Head Start
Increased Percentage of Teachers Nationwide Have Required Degrees, but Better Information on Classroom Teachers' Qualifications Needed Gao ID: GAO-04-5 October 1, 2003The 1998 Head Start Act mandated that 50 percent of all Head Start teachers nationwide have a minimum of an associate degree in early childhood education, or, in a related field with preschool teaching experience, by September 30, 2003. This law also required that each classroom in center-based programs (those that primarily provide services in classroom settings) without such a degreed teacher have a teacher with a Child Development Associate credential or an equivalent state certificate. In preparation for the reauthorization of Head Start in fiscal year 2003, GAO was asked to examine: (1) the extent to which Head Start has met legislative mandates concerning teacher qualifications; (2) whether Head Start teachers' salaries have increased and enabled grantees to attract and retain teachers with degrees; and (3) the extent to which degree and other programs in early childhood education are available for Head Start teachers and if grantees have taken steps to enhance access to them.
Head Start appears to meet the 1998 mandate because about 52 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide had, at a minimum, an associate degree in early childhood education or in a related field based on Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 2002 data. This represented more than a 4-percentage point increase in teachers with such degrees since 1999. Although ACF requested grantees to report both the numbers of teachers by type of degree or credential, and the numbers of classrooms, it is not possible to determine if there was a teacher with the credentials required by law in each classroom in Head Start centers since ACF did not ask grantees to report this specific information. Furthermore, the ACF monitoring instrument used did not have a separate question that asked whether each classroom had at least one teacher with at least minimum credentials. Quality improvement funds, which have declined sharply in recent years, enabled Head Start to increase teacher salaries to levels comparable to other preschool teachers during the 1999-2001 period, although they remained at about half of what kindergarten teachers earned nationally. Some Head Start grantees continue to identify difficulties in competing for teachers with degrees with existing salaries. Early childhood education and similar programs were available in all states and in one in five postsecondary institutions. However, as expected, the more rural, less populous states had few of these programs. Head Start grantees used a number of methods to make early childhood education accessible to their teachers, such as offering on-site classes, but access to these programs in rural areas sometimes was a problem.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-04-5, Head Start: Increased Percentage of Teachers Nationwide Have Required Degrees, but Better Information on Classroom Teachers' Qualifications Needed
Highlights of GAO-04-5, a report to congressional requesters This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-04-5
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Required Degrees, but Better Information on Classroom Teachers'
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Report to Congressional Requesters:
United States General Accounting Office:
GAO:
October 2003:
Head Start:
Increased Percentage of Teachers Nationwide Have Required Degrees, but
Better Information on Classroom Teachers' Qualifications Needed:
GAO-04-5:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-04-5, a report to congressional requesters
Why GAO Did This Study:
The 1998 Head Start Act mandated that 50 percent of all Head Start
teachers nationwide have a minimum of an associate degree in early
childhood education, or, in a related field with preschool teaching
experience, by September 30, 2003. This law also required that each
classroom in center-based programs (those that primarily provide
services in classroom settings) without such a degreed teacher have a
teacher with a Child Development Associate credential or an equivalent
state certificate. In preparation for the reauthorization of Head
Start in fiscal year 2003, GAO was asked to examine: (1) the extent to
which Head Start has met legislative mandates concerning teacher
qualifications; (2) whether Head Start teachers‘ salaries have
increased and enabled grantees to attract and retain teachers with
degrees; and (3) the extent to which degree and other programs in
early childhood education are available for Head Start teachers and if
grantees have taken steps to enhance access to them.
What GAO Found:
Head Start appears to meet the 1998 mandate because about 52 percent
of Head Start teachers nationwide had, at a minimum, an associate
degree in early childhood education or in a related field based on
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 2002 data. This
represented more than a 14-percentage point increase in teachers with
such degrees since 1999.
Head Start Teachers with Degrees Increased Significantly between 1999
and 2002
[See PDF for image]
Note: Head Start data on the percent of teachers with degrees were
collected somewhat differently in 1998, limiting their comparability
with data collected in subsequent years.
[A] The percentage of teachers with degrees in 2002 includes 3.8
percent with graduate degrees, 24.8 percent with bachelor‘s degrees,
and 23 percent with associate degrees. (Does not add to 51.7 percent
due to rounding.)
Although ACF requested grantees to report both the numbers of teachers
by type of degree or credential, and the numbers of classrooms, it is
not possible to determine if there was a teacher with the credentials
required by law in each classroom in Head Start centers since ACF did
not ask grantees to report this specific information. Furthermore, the
ACF monitoring instrument used did not have a separate question that
asked whether each classroom had at least one teacher with at least
minimum credentials.
[End of figure]
Quality improvement funds, which have declined sharply in recent
years, enabled Head Start to increase teacher salaries to levels
comparable to other preschool teachers during the 1999-2001 period,
although they remained at about half of what kindergarten teachers
earned nationally. Some Head Start grantees continue to identify
difficulties in competing for teachers with degrees with existing
salaries.
Early childhood education and similar programs were available in all
states and in one in five postsecondary institutions. However, as
expected, the more rural, less populous states had few of these
programs. Head Start grantees used a number of methods to make early
childhood education accessible to their teachers, such as offering
on-site classes, but access to these programs in rural areas sometimes
was a problem.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that the Secretary of Health and Human Services require
that ACF, at least annually, collect data from Head Start grantees and
report to the Secretary on whether each classroom in Head Start
centers has at least one teacher with at least the minimum credentials
required by law.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-5.
To view the full product, including the scope
and methodology, click on the link above.
For more information, contact Marnie Shaul at (202) 512-7215 or
shaulm@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
The Percent of Teachers with Degrees Has Risen and Appears to Meet
Legislated Goals for Progress, but It Is Unknown Whether Each Classroom
Has a Teacher with at Least Minimum Credentials:
Head Start Teacher Salaries Have Increased to Levels Comparable to
those of Preschool Teachers, but Some Grantees Reported Difficulties
Competing for Teachers with Degrees:
Early Childhood Education Programs Were Available in All States and
Grantees Have Worked to Improve Access to Them, but Access Is Still a
Problem in Some Rural Areas:
Conclusions:
Recommendation:
Agency Comments:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services:
Appendix III: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contacts:
Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: Findings of Noncompliance Related to Teacher Qualifications
Over a 3-Year Review Cycle:
Table 2: Head Start Teachers' Annual Salaries Have Increased to the
Level of Other Preschool Teachers' Annual Salaries:
Table 3: Quality Improvement Funding and Head Start Appropriations,
Fiscal Years 1999-2003:
Table 4: Head Start Teacher Salaries Increased Significantly in All
Regions and Branches, 1998-2001:
Table 5: Head Start Teacher Salaries Were Generally Higher at Programs
Administered by Schools in 2002:
Table 6: Head Start Teacher Degree Levels Were Higher at Programs
Administered by Schools in 2002:
Table 7: Number of Individual Program Completions, by Level, in Early
Childhood Education and Eight Similar Fields for the 1997-98 and 1999-
2000 School Years:
Table 8: Number of Postsecondary Institutions with Students Completing
Programs in Early Childhood Education and Eight Similar Fields for the
1997-98 and 1999-2000 School Years:
Figures:
Figure 1: The Percentage of Teachers with Degrees Has Increased
Significantly since 1999:
Figure 2: More Than 50 Percent of Teachers in 7 of 10 Regions Had
Degrees as of 2002:
Figure 3: All Regions and Branches Increased Percent of Teachers with
Degrees from 1999 to 2002:
Figure 4: Head Start Teacher Turnover Rate Was Lowest at Programs
Administered by Schools in 2002:
Abbreviations:
ACF: Administration for Children and Families:
BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics:
CDA: Child Development Associate:
FACES: Family and Child Experiences Survey:
HHS: Department of Health and Human Service:
IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System:
PIR: Program Information Report:
PRISM: Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring:
United States General Accounting Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
October 1, 2003:
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
United States Senate:
The Honorable Christopher J. Dodd
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Children and Families
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
United States Senate:
The Honorable George Miller
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Dale E. Kildee
House of Representatives:
In fiscal year 2002, Head Start provided comprehensive child
development services to over 900,000 preschool children from low-income
families, and the program was funded by a federal appropriation of
about $6.5 billion. Over 1,500 grantees, including community action
agencies, school systems, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, other
government agencies and tribal consortia, provide Head Start program
services either directly or through delegate agencies. Classroom
instruction provided by over 51,000 teachers in about 47,000 classrooms
is a key element of the Head Start program. In 1998, the Congress
sought to raise the educational level of these teachers by mandating
that 50 percent of all Head Start classroom teachers in Head Start
centers have a minimum of an associate degree in early childhood
education, or in a related field with preschool teaching experience, by
September 30, 2003. This amendment also required that each classroom
without such a degreed teacher have a teacher with a Child Development
Associate (CDA) credential or a state certificate equivalent to a CDA.
