Universal PreK school-based classrooms are about as diverse as first-grade classrooms, while means-tested and community-based classrooms are more segregated¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Research on universal PreK suggests school-based PreK classrooms tend to be about as diverse as first-grade classrooms in the same state, whereas Black and Latino/a children in means-tested programs are less likely to interact with children from other racial backgrounds. → Plasencia 2024 q2 i? In New York City, school-based PreK classrooms were as diverse as first-grade classrooms, but community-based organization PreK classrooms were more likely to predominantly serve Black or Latino/a children. → Plasencia 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Plasencia 2024¶

Plasencia, S., & Melnick, H. (2024). Strategies to foster integration in early childhood education. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/639.507

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report reviews research on universal PreK, stating that "school-based PreK classrooms tend to be about as diverse as 1st-grade classrooms in the same state," contrasting this with means-tested programs.

"Research on universal PreK programs suggests that school-based PreK classrooms tend to be about as diverse as 1st-grade classrooms in the same state. Black and Latino/a children in means-tested programs, by contrast, are less likely than 1st-graders in their state to interact with children from other racial backgrounds."

Plasencia 2024 (2)¶

Plasencia, S., & Melnick, H. (2024). Strategies to foster integration in early childhood education. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/639.507

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report reviews studies of New York City's universal preschool program, which found that "public PreK classrooms in community-based organizations" were more likely to predominantly serve children who are Black or Latino/a, while school-based classrooms were as diverse as 1st-grade classrooms.

"Studies of New York City’s universal preschool program found that while school-based PreK classrooms were as diverse as 1st-grade classrooms, public PreK classrooms in community-based organizations (many of which offered subsidized child care that is means-tested) were more likely to predominantly serve children who are Black or Latino/a."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• ECE programs are on average more racially segregated than elementary and high schools — related
• 2018–19 CPS ninth-graders were residentially segregated by race/ethnicity: one racial/ethnic group comprised over 50 percent of ninth-graders in 65 of 77 community areas — related
• School and district factors relate to risk identification: low income concentration correlates with repeated risk identification, and segregation modestly increases it, though some schools outperform model predictions — related
• The ECE system is socioeconomically segregated because means-tested programs sort children by family income — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Schools in the United States have resegregated since 1988, with the share of intensely segregated non-white schools more than tripling from about 6% to 19% of all public schools
• Black and Latino students' success in progressive mathematics triggers system reactions questioning the program's rigor — related
• Nearly half of Black and Hispanic preschoolers attend schools where over 90% of students are students of color — related
• Children's language and math outcomes improve as average classroom income and socioeconomic diversity increase — related