The State Education Standard
Vol. 2, No. 2
Summer 2001

Feature Articles:
Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments
by Lorrie Shepard, Sharon Lynn Kagan, and Emily Wurtz
A high-level work group for the bipartisan National Education Goals Panel provides a framework for assessing young children.


Coordinating Subsidized Child Care, Head Start, and State Prekindergarten
by Rachel Schumacher, Mark Greenberg, and Joan Lombardi
States have made great progress in expanding early childhood programs, but there is still much to be done in providing access for all who qualify, seeing that programs meet the needs of children and families, and ensuring quality.

 

State Prekindergarten Initiatives: A Varied Picture

by Karen Schulman and Helen Blank
States have made great progress in expanding early childhood programs, but there is still much to be done in providing access for all who qualify, seeing that programs meet the needs of children and families, and ensuring quality.


Early Childhood Education Program Accreditation and State Policies
by Adele Robinson
The author describes the context and the process for preschool accreditation, how it fits with state early childhood policies -- and also notes that accreditation is just one component of overall efforts to ensure quality across programs.

 

Early Childhood Champions

by Tom Schultz, with Bonnie Arnold, Judy David, Katherine Fraser, and Therese Keegan
Researchers find the common characteristics of principals and other administrators of effective elementary school programs -- and suggest actions policymakers can take to enhance the efforts of these exceptional individuals.

 

Evaluating Smart Start

by Donna Bryant and Kelly Maxwell
North Carolina's Smart Start early childhood initiative has attracted national attention since its inception in 1993. The authors have spent nearly that long systematically tracking the progress and results of this large and innovative program.

 

Family Literacy: Pathway to Success

by Shani Yero
The Families in Schools project has moved parent literacy efforts from their traditional base in preschool programs into elementary schools.

 

Departments:
Editor's Note

Executive Summary
by NASBE Executive Director Brenda Welburn

Washington Notebook
Surveying the federal education scene

State Innovations
Ohio's Indicators of Success Early Childhood Assessment Program

Judicial Review
by Kevin McDowell
A Methodology to the Madness: The Struggle between Education and Development in Early Childhood Special Education

The Policy Wonk
by Virginia Roach
The art of state education policymaking