LA 4 & Starting Points
Prekindergarten Program
Evaluation
2004–2005
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Louisiana Department of Education
The Center for Child Development at UL Lafayette
UAB Center for Educational Accountability
Georgetown University Center on Health and Education
Summary of Evaluation Results
In 2004-2005, prekindergarten intervention was provided in the LA 4 and Starting Points programs
for the targeted children, at-risk unserved four-year-olds. Analyses of LA 4 test scores over past
school years reveal significant improvement in the participating students’ pre-test to post-test
performance. Additionally, each year the LA 4 students’ performance on the post-test remains
close to or higher than the national average. Starting Points students display similar results.
Specific analyses of the test scores also indicate a narrowing of the differences in performances of
students from differing family income backgrounds, a goal consistent with the No Child Left Behind
legislation.
These results indicate that the high-quality Louisiana Standards for Programs Serving Four-YearOld Children are followed by the LA 4 and Starting Points; the programs include certified teachers,
full-day programs, research-based and developmentally appropriate curricula, and a low student to
teacher ratio.
Further examination of kindergarten screening test scores indicate that despite financially
disadvantaged backgrounds students who participated in LA 4 began kindergarten better prepared
than students who did not participate in a prekindergarten program. Future analyses will include
results from national and statewide tests used to assess students’ performance levels in the
elementary grades, and consideration of how those outcomes impact school performance levels
and district accountability results.
The LA 4 prekindergarten program began in 2001 with the passage of Senate Bill 776 in order to
serve four-year-old children not currently enrolled in publicly funded prekindergarten classes. The
LA 4 program was modeled after the Starting Points prekindergarten program, which began in the
1992-1993 school year.
Both programs follow Louisiana Standards for Programs Serving Four-Year-Old Children to assure
the provision of high quality services at no cost for children eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Characteristics of the programs include:
 Certified teachers
 Classroom assessment with Early Childhood
Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R)
 Small classroom sizes of 20 students
 Student assessment with the Developing Skills
 10:1 student to adult ratio
Checklist
 Research-based and developmentally
 Evaluation and longitudinal research
appropriate curricula
 Collaboration with other agencies
 Full day program
 Support services for students and their families
 Professional development
The LA 4 program also provides transportation for its participating students and before-and-after
school enrichment activities available to all four-year-old students, whether or not they participate
in the full program. The Louisiana Department of Education contracted with the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette Center for Child Development and its affiliates, the Center on Health and
Education at Georgetown University and the Center for Educational Accountability at the University
of Alabama at Birmingham to conduct program evaluation and research activities for LA 4 and
Starting Points. This report highlights the evaluation results from past years of LA 4 and Starting
Points as well as the 2004-2005 school year.
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis
A SWOT analysis was conducted with administrators and teachers involved in the LA 4 and
Starting Points programs.
Common strengths expressed in both programs were the
developmentally appropriate curricula, preparation of the children for kindergarten, early
identification of learning challenges, and certified teachers. Common weaknesses included
attendance and behavior problems, lack of funding for all children, and extensive documentation
requirements. Parental involvement varied; at some schools a strength, at others a weakness.
LA 4 Prekindergarten Program Results
Intake Form
Demographic information was collected
for participating students. Self-reported
data submitted by parents upon initial
program entry indicate that statewide
between 84% and 92% of the students
qualified for free or reduced meals
across the three full years of program.
Onsite program monitoring conducted at
mid year indicates a 97% participation
rate for 2004-2005.
These data
demonstrate that the program serves
the targeted population of at-risk
unserved students.
Percent of LA 4 Students Who Qualify for
Free or Reduced Lunch
100%
2%
15%
12%
6%
15%
14%
75%
50%
74%
77%
71%
25%
0%
2002-2003
(n=3,711)
Free Lunch
2003-2004
(n=4,767)
Reduced Lunch
2004-2005
(n=4,665)
Tuition
Not Reported
Developing Skills Checklist (DSC) – Pre-test and Post-test
Students participating in the LA 4 program are administered the DSC at the beginning and
end of the school year. Test scores over the three years of the LA 4 program demonstrate
a statistically significant improvement in performance from pre-test to post-test for students
statewide.
For the school years of 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005, the National Percentile
Rank (NPR) was identical for pre-test and post-test scores in language and print. While the
NPR for math was constant over the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years, the post-test
NPR increased to 52 in the 2004-2005 year. Results displayed in the following graph are
based on students who had both a pre-test and a post-test score.
National Percentile Rank* for LA 4 Students Statewide in
Language, Print, and Math
100
75
50
50
25
59
50
10
59
52
59
46
50
46
11
10
11
10
11
5
0
Language
Pre-test
Language
Post-test
2002-2003 (n=3,711)
1%
13%
Print
Pre-test
Print
Post-test
2003-2004 (n=4,767)
5
5
Math
Pre-test
Math
Post-test
2004-2005 (n=4,665)
*National Percentile Rank is determined by the conversion of the mean number of correct responses
Starting Points Prekindergarten Program Results
Percent of Starting Points Students Who
Qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch
Intake Form
Demographic information was also
collected for students participating in the
Starting Points prekindergarten program.
Self-reported data submitted by parents
upon initial program entry indicate that
statewide 80% of students qualified for
free or reduced meals in 2004-2005.
Onsite program monitoring conducted at
mid year indicates a 97% participation
rate. These data demonstrate that the
program serves the targeted population
of at-risk unserved students.
100%
4%
20%
16%
75%
12%
50%
80%
68%
25%
0%
2003-2004 (n=996)
Free Lunch
2004-2005 (n=760)
Reduced Lunch
Not Reported
Developing Skills Checklist (DSC) – Pre-test and Post-test
Students participating in the Starting Points program were administered the DSC at the
beginning and end of the school year for the second time in 2004-2005. Test scores
demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in performance from pre-test to posttest for students statewide, and are comparable both to the LA 4 students’ scores and to
national norms.
