The report finds that students in the new state-funded collaboratives scored no better on kindergarten readiness tests than students in other pre-K programs, like Head Start, that aren't state funded.
Pete Smith is with MDE. He says it's too soon to establish a benchmark before giving a kindergarten readiness assessment to a wide group.
"The Early Learning Collaboratives spent the first portion of the 2014-2015 school year blending curriculums and forming assessments and instructions. Really, building something from the ground up, so it's hard to make that assessment," says Smith.
James Barber is the PEER Director. He says the state should have given each collaborative a benchmark to achieve rather than a collective benchmarks for all collaboratives put together.
"It showed information in an average sense rather than individual sense. We also found that some of the collaboratives were using curricula that, through extensive research, have been shown not to be very successful in educating pre-kindergartners," Barber says.
State Superintendent Carey Wright says the department will disregard portions of the PEER report relating to the effectiveness of Early Learning Collaboratives.
