Governors, Consider the Rule of 3 When Talking about Quality Pre-K

In just a few short weeks, governors across the country will be addressing their constituents in their annual “state of the state” addresses. Twenty states have new leaders, and no doubt their words will be watched carefully. As these governors speak about supporting families and children—many of them are making early childhood a priority, according to their campaign promises—they will want to employ lines and phrases that can be easily remembered and recalled.

We suggest taking this approach: Provide information in batches of three. Research shows that people can best absorb and remember information when provided via the “rule of three.” Offer more than three factors or principles or guidelines, and the brain has to work harder to recall them. In fact, the number 3 is sometimes hailed as ”the most persuasive number in all communications.”

Fortunately, a new resource published this year by the Alliance for Early Success meets this criteria: Indispensables for Quality Pre-K: 3 Practices and 3 Policies is an interactive website with a one-page PDF that distills decades of research on the science of early learning. It emerged from meetings with 30 national leaders in early childhood who had expertise in pre-K. (Pre-K was defined as a learning program for children ages 3 and 4.)

Here are the three practices:

1. Engage in positive interactions with children and their families, recognizing the strengths and diversity of their backgrounds.
2. Use learning trajectories in subject areas and domains, supported by effective curricula, to help children meet goals in learning and development.
3. Promote children’s social development and self-regulation in ways that reflect an understanding of the multiple biological and environmental factors that affect behavior.

And here are the three policies:

1. Allocate increased, predictable, and sustainable funding to establish the conditions necessary for high-quality teaching and learning.
2. Provide educators with professional learning (pre-service and in-service) based at a minimum on the 3 Indispensable Practices and on in-service opportunities aligned with the definition of professional development in the Every Student Succeeds Act.
3. Use high-quality data to promote continuous quality improvement and better continuity from ages 0–3 to pre-K and pre-K to grades K–3.

We at New America were charged with steering the coordination of this consensus-building project and the publication of these agreed-upon statements. We were driven by the belief that politicians voicing strong support of early childhood investments need resources and support from the early childhood community to clearly communicate and define quality. Even among governors with a strong understanding of early childhood policy* — in particular, we are watching J.B. Pritzker in Illinois, Jared Polis in Colorado, and Gavin Newsom in California — there is a high likelihood they are seeking research-based information on what it means to provide families with a quality pre-K program.

Without good definitions and specifics, some might think that quality is just about ratios (making sure, for example, that there is one adult present for every 10 four-year-olds), or teacher credentials (setting up ladders for child care professionals to get higher-education degrees), or simply making sure that snack time is nutritious. But those criteria are not enough to ensure that young children are experiencing a high-quality learning environment each day.

By contrast, these agreed-upon indispensable policies and practices, backed up by research that is a click away, provide specifics for improving the quality of settings and for supporting caregivers and teachers. We hope that they can be seen not only as helpful messages for politicians but also for leaders in state agencies who are seeking easy-to-remember guidance on implementing quality policies and improving programs across states and local communities.

*Don’t miss the Center for American Progress’s helpful round-up of what various campaigns promised regarding early childhood.

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