Some research indicates that preschool teachers with higher levels of
education are more effective at teaching young children.[Footnote 1]
In light of the reauthorization of Head Start in fiscal year 2003 you
asked us to examine: (1) the extent to which Head Start has met
legislative mandates concerning teacher qualifications; (2) whether
Head Start teacher salaries have increased and enabled grantees to
attract and retain teachers with degrees; and (3) the extent to which
degree and other programs in early childhood education are available
for Head Start teachers and if grantees have taken steps to enhance
access to them.
To respond to these questions we analyzed U.S. Department of Health and
Human Service's (HHS) data on Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Specifically, we analyzed HHS's Administration for Children and
Families' (ACF) Program Information Report (PIR) data on teacher
credentials and salaries for 1998-2002. ACF collects these data each
year from Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. Our analysis
revealed some inconsistencies in these data similar to those identified
by HHS's Office of Inspector General in its draft report on teacher
qualifications covering program year 2000-2001, which was based largely
on data from the PIR. We calculated the percent of teachers with
degrees based on the largest number of total teachers reported in the
PIR, rather than on the number of teachers reported by educational
level, which was smaller. In addition, to confirm the reasonableness of
these data, we also reviewed 1998 and 2000 data relating to teacher
qualifications from another source--ACF's Family and Child Experiences
Survey (FACES). During our review, we also interviewed officials from
each of the 10 ACF regional offices and the American Indian-Alaska
Native and Migrant Branches and obtained information from 30 Head Start
grantees from all 10 geographic regions to learn about efforts to
increase the proportion of teachers with degrees. We selected grantees
in each region to obtain perspective on those that had been successful
in achieving a high proportion of teachers with degrees and those that
were having difficulty doing so. We visited 11 of these grantees in 2
ACF regions. These grantees were in three states--Delaware, Maryland,
and Texas--and in the District of Columbia. Furthermore, we compared
average annual salaries of Head Start teachers taken from program data
with annual salaries of preschool and kindergarten teachers as
calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). ACF PIR data
reported by grantees included the average Head Start full-time teacher
salaries earned annually, regardless of the number of months worked
during the year. Salaries reported by the BLS for preschool and
kindergarten teachers were estimated average annual wages, based on
employer responses to a BLS survey. BLS does not distinguish between
full-and part-time workers and assumes that all work 2,080 hours
annually (which is a 40 hour work week for 1 year). Finally, we
analyzed the U.S. Department of Education data from the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to determine the number of
schools offering programs in early childhood education and similar
fields for years 1998-2000 and the number of programs completed by
students in those areas of study for the same time period. While we
took steps to determine that the PIR data were sufficiently reliable
for this report, we did not independently verify the data provided by
the grantees. We conducted our work between February and September 2003
in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Appendix I provides more details on our scope and methodology.
Results in Brief:
On the basis of ACF data, Head Start appeared to meet the 1998 mandate
requiring at least 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide to
have, at a minimum, an associate degree by September 30, 2003, but it
is not known if all classrooms in Head Start centers had at least one
teacher with at least the minimum credentials required by statute.
About 52 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide had at least an
associate degree in early childhood education or a related field at the
end of the 2002 program year, according to grantee-reported data. This
was an increase of more than 14 percentage points in teachers with
degrees since 1999. All ACF regions and the American Indian-Alaska
Native and Migrant branch programs made some progress increasing the
percent of teachers with degrees over the 1999-2002 period, although
there was considerable variation among regions and branches in the
level of teachers with degrees in 2002. We could not determine if each
classroom had at least one teacher with the credentials required by law
because grantee-reported data did not explicitly include this type of
information. Although ACF requested grantees to report both the number
of teachers holding either degrees in early childhood education or
related fields, or CDA or equivalent credentials, and the number of
classrooms, it is not possible to determine from these data if there
was at least one teacher with at least minimum credentials in each
classroom. In addition, ACF did not ask grantees to report specifically
on this. Furthermore, although ACF monitors about one-third of Head
Start grantees each year, the monitoring instrument used did not have a
separate question that asked whether each classroom had at least one
teacher with at least minimum credentials.
Head Start teachers' salaries have increased since 1998, but some Head
Start grantees identified difficulties in competing for teachers with
degrees. Quality improvement funds enabled Head Start to increase
teacher salaries to levels comparable to other preschool teachers
during the 1999-2001 period, although they remained at about half of
what kindergarten teachers earned nationally. However, quality
improvement funds have declined sharply in recent years, when Head
Start's appropriation grew more slowly than in the previous years.
While all types of grantees paid more to staff with higher
qualifications, both the average qualifications of teachers and the
salaries paid them varied across types of grantees, with teachers in
Head Start programs administered by school systems on average earning
the highest salaries and having the highest levels of education.
Turnover was also lower at grantees administered by school systems and
government agencies than among the 78 percent of Head Start teachers
who worked at Head Start programs administered by other types of
agencies. Although nationally students completed 34,000 individual
programs in early childhood education or related fields in the 1999-
2000 school year, many grantees reported difficulties competing for
degreed graduates in these fields with existing salaries. Data were not
available on the number of students completing early childhood
education programs that actually worked as preschool teachers in Head
Start or similar programs.
Programs in early childhood education and 8 similar fields of study
were available in all states and in one in five postsecondary
institutions included in 1999-2000 Department of Education data.
However, as expected, the more rural, less populous states had few of
these programs. Head Start grantees used a number of methods to make
early childhood education and similar courses accessible to their
teachers, such as offering on-site classes. However, providing
opportunities in rural areas sometimes was a problem. Despite efforts
to use distance education--education characterized by the separation,
in time or place, between instructor and student--some Head Start
teachers had to travel considerable distances to attend classes.
Because ACF did not collect the necessary data to determine whether
each classroom in Head Start centers had at least one teacher with the
qualifications required by law, we are recommending that the Secretary
of HHS require that ACF, at least annually, collect data on whether
there is at least one teacher with at least the minimum required
credentials in each classroom.
Background:
Head Start began as an 8-week summer project administered by the former
Office of Economic Opportunity in 1965. Designed to help break the
cycle of poverty, Head Start provided preschool children of low-income
families with comprehensive educational, social, health, nutritional,
and psychological services. Head Start was originally aimed at 3 to 5
year olds. A companion program begun in 1994, Early Head Start, made
these services available to children from birth to 3 years of age as
well as to pregnant women.
Head Start and Early Head Start programs are administered by ACF.
Through its 10 regional offices and 2 branches--the American Indian-
Alaska Native Branch and the Migrant Branch--ACF directly funds more
than 1,500 grantees that provide Head Start program services either
directly or through delegate agencies. Grantees include community
action agencies, school systems, for-profit and nonprofit
organizations, other government agencies, and tribal consortia. In
fiscal year 2002, these grantees served more than 912,000 children,
with about 850,000 in Head Start and 62,000 in Early Head Start. More
than 90 percent of Head Start children are enrolled in center-based
programs while most of the remaining children attend home-based
programs.[Footnote 2] Head Start is funded primarily by federal grants,
but grantees must provide at least 20 percent of the program funding,
which can include in-kind contributions, such as facilities for holding
classes. Program costs, which include teacher salaries, vary
considerably since some grantees may receive donations, such as low-
cost space. Grantees may also have widely varying costs of personnel
and space depending on many factors, such as geographic location (urban
or rural), and type of sponsoring agency (school system or private
nonprofit). However, salaries generally comprise most of Head Start
grantees' budgets, and grantees' teacher salary levels differ based on
factors such as location and staff qualifications.
Head Start classrooms are required to be staffed by a teacher and an
assistant teacher or an aide, or by two teachers. In fiscal year 2002,
Head Start had more than 51,000 teachers and a similar number of
assistant teachers. At least one teacher in each classroom in Head
Start centers must have either: (1) an associate, baccalaureate
(bachelor's), or advanced (graduate) degree in early childhood
education; (2) such a degree in a related field, with preschool
teaching experience; (3) a CDA credential appropriate to the age of
children served in center-based programs; or (4) a state certificate at
least equivalent to a CDA. The CDA credential requires a high school
diploma or equivalent and, within the previous 5 years, 480 hours
working with preschool children in a group setting and 120 hours of
child care education. The CDA credential is awarded by the Council for
Professional Recognition of Washington D.C. Teachers with CDA
credentials are expected to be able to meet the specific needs of
children and work with parents and other adults to nurture children's
physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth in a child
development framework.
In addition to the minimum requirements for teacher qualifications, the
1998 Head Start Act required that 50 percent of Head Start teachers
across the nation have a minimum of an associate degree in early
childhood education or in a related field with preschool teaching
experience by September 30, 2003. Head Start reauthorization proposals
have been introduced that would require increased levels of teachers
with associate and bachelor's degrees.