Starting Points student post-test scores in this school year were above the national
average at 59 in language, above the national average at 70 in print, and above the
national average at 52 in math. Results displayed in the following graph are based on
students who had both a pre-test and a post-test score.
National Percentile Rank* for Starting Points Students Statewide in
Language, Print, and Math
100
75
70
59
50
25
59
52
50
12
11
10
14
5
0
Language
Pre-test
Language
Post-test
Print
Pre-test
2003-2004 (n=996)
Print
Post-test
52
5
Math
Pre-test
Math
Post-test
2004-2005 (n=760)
*National Percentile Rank is determined by the conversion of the mean number of correct responses
Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ECERS–R)
Louisiana Department of Education staff conducted the ECERS–R assessment in a
sample of classrooms participating in the LA 4 and Starting Points programs. The
ECERS–R assessment takes into account seven areas related to program quality:
space and furnishings, personal care routines, language reasoning, activities,
interaction, program structure, and parents and staff. A compilation of the assessment
scores for a random sample of 63 classrooms rated the LA 4 classrooms as “good to
excellent,” with an overall score of 6.0 on a scale of 1 to 7. A compilation of the
assessment scores of the 26 classrooms visited in the Starting Points program also
rated the classrooms as “good,” with an overall score of 5.4 on a scale of 1 to 7. These
scores are higher than the average ratings of other prekindergarten programs in other
states.
Comparison of ECERS-R Scores for LA 4 and Starting Points Programs with Quality
Ratings from Other U.S. Early Care and Education Studies
7
6
6.0
6.0
5.4
5.4
5.7
4.9
5
4.4
3.9
4
4.0
4.6
4.2
3.0
3
2
1
0
LA 4
20042005
Starting
Points
20042005
LA 4
20032004
Starting
Points
20032004
LA 4
20022003
Abbott Atl, Bost, Indiana
North GA, MA, Head GA PreK
PreK
Detr,
Carolina
VA
Start
Phoen, Source for Non-Louisiana ECERS-R Results:
Seattle
Barnett W.S., et. al. (2001) Fragile Lives, Shattered
Dreams: A Report on Implementation of Preschool
Education in New Jersey’s Abbott Districts
For the program overall in 2004-2005, the test scores of students who participated in high
quality LA 4 programs improved from pre-test to post-test. In addition, the following graphs
indicate a closing of the gap in those test scores between students from higher and lower
income families by ethnicity. These results demonstrate that regardless of ethnicity, there
is a larger positive response for children from lower income families, a goal consistent with
the No Child Left Behind legislation.
Proportion Correct Responses for Black LA 4 Students
Statewide in Language, by Family Income
Level 2004-2005 (n = 2174)
100%
75%
50%
62%
59%
52%
52%
52%
48%
90% 90%
90%
86%
86%
86%
Proportion Correct Responses for White LA 4 Students
Statewide in Language, by Family Income Level 2004-2005
(n = 2209)
100%
75%
50%
25%
25%
0%
0%
Pre-Test
< $10,000 (n=1073)
$20,000-29,999 (n=276)
$40,000-49,999 (n=27)
50 missing
Post-Test
$10,000-19,999 (n=612)
$30,000-39,999 (n=106)
$50,000 or more (n=30)
62%66%
59%
59%
55%
52%
Pre-Test
< $10,000 (n=457)
$20,000-29,999 (n=428)
$40,000-49,999 (n=149)
80 missing
93% 93%
90%
90%
90%
90%
Post-Test
$10,000-19,999 (n=563)
$30,000-39,999 (n=309)
$50,000 or more (n=223)
Acknowledgements
Louisiana Department
of Education
Cecil Picard
State Superintendent of
Education
Carole Butler-Wallin
Deputy Superintendent of
Education
Scott Norton, Ph.D.
Division Director
Mary Louise Jones, Ed.D.
Section Supervisor
Marybeth Ridgel
Program Officer
Ivy Starns
Program Coordinator
Cindy Ramagos
Program Coordinator
Nicholy Johnson
Program Coordinator
Janette Haydell
Program Coordinator
Louisiana State Board of
Elementary and Secondary
Education
Dale Bayard
7th District
Polly Broussard
6th District
Glenny Lee Buquet
President
3rd District
Edgar Chase
Member-at-Large
Penny Dastugue
1st District
Louella Givens
2nd District
Leslie Jacobs
Member-at-Large
Linda Johnson
Secretary-Treasurer
8th District
Walter Lee
Vice-President
4th District
Fen Chou, Ph.D.
Education Research Analyst
Manager
James Stafford
5th District
Marieanne Hollay, Ph.D.
Education Research Analyst
Mary Washington
Member-at-Large
Stacy Dellafosse
LA 4 Regional Coordinator
Ellen Howell
LA 4 Regional Coordinator
April Lauterbach
LA 4 Regional Coordinator
Program Evaluation
and Research Team
Craig T. Ramey, Ph.D.
The Georgetown
Distinguished Professor
of Health Studies
Director, Georgetown Center
on Health and Education
Georgetown University
Billy R. Stokes, Ed.D., M.B.A.
Director, Center for Child
Development at
UL Lafayette
Ouida Forsyth, Ed.S.
Project Director, Center for
Child Development at
UL Lafayette
Carl M. Brezausek, M.S.
Information Systems
Specialist III
UAB Center for Educational
Accountability
Thomas O. Ingram, III
Program Manager I
UAB Center for Educational
Accountability