Quality of Professional Practice

This full report discusses the implications of child developmental science for early care and education professionals in terms of necessary competencies and practices, as well as the systems change needed to better support the preparation, competency, professional development, and compensation for the early care and education workforce.

As of 2012, 20 states and DC require evidence of student learning to play a role in evaluating teacher performance.

PreK-3rd: Getting Literacy Instruction Right, the ninth in the FCD series of Policy to Action Briefs outlines the elements of strong PreK-3rd literacy instruction including: what high-quality instruction looks like,what supports enable teachers to carry out strong literacy instruction, and what policies enable schools to carry out strong PreK-3rd reading instruction.

This report from the New America Foundation by Lisa Guernsey, and Susan Ochshorn, argues for improving early education through teacher reform.

Many curricula can be used successfully in pre-kindergarten and elementary classrooms.

School improvement efforts in the U.S. should focus on rethinking the use of time.

Will state and federal testing programs advance the goal of school readiness for all children?

The widespread and systematic use of standardized observation in classrooms from pre-kindergarten to third grade has the potential to address major shortcomings in educational services provided to young children.