Some research indicates that preschool teachers with higher levels of
education are more effective at teaching young children. For example,
the National Institute for Early Education Research reported in March
2003 that the education levels of preschool teachers and specialized
training in early childhood education predict teaching quality and
children's learning and development progress.[Footnote 3] In addition,
the National Research Council reported in 2000 that while any teacher
education related to early childhood development or education is better
than none, teachers with bachelor's (or higher) degrees in early
childhood development appear to be most effective.[Footnote 4]
The Head Start appropriation has increased from $4.66 billion in fiscal
year 1999, the first year of the current authorization, to about $6.67
billion in fiscal year 2003. The Head Start Act provides that a portion
of the appropriation be committed to quality improvement if there is a
real increase (one exceeding the rate of inflation) over the previous
year's appropriation. Grantees must use at least one-half of their
quality improvement funding to increase the salaries of classroom
teachers and other staff. The remaining funds are to be used for such
activities as training to improve staff qualifications. In the first 2
years of the current authorization, fiscal years 1999-2000, ACF
allocated part of the quality improvement funds to address Congress's
emphasis on increasing the number of teachers with degrees. Grantees
were allocated $1,300 for each teacher who did not have either a
college degree in early childhood education or a degree in a related
field with a state certificate, and $300 for each teacher with such a
degree. According to ACF officials, each year's quality improvement
funding was added to the next year's base grant in order to sustain the
efforts supported by these funds, such as teacher salary increases. ACF
regional offices did not consistently document how these funds were
used, though they noted that they monitored changes in staff
qualifications.
Head Start funding provided grantees with two other sources of support
for improving teacher qualifications--quality improvement centers and
Head Start collaboration offices in each state. Quality improvement
centers, funded at about $41 million in fiscal year 2002, provided
technical assistance and training in support of various national
initiatives, including the improvement of teacher qualifications. There
were 16 quality improvement centers nationally, with at least 1 in each
ACF region and 1 each for the Migrant and American Indian-Alaska Native
programs, until funding for quality improvement centers was terminated
on August 31, 2003,and these centers ceased to operate. Head Start
collaboration offices in each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and the Migrant and American Indian-Alaska Native programs,
promote coordination of Head Start and state and local programs for
young children and their families. Some state collaboration offices
received grants from ACF to develop and enhance professional
development opportunities. State collaboration offices were funded at
approximately $8 million in fiscal year 2003.
ACF monitors and oversees Head Start grantees. ACF collects data on
Head Start programs through the PIR, an annual survey of grantees.
These data include information on various aspects of grantees'
programs, such as numbers of teachers with degrees in early childhood
education. In addition, to ensure that Head Start grantees comply with
Head Start program performance standards governing teacher
qualifications and other matters, ACF's regional offices and branches
monitor each grantee at least once every 3 years. ACF uses the Program
Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring (PRISM) to conduct these
reviews.
The Percent of Teachers with Degrees Has Risen and Appears to Meet
Legislated Goals for Progress, but It Is Unknown Whether Each Classroom
Has a Teacher with at Least Minimum Credentials:
Head Start appears to have met the 1998 mandate requiring at least 50
percent of Head Start teachers nationwide in classrooms in Head Start
centers to have degrees by September 30, 2003, based on grantee-
reported data, but it is not known if all classrooms in Head Start
centers had at least one teacher with at least minimum credentials.
Fifty-two percent of Head Start teachers nationwide had at least an
associate degree in early childhood education or a related field at the
end of the 2002 program year. All regions made some progress increasing
the percent of teachers with degrees over the 1999-2002 period,
although there was considerable variation among regions in the level of
teachers with degrees in 2002. Although ACF requested grantees to
report both the number of teachers holding either degrees in early
childhood education or related fields, or CDA or equivalent
credentials, and the number of classrooms, ACF did not ask grantees to
report specifically if there was a teacher with minimum credentials in
each classroom. Furthermore, although ACF monitors about one-third of
Head Start grantees each year, the monitoring instrument used did not
have a separate question that asked whether each classroom had at least
one teacher with at least minimum credentials.
Over 50 Percent of Teachers Nationwide Appear to Have at Least an
Associate Degree:
According to grantee-reported data, almost 52 percent of Head Start
teachers nationwide had at least an associate degree in early childhood
education or a related field by the end of program year 2002, thereby
meeting the requirement of the 1998 Head Start
reauthorization.[Footnote 5] This was an increase of more than 14
percentage points in teachers with degrees since 1999 (see fig. 1).
Figure 1: The Percentage of Teachers with Degrees Has Increased
Significantly since 1999:
[See PDF for image]
Note: Head Start data on the percent of teachers with degrees were
collected somewhat differently in 1998, limiting their comparability
with data collected in subsequent years.
[A] The percentage of teachers with degrees in 2002 includes 3.8
percent with graduate degrees, 24.8 percent with bachelor's degrees,
and 23 percent with associate degrees. (Does not add to 51.7 percent
due to rounding.):
[End of figure]
In addition to the 52 percent of teachers with a degree in early
childhood education or a related field in 2002, 34 percent of teachers
had a CDA credential or its equivalent, and 4 percent more were in
training for the CDA credential. An ACF official said that the
distribution of the remaining 10 percent of teachers was not known but
included:
* recently hired teachers without a degree or CDA credential who had
not yet begun CDA training and:
* teachers with degrees in fields other than early childhood education
who had not completed sufficient early childhood education courses to
qualify as having a related degree and who did not have a CDA and were
not in CDA training.
Grantee-reported data by region showed the progress toward higher
teacher degree levels geographically and revealed areas where
challenges remain. In 7 of 10 geographic regions, between 55 percent
and 76 percent of teachers had a degree in early childhood education or
a related field at the end of the 2002 program year, the most recent
year for which data were available at the time we conducted our study
(see fig. 2).
Figure 2: More Than 50 Percent of Teachers in 7 of 10 Regions Had
Degrees as of 2002:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Region II, including New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico,[Footnote 6]
had the highest level of degree attainment--76 percent. The 3 regions
that did not reach 50 percent were in the South and Midwest. The
attainment levels for these regions ranged from 40 percent in Region VI
(Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) to about 47 percent
in Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska). To some extent, the
distribution of teachers with degrees among the regions reflected the
educational attainment of the general population in each region. For
example, Department of Education data in 2001 showed a higher
percentage of adults with bachelor's degrees in the northeastern
states. Furthermore, a National Center for Education Statistics study
for school year 2000-2001 showed that over 92 percent of preschool
teachers in public schools in the Northeast and Central United States
had a minimum of a bachelor's degree, compared with their counterparts
in the West and the Southeast, with 84 percent and 79 percent,
respectively.[Footnote 7]
The American Indian-Alaska Native and the Migrant branch programs had
substantially lower levels of teachers with degrees as of program year
2002--27 percent and 21 percent, respectively. ACF officials attributed
the low levels of teachers with degrees in the American Indian-Alaska
Native program to the fact that many of these grantees are in remote
locations without access to early childhood education degree programs
and the lower likelihood that persons in these areas had completed
college education. ACF migrant program officials said that the
program's limited increase reflected difficulties in hiring bilingual
teachers with degrees in rural areas because the programs are of
limited duration and migrant families move frequently; in addition,
they cited a need to provide basic English courses for many teachers
before they can begin a degree program.
All regions and branches made progress in increasing the numbers of
teachers with degrees between 1999 and 2002. Regions experienced an
average improvement of about 14 percentage points (see fig. 3).
Figure 3: All Regions and Branches Increased Percent of Teachers with
Degrees from 1999 to 2002:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
The region showing the greatest increase by far was Region II, with an
increase of 29 percentage points, about twice the average of the other
regions. Region II officials attributed this increase primarily to a
large number of teachers in Puerto Rico who already held college
degrees and who then completed the necessary early childhood education
courses when funding became available. Four of the 7 regions that had
less than 50 percent degreed teachers in program year 1999 had
surpassed 50 percent by program year 2002. The remaining 3 regions
still had less than 50 percent teachers with degrees by program year
2002, but nevertheless made significant progress in increasing the
number of teachers with degrees between program years 1999 and 2002,
with increases ranging from 12 to 17 percentage points. In addition,
the American Indian-Alaska Native branch program increased by more than
7 percentage points and the Migrant branch program by more than 2
percentage points, although the percent of teachers with degrees for
both branches remains far under 50 percent.
It is Not Known Whether Each Classroom in Head Start Centers Has a
Teacher with at Least Minimum Credentials:
Head Start did not collect data from grantees that allowed
determination of whether each classroom in Head Start centers had a
teacher with at least minimum credentials. For the PIR, ACF requested
grantees to report data on teacher qualifications, including each
grantee's total number of teachers and the numbers of teachers holding
degrees in early childhood education or a related field, or CDA or
equivalent credentials, across all sites administered by each grantee.
