What the Feds Should Do

The Center for American Progress recently released a report,  "Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Existing Public Investments in Early Childhood Education", which included the following recommendations on steps the federal government should take to provide an ideal early childhood environment in the U.S.:

1. Partner with states to align early learning standards that define expectations for all early learning programs.
2. Invest with states to build assessments and assessment systems that demonstrate standards are being met.
3. Increase consistency, quality, and system wide access to federally procured and federally required, locally procured technical assistance.
4. Implement a more consistent, state-of-the-art approach to high-quality professional development for existing staff and help determine the optimal set of skills and knowledge that should be imparted in preparation programs for early childhood program staff.
5. Improve early childhood data and harmonize reporting requirements to help increase knowledge of inputs and outcomes.
6. Promote the replication of successful strategies to build continuity from early childhood programs to kindergarten and continue to remove data and other bureaucratic barriers to successful continuity systems.
7. Build more federal, state, and local capacity to meet the increasing demand for culturally and linguistically appropriate services for children who are dual-language learners.
8. Close the gaps in universal developmental screening across all federally supported early learning or care programs.
9. Require expanded early learning program participation as a means of boosting performance of failing elementary schools.
10. Establish a permanent office that creates a common infrastructure to advance system reforms for both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.

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