Task Force Offers Guidance on Assessment of Preschool Programs

As states move to expand public preschool programs—and seek to measure their effectiveness—they soon will have new guidance on how to design assessment and accountability systems appropriate for young children.

Members of a 15-member task force, convened two years ago by the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts, recently previewed recommendations due for release in a report next month on various assessment choices available and what the states need to implement them.

“Our goal was to have this document become a manifesto to stave off the misuse of accountability data and to promote the effective use of information to improve programs,” said Sharon L. Kagan, a professor of early-childhood and family policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the chairwoman...