ACF also requested that grantees report the number of classrooms
included in their programs.[Footnote 8] However, ACF's PIR data
collection instrument did not ask grantees if there was a teacher with
at least minimum credentials in each classroom, and it is not possible
to ascertain this from the collected data. For example, in program year
2002 the PIR reported just over 46,000 teachers with degrees, CDA or
equivalent credentials, or in CDA training, and almost 47,000
classrooms, but it did not indicate how many classrooms were not
staffed by a teacher with at least minimum credentials. Some classrooms
could have been staffed with two teachers meeting statutory
requirements, rather than a teacher and an assistant teacher. In turn,
other classrooms could have been staffed by teachers without the
required qualifications. As a result, the number of classrooms without
a teacher with at least minimum credentials may be greater than the
difference between the number of classrooms and the number of teachers
with degrees, CDA or equivalent credentials, or in CDA training. ACF
officials acknowledged that it is likely that some classrooms are not
staffed by teachers with at least the required minimum credentials.
ACF monitors each Head Start grantee at least once every 3 years
through PRISM reviews, but the monitoring instrument does not have a
separate question that asks whether there is a teacher with at least
minimum credentials in every classroom. These reviews include analysis
of grantee compliance based on the Head Start program performance
standards, including the standard for teacher qualifications. However,
this performance standard is broad in scope and does not specifically
address whether there is a teacher with at least minimum credentials in
each classroom. The standard provides that "Head Start programs must
comply with section 648A of the Head Start Act and any subsequent
amendments regarding the qualifications of classroom
teachers."[Footnote 9] This section of the Head Start Act includes the
requirements that each classroom in a center-based program have a
teacher who has demonstrated certain specified competencies, such as
supporting the social and emotional development of children, and that
each classroom have a teacher with a minimum of an associate degree in
early childhood education, or in a related field with preschool
teaching experience, or a CDA or a comparable state credential. As a
result, it is not clear whether findings of noncompliance during PRISM
reviews are related to issues with teacher competencies or teacher
degree and certification qualifications. Furthermore, according to an
ACF official, PRISM data are reported at the national level by grantee
and are not centrally available by classroom. For example, PRISM review
data show that in 2002 about 4 percent of the 559 grantees reviewed had
findings of noncompliance regarding teacher qualifications, but the
number of classrooms without a teacher with minimum credentials was not
reported or requested. Grantees with findings together had about 507
classrooms. About 2 to 3 percent of grantees had such findings in each
of the previous 2 years (see table 1).
Table 1: Findings of Noncompliance Related to Teacher Qualifications
Over a 3-Year Review Cycle:
Year of review: 2000; Number of grantees with findings of
noncompliance: 18; Number of grantees reviewed: 554; Percent of
grantees with findings of noncompliance: 3.2.
Year of review: 2001; Number of grantees with findings of
noncompliance: 10; Number of grantees reviewed: 591; Percent of
grantees with findings of noncompliance: 1.7.
Year of review: 2002; Number of grantees with findings of
noncompliance: 23; Number of grantees reviewed: 559; Percent of
grantees with findings of noncompliance: 4.0.
Source: GAO analysis of ACF data.
[End of table]
Furthermore, because ACF only evaluates approximately one-third of the
grantees each year, there is no way of knowing annually how many
grantees are not meeting the teacher qualifications standard and,
therefore, may have classrooms without teachers with at least minimum
credentials.
Head Start Teacher Salaries Have Increased to Levels Comparable to
those of Preschool Teachers, but Some Grantees Reported Difficulties
Competing for Teachers with Degrees:
Quality improvement funds enabled Head Start to increase teacher
salaries to levels comparable to other preschool teachers during the
1999-2001 period. However, some grantees still reported difficulties
competing for teachers with degrees. Quality improvement funds have
declined steeply in recent years, when Head Start's appropriation grew
more slowly than in earlier years. The level of Head Start teacher
salaries varied by level of credential and type of grantee
administering the program. Teachers in Head Start programs administered
by school systems on average had a higher level of education and earned
higher salaries than those in programs administered by other types of
agencies. Average turnover was lower at grantees administered by school
systems and government agencies, than among the 78 percent of Head
Start teachers who worked at Head Start programs administered by other
types of agencies. While nationally students completed 34,000
individual programs in early childhood education or related fields in
the 1999-2000 school year, many grantees reported difficulties
competing for degreed graduates in these fields with existing salaries.
Data were not available on the portion of students completing early
childhood education programs who either work as preschool teachers in
Head Start or similar programs or were hired by such programs.
Head Start Programs Have Made Teacher Salaries More Competitive since
1999, but Salaries Varied by Type of Grantee and Level of Education:
Increasing Head Start teacher salaries and benefits was a key element
in attracting and retaining teachers with degrees, according to ACF
regional officials and Head Start grantees. For example:
* The director of a public school grantee in the state of Washington
said that adequate teacher salary levels were a great factor in
attracting and retaining qualified, degreed teachers.
* The director of a Head Start program in Maryland said that the
primary method of effectively reducing turnover has been to raise
salaries.
Quality improvement funds enabled Head Start grantees to increase
teacher salaries to levels comparable to other preschool teachers
during the 1999-2001 period, although salaries remained at about half
of what kindergarten teachers earned nationally, as shown in table 2.
For example, a Head Start program director in Missouri said that the
program had used quality improvement funds to increase staff salaries
above the level of childcare workers to a level comparable to the local
and national levels for preschool staff, although not to the higher
level paid by school districts.
Table 2: Head Start Teachers' Annual Salaries Have Increased to the
Level of Other Preschool Teachers' Annual Salaries:
In nominal dollars.
Kindergarten; Salary 1998: $35,450; Salary 2001: $41,100; Percentage
change: 15.9.
Preschool; Salary 1998: $19,530; Salary 2001: $20,940; Percentage
change: 7.2.
Head Start; Salary 1998: $17,956; Salary 2001: $20,793; Percentage
change: 15.8.
Source: BLS estimates and GAO analysis of ACF data self-reported by
grantees.
[A] BLS included preschool teachers who instruct children (normally up
to 5 years of age) in activities designed to promote social, physical,
and intellectual growth needed for primary school in preschool, day
care center, or other child development facilities. Child care workers
are excluded from this category. Special education teachers are
excluded from both preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers.
[End of table]
The quality improvement funding peaked at $356 million in fiscal year
2001 and then dropped sharply in the following 2 years when Head
Start's appropriations grew more slowly. Quality improvement funding
allowed Head Start to make real increases (those that exceed cost of
living allowance increases) in teachers' salaries in fiscal years 1998
to 2001. However, the steep decline in quality improvement funding in
fiscal years 2002 and 2003, as shown in table 3, greatly reduced Head
Start grantees' ability to make further real increases in salaries in
those years. As an example, the chief executive officer of a community
action agency grantee in Dallas said that since quality improvement
funds have been reduced, the program could no longer make progress in
closing the salary gap between Head Start and school district teachers.
Table 3: Quality Improvement Funding and Head Start Appropriations,
Fiscal Years 1999-2003:
Fiscal year: 1999; Quality improvement funding: $148; Head Start
appropriation: $4,660.
Fiscal year: 2000; Quality improvement funding: $244; Head Start
appropriation: $5,267.
Fiscal year: 2001; Quality improvement funding: $356; Head Start
appropriation: $6,200.
Fiscal year: 2002; Quality improvement funding: $80; Head Start
appropriation: $6,538.
Fiscal year: 2003; Quality improvement funding: $32; Head Start
appropriation: $6,668.
Source: Appropriations--P.L. 105-277, P.L. 106-113, P.L. 106-554, P.L.
107-116, P.L. 108-7. Quality Improvement Funding--annual ACF Program
Instruction Guidance that covered quality improvement funding.
[End of table]
The increase in Head Start teacher's salaries in the 1998-2001 period
was widespread, with salaries rising by at least 11 percent in each of
the regions and branches and nearly 16 percent nationwide, as shown in
table 4. Consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index--All
Urban Consumers increased 8.65 percent over this period.
Table 4: Head Start Teacher Salaries Increased Significantly in All
Regions and Branches, 1998-2001:
In nominal dollars:
Region: I; 1998 average teacher
salary: $17,924; 2001 average teacher salary:
$21,623; Percent change: 20.64.
Region: II; 1998 average
teacher salary: $19,335; 2001 average teacher
salary: $22,658; Percent change: 17.19.
Region: III; 1998 average
teacher salary: $20,798; 2001 average teacher
salary: $24,161; Percent change: 16.17.
Region: IV; 1998 average
teacher salary: $15,793; 2001 average teacher
salary: $18,518; Percent change: 17.25.
Region: V; 1998 average teacher
salary: $18,809; 2001 average teacher salary:
$21,984; Percent change: 16.88.
Region: VI; 1998 average
teacher salary: $16,702; 2001 average teacher
salary: $18,893; Percent change: 13.12.
Region: VII; 1998 average
teacher salary: $15,603; 2001 average teacher
salary: $19,899; Percent change: 27.53[A].
Region: VIII; 1998 average
teacher salary: $16,791; 2001 average teacher
salary: $19,835; Percent change: 18.13.
Region: IX; 1998 average
teacher salary: $21,981; 2001 average teacher
salary: $24,988; Percent change: 13.68.
Region: X; 1998 average teacher
salary: $18,376; 2001 average teacher salary:
$21,704; Percent change: 18.11.
