP Report

In response to ongoing questions about the cost of implementing CERDEP within school districts and non-public providers, the EOC took a different approach to provide a more expansive review of the CERDEP program. The EOC maintained its partnership with University of South Carolina's College of Education, and this year, the EOC also partnered with the RAND Corporation. USC continues to work with the EOC and provides student assessment analysis for state-funded fouryear-old and five-year-old kindergarten. The results of 2017-18 state-funded 4K assessments follow in Section II. RAND Corporation also provides an initial analysis of the per pupil cost of CERDEP, and their analysis is included in Section IV. RAND's cost analysis estimates a

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comprehensive per pupil cost that accounts for additional expenses, such as occupancy costs and teacher salary differentials, that are not fully captured in the 2017-18 per pupil reimbursement rate for instruction cost and transportation rates.

EOC staff continue to work with other state agencies and provides (1) final 2017-18 CERDEP Program Results in Section I and (2) preliminary 2018-19 CERDEP Program Results in Section III. In a subsequent report, the EOC will also provide the results of RAND's study of the role of 4K teacher qualifications and professional development in the implementation of CERDEP as a program and effect on 4K students.

Statewide Progress in Four-Year-Olds in Poverty Participating in 4K

In 2017-18, over 36,000 four-year-olds, or 61 percent of all four-year-olds in our state, lived in poverty. Over 17,000 of these children participated in either CERDEP or Head Start; therefore, at a minimum, 48 percent of four-year-olds in poverty in South Carolina received a full-day, publicly funded, education program. The EOC documents that another 7,901 four-year-olds in poverty received either full or half-day early education programs offered by: local school districts who were not eligible to participate in CERDEP or who chose not to participate; and non-public centers operating in non-CERDEP districts for which the child's district of residence could not be determined. With these additional children in poverty served in either a full or half-day education program, approximately 70 percent of four-year-olds in poverty received some, publicly funded educational program. An additional 5,633 children participated in the ABC Voucher program.

Summary of Four-Year-Olds in Poverty Served Statewide, FY 2017-18

Public CERDEP Enrollment Non-public CERDEP Enrollment Total CERDEP Enrollment Total Head Start Enrollment Estimated Number of Four-Year-Olds Served by CERDEP or Head Start

2017-18 9,789 1,778

11,567 5,589

17,156

Estimated Number of Four-Year-Olds in Poverty

36,018

Estimated Percentage of Four-Year-Olds in Poverty Served by CERDEP or Head Start Estimated Percentage of Four-Year-Olds in Poverty Not Served by CERDEP or Head Start Four-Year-Olds in Poverty in Non-CERDEP Public 4K

Four-Year-Old Children served in Non-Public CERDEP in a center operating in a non-CERDEP district Total Number of Four-Year-Olds in Poverty in Formal 4K (CERDEP, Head Start, and Non-CERDEP Public 4K) Estimated Percentage of Four-Year-Olds in Poverty Served

Total SC Vouchers Provided

47.6%

52.4%

7,592 309

25,057

69.6% 5,6331

1 Child care voucher data are not included in the estimated number of four-year-olds served because it may include children who receive 4K services through another resource, such as CERDEP or Head Start.

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