A new National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force will seek ways to help states spend their preschool dollars wisely, the philanthropy that created it says.
The panel of experts in child development, early-childhood education, and state policy will make a series of recommendations in early 2007 that focus on setting pre-K standards, assessing programs and children, and using those results to improve services.
“Policymakers want to be good stewards of public dollars, but they also want to use measurement tools that are appropriate for 3- and 4 -year olds,” Susan Urahn, the director of the state policy and education program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said in the Sept. 19 press release announcing the task force.
Ultimately, she added, “the accountability task force will help ensure that every child has the opportunity to attend a pre-K program that we know works, Ms. Urahn added.”
The Philadelphia-based Pew, the Foundation for Child Development, in New York City, and the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation have committed a total of $850,000 toward the panel’s work.