Region: American Indian-Alaska Native branch; In
nominal dollars: 1998 average teacher salary: $16,104; In nominal
dollars: 2001 average teacher salary: $18,284;
Percent change: 13.54.
Region: Migrant branch; 1998
average teacher salary: $14,635; 2001 average
teacher salary: $16,313; Percent change: 11.47.
Region: Nationwide; 1998
average teacher salary: $17,956; 2001 average
teacher salary: $20,793; Percent change: 15.80.
Source: GAO analysis of ACF data. (These data are self-reported by
grantees.):
[A] According to regional officials, the significantly higher increase
in average teacher salaries in Region VII is attributable to efforts to
improve professional development, such as emphasizing wage incentive
programs for teachers to increase their educational levels. These
efforts included partnership agreements that attracted state funding,
thus allowing grantees to devote the majority of quality improvement
funding to teacher salary increases. They also drew upon other sources
of funding, such as an Early Learning Opportunities Act grant, which
were used for salary increases.
[End of table]
On average, the 13 percent of Head Start teachers employed at programs
administered by school systems earned higher salaries, had a higher
level of education, and had a lower turnover rate than other Head Start
teachers. For example, teachers with bachelor's degrees in Head Start
programs administered by school systems earned, on average, over
$31,000 in 2002 while similarly educated teachers in other Head Start
programs earned, on average, between about $21,000 and $26,000 as shown
in table 5.
Table 5: Head Start Teacher Salaries Were Generally Higher at Programs
Administered by Schools in 2002:
Agency type: Public/private school system; Percent of teachers: 13;
Average salary with graduate degree: $41,459; Average salary with
bachelor's degree: $31,368; Average salary with associate degree:
$24,106; Average salary with CDA or equivalent state certificate:
$18,964; Average annual salary of teachers with a credential[A]:
$28,177.
Agency type: Public/private nonprofit; Percent of teachers: 39; Average
salary with graduate degree: $34,023; Average salary with bachelor's
degree: $25,576; Average salary with associate degree: $22,335; Average
salary with CDA or equivalent state certificate: $19,526; Average
annual salary of teachers with a credential[A]: $22,482.
Agency type: Community; action agency; Percent of teachers: 36; Average
salary with graduate degree: $27,059; Average salary with bachelor's
degree: $23,778; Average salary with associate degree: $20,918; Average
salary with CDA or equivalent state certificate: $18,420; Average
annual salary of teachers with a credential[A]: $20,641.
Agency type: Government agency[B]; Percent of teachers: 9; Average
salary with graduate degree: $25,300; Average salary with bachelor's
degree: $21,831c; Average salary with associate degree: $21,327;
Average salary with CDA or equivalent state certificate: $19,081;
Average annual salary of teachers with a credential[A]: $20,996.
Agency type: Public/private for-profit; Percent of teachers: 1; Average
salary with graduate degree: $22,180; Average salary with bachelor's
degree: $22,178; Average salary with associate degree: $20,182; Average
salary with CDA or equivalent state certificate: $18,461; Average
annual salary of teachers with a credential[A]: $20,028.
Agency type: Tribal government or consortium; Percent of teachers: 2;
Average salary with graduate degree: $20,893; Average salary with
bachelor's degree: $22,807; Average salary with associate degree:
$20,208; Average salary with CDA or equivalent state certificate:
$19,193; Average annual salary of teachers with a credential[A]:
$19,766.
Agency type: Nationwide total; Percent of teachers: 100; Average salary
with graduate degree: $35,472; Average salary with bachelor's degree:
$25,547; Average salary with associate degree: $21,797; Average salary
with CDA or equivalent state certificate: $18,976; Average annual
salary of teachers with a credential[A]: NA.
Source: GAO analysis of ACF data (These data are self-reported by
grantees.):
[A] Credential includes a graduate, bachelor's, or associate degree or
a CDA or its equivalent.
[B] Government agencies are those that are administered by governments,
such as some cities and municipalities, but are not community action
agencies.
[C] Puerto Rico accounts for about 58 percent of the government agency
Head Start teachers with bachelor's degrees. Salaries for such teachers
in Puerto Rico were about $19,000 per year, causing the overall level
of salaries of government agency teachers with bachelor's degrees to be
the lowest of any agency type for similarly credentialed teachers.
Region II officials noted that the poor job market in Puerto Rico
resulted in teachers with bachelor's degrees willing to accept lower
pay.
[End of table]
Head Start teachers with a credentials earned just over $28,000 in
programs administered by school systems compared with less than $23,000
in programs administered by other agencies.
About one-half of all Head Start teachers employed by programs
administered by public and private school systems had a bachelor's or
graduate degree in 2002. At Head Start programs administered by most
other types of agencies, the percentage of the teachers that had a
bachelor's or graduate degree ranged from about 7 percent for tribal
governments or consortiums to nearly 39 percent for governmental
agencies. One reason that school system programs have more teachers
with a bachelor's degree or higher is that a minimum of a bachelor's
degree is often a requirement for being hired as a Head Start teacher
in these settings. For example:
* The director of a public school Head Start program in Virginia said
that the program only hired teachers with at least a bachelor's degree
and a state teaching license.
* The Head Start director of an Education Service Center in Texas said
that its Head Start grant was received in partnership with 19 school
districts and it required that all Head Start teachers have at least a
bachelor's degree and be state-certified.
* A representative of a District of Columbia public school system Head
Start program said that all of the program teachers had at least a
bachelor's degree and those whose degrees were not in early childhood
education were working to be certified in that area.
The difference by agency type in the portion of teachers with graduate
degrees was especially pronounced, with more than 13 percent of
teachers employed by school systems having such degrees compared with
about 1 to 3 percent of teachers at Head Start programs administered by
other types of agencies (see table 6).
Table 6: Head Start Teacher Degree Levels Were Higher at Programs
Administered by Schools in 2002:
Agency type: Public/private school system; Percent of all teachers: 13;
Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education: Graduate
degree: 13.5; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of
education: Bachelor's degree: 36.4; Percent of teachers at each agency
type by level of education: Associate degree: 19.1; Percent of teachers
at each agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent state
certificate: 23.7; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]: 92.7.
Agency type: Public/private nonprofit; Percent of all teachers: 39;
Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education: Graduate
degree: 3.1; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of
education: Bachelor's degree: 23.0; Percent of teachers at each agency
type by level of education: Associate degree: 22.3; Percent of teachers
at each agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent state
certificate: 34.9; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]: 83.3.
Agency type: Community action agency; Percent of all teachers: 36;
Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education: Graduate
degree: 1.7; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of
education: Bachelor's degree: 21.4; Percent of teachers at each agency
type by level of education: Associate degree: 25.4; Percent of teachers
at each agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent state
certificate: 38.4; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]: 86.9.
Agency type: Government agency[B]; Percent of all teachers: 9; Percent
of teachers at each agency type by level of education: Graduate degree:
2.8; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education:
Bachelor's degree: 36.0; Percent of teachers at each agency type by
level of education: Associate degree: 22.0; Percent of teachers at each
agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent state certificate:
25.8; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]: 86.6.
Agency type: Public/private for-profit; Percent of all teachers: 1;
Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education: Graduate
degree: 1.9; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of
education: Bachelor's degree: 21.5; Percent of teachers at each agency
type by level of education: Associate degree: 29.5; Percent of teachers
at each agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent state
certificate: 35.1; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]: 88.0.
Agency type: Tribal government or consortium; Percent of all teachers:
2; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education:
Graduate degree: 1.1; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level
of education: Bachelor's degree: 6.3; Percent of teachers at each
agency type by level of education: Associate degree: 19.4; Percent of
teachers at each agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent
state certificate: 50.6; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]:
77.4.
Agency type: Nationwide total; Percent of all teachers: 100; Percent of
teachers at each agency type by level of education: Graduate degree:
3.8; Percent of teachers at each agency type by level of education:
Bachelor's degree: 24.8; Percent of teachers at each agency type by
level of education: Associate degree: 23.0; Percent of teachers at each
agency type by level of education: CDA or equivalent state certificate:
34.3; Percent of teachers with a credential[A]: 85.9.
Source: GAO analysis of ACF data. (These data are self-reported by
grantees.):
[A] Credential includes a graduate, bachelor's, or associate degree, or
a CDA credential or its equivalent.
[B] Government agencies are those that are administered by governments,
such as some cities and municipalities, but are not community action
agencies.
[End of table]
Average turnover was lower at grantees administered by public and
private school systems and government agencies than among the 78
percent of Head Start teachers who worked at Head Start programs
administered by other types of agencies. The average turnover rate at
Head Start programs administered by school systems was about 10 percent
and that of teachers in government agencies was about 11 percent in
2002, somewhat lower than the rate in programs administered by other
types of agencies, as shown in figure 4.
