Support, Data Seen Key to Pre-K Teacher Effectiveness

Early research results show value regardless of teachers’ educational levels.

A yet-to-be published study of preschool sites in four states shows that giving prekindergarten teachers access to mentors and to immediate data on children’s pre-reading skills can have a positive effect on student performance, regardless of the teachers’ own education levels.

The findings, in a study conducted by the Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, may add to the debate over the role of a formal college education for preschool teachers.

“Of course, we would like teachers to be well educated,” said Susan Landry, the director of the center, which came up with...