Nonpublic Schools Early Childhood Development (NSECD) Program

The Picard Center evaluates Louisiana’s Nonpublic Schools Early Childhood Development (NSECD) program, housed under the Governor’s Office of Community Programs. Early childhood researchers combine qualitative measures such as program quality using the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation tool (ELLCO) and quantitative data such pretest and posttest scores of participating prekindergarten students to gauge overall student performance and program effectiveness. The Picard Center has evaluated the NSECD program for the past 7 years.

During the 2009-10 school year, 1,308 4-year-old children participated in the NSECD program. Overall results confirm a significant improvement from pretest to posttest. NSECD children scored at the 58th national percentile rank (NPR) in Math, 59th NPR in Language, and 70th NPR in Print on the Developing Skills Checklist (DSC) posttest. These scores are above the national average in all areas tested.

About the NSECD Program
The NSECD prekindergarten program began in 2001 with legislative appropriation through Louisiana’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federal block grant designed to foster interest in learning, increase literacy skills, prevent poverty, and promote development of responsible behavior. The program’s goal is to “provide at-risk 4-year-old children access to high-quality, developmentally appropriate prekindergarten classes and before- and after-school enrichment activities, in a nonpublic school and Class A day care setting.” The prekindergarten program follows the Louisiana Standards for Programs Serving Four-Year-Old Children to ensure the provision of high-quality services at no cost to those children eligible for free or reduced price lunch services (FRL). Children who do not qualify based on income may pay tuition or may be privately funded.

View more information on the NSECD program.

Download the latest NSECD annual executive summary or full evaluation report. 

 
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   NSECD Quick Facts (Coming soon!)