Figure 4: Head Start Teacher Turnover Rate Was Lowest at Programs
Administered by Schools in 2002:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Among all Head Start teachers leaving during the 2002 program year, 30
percent left for higher compensation in the same field, 24 percent left
for a change in job field, and the remaining 46 percent left for
various other reasons, based on grantee data provided for the PIR.
Some Head Start Grantees Reported Difficulties Competing for Graduates
with Degrees in Early Childhood Education Fields:
Nationally, students completed about 34,700 individual programs of
study in early childhood education and similar fields of study, but
some Head Start grantees identified difficulties competing for
graduates with degrees in these fields. In both the 1997-1998 and the
1999-2000 school years, students completed about 34,700 programs of
study in early childhood education and similar fields of
study.[Footnote 10] However, the number of programs completed in the
1999-2000 school year at the associate and graduate levels increased
nearly 7 percent and 2 percent, respectively, from 2 years earlier. The
completion of programs at the bachelor level declined slightly during
the same period, as shown in table 7.
Table 7: Number of Individual Program Completions, by Level, in Early
Childhood Education and Eight Similar Fields for the 1997-98 and 1999-
2000 School Years:
School year: 1997-1998; Associate: 6,865; Bachelor: 13,225; Graduate:
3,484; Other[A]: 11,135; Total: 34,709.
School year: 1999-2000; Associate: 7,332; Bachelor: 13,078; Graduate:
3,543; Other[A]: 10,755; Total: 34,708.
School year: Percent change; Associate: 6.8%; Bachelor: -1.11%;
Graduate: 1.69%; Other[A]: -3.41%; Total: 0.
Source: U.S. Department of Education.
[A] "Other" includes programs that are: less than 1 year, at least 1
but less than 2 years, or at least 2 but less than 4 years in length.
[End of table]
The three states with the most individual programs completed in early
childhood education and similar fields had large populations while the
reverse was true for the three states with the fewest programs
completed. The states with the greatest number of programs completed by
students were: California--5,892, Florida--2,706, and Pennsylvania--
2,109.
The states with the smallest number of programs completed by students
were: Wyoming--17, Alaska--23, and Hawaii--27. These are among the
least populous and, in the case of Alaska and Wyoming, among the more
rural states.
Data were not available on the number of students completing early
childhood education programs who either worked as preschool teachers in
Head Start or similar programs or were hired by such programs. However,
there is competition for graduates with bachelor's degrees. For
example, several Head Start grantees administered by nonprofit or
community action agencies informed us that the salary they paid for
teachers with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education was too
low to attract new teachers with early childhood education and related
degrees and that even teachers who earn a bachelor's degree while
working in Head Start often accepted much higher paying jobs at a
public school district upon graduation. The director of a community
action agency in Georgia said that hiring degreed teachers was a
problem because the agency's salaries were not competitive with the
public schools' pre-kindergarten programs, which the director estimated
were about 10 percent higher than Head Start teacher salaries. Also,
the director of a government agency Head Start program in Texas said
that it was more difficult to hire teachers with degrees in rural areas
because salaries are lower, and recently graduated teachers like the
greater availability of social activities in an urban area.
Several grantees we contacted that were not school systems said that a
key cause of turnover was teachers who had earned a college degree
leaving to work for a higher salary, and in some cases better benefits,
at a school system. Even teachers who had earned an associate degree
often went to work at a school system as assistant teachers for higher
salaries or better benefits than they would receive as a teacher in a
Head Start program not affiliated with a school system. For example:
* An officer of a Texas Head Start program said that teachers hired
with an associate or bachelor's degree often left after a year for a
higher salary offered by a school district and that this was the main
reason for turnover. She said that although the program had increased
teachers' salaries to levels well above those of day care centers and
above those of most other pre-kindergarten teachers and increased
teachers' fringe benefits to be competitive with those of school
districts, the program's teacher salaries were still not competitive
with those paid to teachers by school districts.
* The director of a Maryland Head Start program said the causes of
teacher turnover included moving to the public schools after degree
completion for more attractive salary and benefits (including "signing
bonuses" offered by the public schools). The director said that the
program's primary method of reducing turnover was raising teacher
salaries.
Several nonschool district Head Start grantees told us that annual
salaries for teachers with bachelor's degrees at Head Start programs
administered by school systems were considerably higher than the annual
salaries they paid. For example:
* An officer of a community action agency grantee in Dallas said that
starting annual pay for Head Start teachers with a bachelor's degree
was $26,000, compared with $36,000 paid by the Dallas Independent
School District. In addition, while the agency's benefit package was
competitive with the school district's, the public school teachers got
the summer and Christmas and spring breaks off while the Head Start
program operated year round.
* A manager of a nonprofit grantee in New Jersey said that school
districts paid new teachers, just out of college, with a bachelor's
degree about $5,000 a year more, and certified teachers as much as
$15,000 a year more, than the Head Start program could offer. The
manager said that it was difficult to retain teachers who acquire a
bachelor's degree and certification because those are the requirements
for teaching in the public schools. The manager also said that teachers
are getting degrees and moving on because Head Start salaries cannot
compete with salaries or the 10-month work year offered in the public
schools.
Early Childhood Education Programs Were Available in All States and
Grantees Have Worked to Improve Access to Them, but Access Is Still a
Problem in Some Rural Areas:
Our analysis of completion data for early childhood education and
similar programs shows that such programs were available in all states
and at one in five postsecondary institutions included in the 1999-2000
IPEDS database. Nevertheless, as expected, the more rural, less
populous states had few of these programs. Head Start grantees used a
number of methods to make early childhood education and similar courses
accessible to their teachers, such as offering on-site classes.
However, providing opportunities in rural areas sometimes remained a
problem. As a result, some Head Start teachers had to travel
considerable distances to attend classes.
Programs in Early Childhood Education or Similar Fields of Study Exist
in Every State, but Some Rural States Have Few:
Early childhood education and similar programs were available to Head
Start teachers in all states. Our analysis of data from the Department
of Education's IPEDS shows that in the 1999-2000 school year, students
completed programs in early childhood education and eight similar
fields of study at 1,352 U.S. postsecondary institutions across all
states. These programs include graduate, bachelor, and associate degree
programs and other programs, such as those less than 1-year. This was
an 11 percent increase from 1,215 postsecondary institutions 2 years
earlier, as shown in table 8. Every state had students complete either
bachelor's or associate degree programs or both.
Table 8: Number of Postsecondary Institutions with Students Completing
Programs in Early Childhood Education and Eight Similar Fields for the
1997-98 and 1999-2000 School Years:
Program of study: Pre-elementary/early childhood /kindergarten teacher
education; Postsecondary institutions with students completing program
in 1997-98 school year: 428; Postsecondary institutions with students
completing program in 1999-2000 school year: 506; Number change: 78;
Percentage change: 18.
Program of study: Individual and family development studies, general;
Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in 1997-98
school year: 102; Postsecondary institutions with students completing
program in 1999-2000 school year: 107; Number change: 5; Percentage
change: 5.
Program of study: Family life and relations studies; Postsecondary
institutions with students completing program in 1997-98 school year:
28; Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in
1999-2000 school year: 30; Number change: 2; Percentage change: 7.
Program of study: Child growth, care, and development studies;
Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in 1997-98
school year: 64; Postsecondary institutions with students completing
program in 1999-2000 school year: 82; Number change: 18; Percentage
change: 28.
Program of study: Individual and family development studies, other;
Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in 1997-98
school year: 12; Postsecondary institutions with students completing
program in 1999-2000 school year: 16; Number change: 4; Percentage
change: 33.
Program of study: Child care and guidance workers and managers,
general; Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in
1997-98 school year: 407; Postsecondary institutions with students
completing program in 1999-2000 school year: 441; Number change: 34;
Percentage change: 8.
Program of study: Child care provider/assistant; Postsecondary
institutions with students completing program in 1997-98 school year:
242; Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in
1999-2000 school year: 275; Number change: 33; Percentage change: 14.
Program of study: Childcare services manager; Postsecondary
institutions with students completing program in 1997-98 school year:
121; Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in
1999-2000 school year: 139; Number change: 18; Percentage change: 15.
Program of study: Child care and guidance workers and managers, other;
Postsecondary institutions with students completing program in 1997-98
school year: 24; Postsecondary institutions with students completing
program in 1999-2000 school year: 26; Number change: 2; Percentage
change: 8.
Program of study: Total[A]; Postsecondary institutions with students
completing program in 1997-98 school year: 1,215; Postsecondary
institutions with students completing program in 1999-2000 school year:
1,352; Number change: 137; Percentage change: 11.
Source: U.S. Department of Education.
[A] Total figures differ from a total of the figures in each column
because a single school can be counted 9 times if it has students
completing programs in all nine of the fields of study.
[End of table]
The 1,352 postsecondary institutions were spread across all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. California, the most
populous state, had the largest number of these institutions (128),
while there were fewer than 5 of these institutions in 4 of the least
populous states (Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Wyoming), 2 of which
(Alaska and Wyoming) are among the most rural states.
Grantees Used a Variety of Approaches to Increase Access to Early
Childhood Education Programs:
Grantees used a wide variety of approaches to increase access to early
childhood education programs for Head Start teachers seeking to earn
degrees, and many Head Start staff were enrolled in such programs.
Although early childhood education and similar programs were available
to Head Start teachers in all states, ACF regional officials and some
Head Start grantees said that providing educational opportunities in
rural areas sometimes remained a problem and that some teachers had to
travel considerable distances to attend early childhood education
courses.
ACF regional office officials and grantees noted that efforts to work
with community colleges to provide early childhood education courses
during or after the school day at Head Start centers or other easily
accessible locations were effective in making these courses available
to Head Start teachers. In fact, grantees reported that nearly 45
percent of teachers without degrees were enrolled in such training,
ranging from 35 percent in Region II (New York, New Jersey, and Puerto
Rico),[Footnote 11] to 51 percent in Region IX (Arizona, California,
Hawaii, and Nevada.)[Footnote 12] Grantees also provided funding and
time off to facilitate teachers' completion of degrees. For example:
* In Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska), the director of
a Missouri community action agency Head Start program reported that the
agency developed partnerships with community colleges to provide: (1)
on-site courses that were held at the agency's central office as well
as at several Head Start Centers and partner sites and (2) field-based
CDA courses offering 15 hours of college credit. For college courses,
the program paid any tuition costs not covered by financial aid and 50
percent of book fees.
* In Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas),
ACF officials said that policies grantees implemented to encourage
staff to increase their education level included: (1) paying or
reimbursing staff for tuition, books, and testing; (2) allowing staff
to attend some classes during the work day; (3) hiring qualified
substitutes to allow teachers the time for classes; and (4) assisting
staff to apply for Pell Grants and other financial aid.
* In Region III (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
Virginia, and the District of Columbia), the director of a community
action agency Head Start program in Delaware said that getting a
college degree through Head Start had been the opportunity of a
lifetime for many of the program's teachers. The agency has partnership
agreements with Delaware State University and Delaware Technical
College for college classes. The agency pays for tuition, books,
mileage, and child care and provides substitute teachers when release
time is needed. For example, since most college classes are held at
night, teachers are given release time to prepare for class and take
care of family needs.
Although programs in early childhood education and similar fields of
study were available in all states, such courses were often unavailable
or difficult to access in rural areas, according to some ACF regional
officials and grantees we contacted. For example, ACF officials said:
* In some rural areas in Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), which often included smaller grantees,
there were few colleges and some lacked early childhood education
programs. But, ACF officials said the number of schools offering an
early childhood education degree had increased recently with the help
of the Head Start quality improvement centers.
* In Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas),
more than one-half of Head Start teachers were located in rural areas,
making improving teacher qualifications particularly difficult. Few
Head Start programs had partnerships with colleges and, for many Head
start teachers, classes were difficult to attend due to long distances.
For example, in New Mexico some teachers had to travel 2.5 hours to
attend class.
Grantees have had some success in addressing the difficulty in
accessing courses in early childhood education in rural areas using
distance education--education characterized by the separation, in time
or place, between instructor and student. For example, according to ACF
officials:
* In Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands), availability of early childhood education programs was no
longer a problem except in some rural areas in upstate New York where
distance education had helped to provide courses.
* In Region I (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont), there were many institutions of higher education,
and availability was generally not a problem even in rural areas.
However, officials said that distance learning was used in Maine, the
region's most rural state, but only as a last resort because many
teachers prefer interaction with others when learning.
Officials noted that distance learning has advantages and
disadvantages. Although some grantees said that teachers like the
flexibility offered by courses taken over the Internet, some officials
noted disadvantages such as the lack of opportunity to interact with
other teachers and the lack of appropriate computer skills. For
example:
* In Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
and Wyoming), the director of a school system Head Start program in
Montana said that most of the staff preferred distance learning to
courses taken at the local college because they could set their own
time schedule, take up to 6 months to complete each class, set up a
time and place to take tests, and select a tutor. Staff members took
each class with at least one other staff person to have someone with
whom to discuss ideas. The director said the disadvantages of distance
learning courses included a lack of instructors or classmates with whom
to interact, the need for students to have up-to-date computers, and a
wait for the delivery of class materials.
* In Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of
Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau), the
director of a private, nonprofit Head Start grantee in California said
that on-line courses are convenient and allow for scheduling
flexibility. She said that a large number of staff reside in other
counties and, given work and commuting schedules, have no time to
attend college, so Internet coursework addresses these staff members'
needs. The director said the agency sponsors and conducts some Internet
coursework and gives employees access to the agency's training center
computers to take courses on the Internet. However, while Internet
instruction is effective for some teachers, the director said that most
teachers need and enjoy interaction with other people while learning.
* In Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska), the director of
a community action agency Head Start program in Missouri, which
operates in a rural area with little access to colleges courses, said
that HeadsUP! (a course provided via satellite to classrooms) had been
successful because it had a community college instructor available to
facilitate the course. The director said that the advantages of
distance education were: (1) it can be scheduled when convenient for
the employee, (2) employees can work at their own pace, (3) it provides
access to courses not otherwise available to staff, and (4) it can be
successful if the employee is highly motivated and independent. She
said the disadvantages of distance learning include that: (1) it is
easy to fall behind, (2) it is more expensive, and (3) most staff need
face-to-face interaction with instructors.
* Another director of a Head Start Program in Missouri (part of Region
VII ) said that in the 10-county area it served, early childhood
education programs for teachers seeking degrees were available only in
one city, consequently, teachers in rural areas did not have easy
access to programs. The director said that, while one teacher had
completed an associate degree using distance learning and two other
staff were presently piloting the use of another distance learning
program, there had been little overall success with distance learning
because: (1) many education programs have a component that requires the
student to be on-campus at scheduled times, (2) courses require a
certain level of computer skills, and (3) the courses are expensive.
Conclusions:
Head Start appears to have met the requirements of the 1998 mandate for
teacher qualifications by increasing the number of teachers with at
least an associate degree in early childhood education or a related
field to 52 percent in 2002. However, the number of classrooms in Head
Start centers that did not have at least one teacher with at least
minimum credentials was not known because ACF does not require that
grantees specifically report such data in their annual PIR.
Head Start grantees and ACF regional officials we contacted said the
quality improvement funds used to pay for teacher training and to
increase the level of teacher salaries were the key to success in
increasing the numbers of teachers with degrees. In addition, the
agreements worked out with colleges to provide easily accessible early
childhood education courses were seen as a factor in increasing the
number of teachers with degrees.
Head Start reauthorization proposals have been introduced that would
require increased levels of teachers with associate and bachelor's
degrees. Because salaries comprise most of Head Start grantees'
budgets, and grantees' teacher salary levels differ based on staff
qualifications, it is likely that proposals to enhance teachers'
qualifications will require consideration of the implications for the
Head Start program.
Recommendation:
We recommend that the Secretary of HHS require that ACF, at least
annually, collect data from Head Start grantees and report to the
Secretary on whether each classroom in Head Start centers has at least
one teacher with at least the minimum credentials required by law.
Agency Comments:
We provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Health and
Human Services and Education for their review and comment. In its
written response, included as appendix II of this report, ACF concurred
with our recommendation. In addition, ACF provide technical comments,
which we incorporated where appropriate. Education officials reviewed
the draft and said that they support the recommendation and had no
comments.
We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of HHS; Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families; Associate Commissioner, Head Start
Bureau; appropriate congressional committees; and other interested
parties. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on
GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov. Please call me at (202) 512-7215
if you or your staff have any questions about this report. Key contacts
and staff acknowledgments for this report are listed in appendix II.
Marnie S. Shaul
Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues:
Signed by Marnie S. Shaul:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
This appendix discusses in more detail the scope and methodology for
assessing the extent to which: (1) Head Start has met legislative
mandates concerning teacher qualifications; (2) Head Start teacher
salaries have increased and enabled grantees to attract and retain
teachers with degrees; and (3) degree and other programs in early
childhood education are available for Head Start teachers and grantees
have taken steps to enhance access to them.
In order to determine the percent of Head Start teachers who have at
least an associate degree in early childhood education or a related
field, we analyzed Program Information Report (PIR) data on center-
based Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including the American
Indian-Alaska Native and Migrant programs, in the 50 states, Puerto
Rico, and the District of Columbia, for program years 1998-2002. These
data sources are an annual survey of all grantees regarding various
aspects of their programs. We reviewed and performed electronic testing
of the data for obvious errors in completeness and accuracy and found
some inconsistencies in the way teacher qualifications were reported.
We also reviewed a U. S. Department of Health and Human Services'
Office of Inspector General draft report on the status of efforts to
improve the qualifications of Head Start teachers as of program year
2001. This report noted similar problems with the data. However, we
determined the PIR data elements we used were sufficiently reliable for
this report. Most of our references to portions of Head Start teachers
with degrees or CDAs and to teacher salary levels are based on our
analyses of these data. Given the timeframes of our review, we could
not verify these data with grantees, but have appropriately annotated
the data used in our findings. We calculated the percent of teachers
with degrees based on the largest number of total teachers reported in
the PIR, rather than on the total number of teachers reported by
educational level, since a non-exhaustive set of reporting categories
was used for this question. In addition, to confirm the reasonableness
of these data, we reviewed 1998 and 2000 data relating to teacher
qualifications from another source--ACF's Family and Child Experiences
Survey. We reviewed these data in order to estimate the percentage of
Head Start children instructed by teachers with various levels of
education. We also reviewed Head Start laws and regulations addressing
requirements for teacher qualifications.
In order to address whether there is at least one teacher in each
classroom in Head Start centers with a degree, a CDA credential, or a
state certificate at least equivalent to a CDA, we reviewed the PIR
survey and related data. We further reviewed Head Start Program
Performance Standards and results of Program Review Instrument for
Systems Monitoring (PRISM) reviews for fiscal years 2000-2002. We also
reviewed Head Start laws and regulations addressing requirements for a
teacher with minimum credentials in each classroom.
To assess the importance of the competitiveness of teachers' salaries
in grantees' ability to attract and retain teachers with degrees and
the extent to which degree programs in early childhood education are
available for Head Start teachers without degrees, we interviewed
officials in 10 regional offices and the American Indian-Alaska Native
and Migrant Branches. We also interviewed officials from the Head Start
Bureau and contacted officials of 30 grantees. We selected grantees in
each region to obtain perspective on both those that had been
successful in achieving a high proportion of teachers with degrees and
those that were having difficulty doing so. We visited 11 of these
grantees in three states--Delaware, Maryland, and Texas--and in the
District of Columbia. These grantees were in 2 ACF regions--Region III
(Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the
District of Columbia) and Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, and Texas).
We also compared salaries of Head Start teachers taken from ACF's PIR
data with those of preschool and kindergarten teachers reported by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 1998 and 2001.[Footnote 13] The
results of this comparison were consistent with interview responses on
the competitiveness of Head Start teachers' salaries with other
preschool teacher salaries. It is important to note that PIR reported
by grantees included the average Head Start full-time teacher salaries
earned annually, regardless of the number of months worked during the
year. Salaries reported by BLS for preschool and kindergarten teachers
were estimated average annual wages, based on employer responses to a
BLS survey. BLS does not distinguish between full-and part-time workers
and assumes that all work 2,080 hours annually (which is a 40 hour work
week for 1 year). However, BLS tracks salaries of child care workers in
a separate category. On the basis of our review of the methodology used
to develop the BLS information, we determined that the data were
sufficiently reliable for this report. In addition, we reviewed Head
Start Bureau program guidance on quality improvement funds.
In addressing the extent to which degree programs in early childhood
education are available for Head Start teachers without degrees, we
also analyzed Department of Education data from the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to determine the number of
schools with students completing programs in early childhood education
and eight similar fields for 1997-98 and 1999-2000 school years. We
also identified the number of schools with completing students in each
of four categories (graduate, bachelor, associate, and other-such as
those less than 1-year) in each state for this time period. In
addition, we identified numbers of completed programs by students in
these areas of study for these years. ACF defines a degree related to
early childhood education as a program of study which includes six or
more courses in early childhood education and/or child development. We
identified a list of eight fields of study similar to early childhood
education that had been used to prepare a 2001 journal article on early
childhood teacher preparation at institutions of higher
education.[Footnote 14] The eight fields of study include (1)
Individual and Family Development Studies, General; (2) Family Life and
Relations Studies; (3) Child Growth, Care and Development Studies; (4)
Individual and Family Development Studies, Other; (5) Child Care and
Guidance Workers and Managers, General; (6) Child Care Provider/
Assistant; (7) Childcare Services Manager; and (8) Child Care and
Guidance Workers and Managers, Other. Our review of all fields of study
confirmed that this list represents such programs. This list is similar
to lists of degree programs related to early childhood education
provided by ACF in the past. An elementary education degree or a degree
in any one of a number of fields of study with a certification,
specialization, endorsement, or state license for pre-school, early
childhood, or pre-kindergarten could qualify as a degree related to
early childhood education if the program of study includes six or more
courses in early childhood education and/or Child Development. However,
definitive information on the number of degree programs or students
meeting this criterion is not available.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services:
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:
ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Office of the Assistant
Secretary, Suite 600 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447:
TO: Marnie S. Shaul:
Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues:
FROM: Wade F. Horn, PH.D Secretary for Children and Families:
SUBJECT: Comments on the GAO Draft Report, "Head Start: Increased
Percentage of Teachers Nationwide Have Required Degrees, but Better
Information on Classroom Teachers' Qualifications Needed" (GAO-04-05):
Attached are the Administration for Children and Families' comments on
the subject GAO Draft Report.
Should you have questions regarding our comments, please contact Windy
Hill, Associate Commissioner of the Head Start Bureau, Administration
on Children, Youth and Families, at (202) 205-8573.
Attachment:
COMMENTS OF THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (ACF) ON THE
GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE'S DRAFT REPORT, "HEAD START: INCREASED
PERCENTAGE OF TEACHERS NATIONWIDE HAVE REQUIRED DEGREES, BUT BETTER
INFORMATION ON CLASSROOM TEACHERS' QUALIFICATIONS NEEDED" f GAO-04-05):
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) appreciates the
opportunity to comment on this General Accounting Office (GAO) draft
report.
GAO Recommendation:
GAO recommends that the Secretary of Health and Human Services require
that ACF, at least annually, collect data from Head Start grantees and
report to the Secretary on whether each classroom in Head Start centers
has at least one teacher with at least the minimum credentials required
by law.
ACF Comments:
ACF believes this recommendation is appropriate given the statutory
requirements for qualified teachers. A process for collecting this
information in a uniform and timely manner will need to be designed and
articulated. While the Program Information Report (PIR) gives
information about the total number of teachers annually, the number
with various types of credentials and those in training or college, the
current report does not allow ACF to report which classrooms have
qualified teachers and which do not.
Therefore, we agree that the data collected should be changed to ask
specifically how many classrooms have a qualified teacher, program by
program, and we will take the necessary steps to make this change in
collecting data in the FY 2004 spring compilation.
[End of section]
Appendix III: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contacts:
Betty Ward-Zukerman, (202) 512-2732, wardzukermanb@gao.gov Julianne
Hartman Cutts, (206) 287-4803, cuttsj@gao.gov:
Staff Acknowledgments:
The following people also made key contributions to this report: Chuck
Novak, Matt Coco, Molly Laster, Grant Mallie, Robert Miller, and
Corinna Nicolaou.
FOOTNOTES
[1] See, for example, National Research Council (2001) Eager to Learn:
Educating Our Preschoolers. Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy.
Barbara T. Bowman, M. Suzanne Donavan, and M. Susan Burns, editors.
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Washington,
D.C.: National Academy Press.
[2] Center-based programs are those where services are provided to
children primarily in classroom settings. Throughout this report, we
refer to classrooms in center-based programs as "classrooms." Head
Start also has "home-based programs" that provide services in the
private residences of children being served.
[3] Barnett, W.S. (2003). Better Teachers, Better Preschools: Student
Achievement Linked to Teacher Qualifications. Preschool Policy Matter.
2. New Brunswick, NJ:NIEER.
[4] National Research Council (2001) Eager to Learn: Educating Our
Preschoolers. Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy. Barbara T. Bowman,
M. Suzanne Donavan, and M. Susan Burns, editors. Commission on
Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Washington, D.C.:
National Academy Press.
[5] Pub.L. No. 105-285, §115.
[6] Region II also includes the Virgin Islands, which we excluded from
our study.
[7] U.S. Department of Education, National center for Education
Statistics. Prekindergarten in U.S. Public Schools: 2000-2001, NCES
2003-019, by Timothy Smith, Anne Kleiner, Basmat Parsad, and Elizabeth
Farris. Project Officer; Bernard Greene. Washington, D.C.: 2003
[8] The PIR defines the term "classroom" as physical space and "class"
as a group of children under the direction of one or more teachers.
However, here, and throughout this report, we use the term "classroom"
to refer to such a group of children.
[9] This requirement is set forth in 45 C.F.R. §1306.21.
[10] The number of programs completed may be greater than the number of
students completing programs because some students may complete more
than one program in a given year, according to a Department of
Education official.
[11] Region II also includes the Virgin Islands, which we excluded from
our study.
[12] Region IX also includes American Samoa, Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam,
Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau, which we excluded from our
study.
[13] BLS included preschool teachers who instruct children (normally up
to 5 years of age) in activities designed to promote socials, physical,
and intellectual growth needed for primary school in preschool, day
care center, or other child development facilities. Child care workers
are excluded from this category. Special education teachers are
excluded from both preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers.
[14] Diane M. Early, Pamela J. Winton, "Preparing the workforce: early
childhood teacher preparation at 2-and 4-year institutions of higher
education," Early Childhood Research Quarterly 16, pp. 285-306, 2001.
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