Report: P-3 Instructional Continuity

Big Take-Away

While California’s efforts to expand preschool and TK instruction have been beneficial, districts need intense and enduring support that addresses district structures, policies, and practices in order to have a meaningful impact on P-3 continuity and improved outcomes for students.  

California has invested significantly in transitional kindergarten and preschool; however, these investments must be paired with efforts to create continuity of high-quality instruction from preschool to 3rd grade in order to reap long-term benefits for students.  The authors cite research that demonstrates that the benefits of high-quality early childhood education diminish if later instruction does not build on and support earlier learning.

Instructional continuity from preschool to 3rd grade, referred to as “P-3 continuity,” implies an integrated curriculum that builds from one grade level to the next along with similar, effective pedagogical practices across and within each grade level.  The authors argue that P-3 continuity is hampered in California by a lack of vertical alignment across the State, districts and schools, and classrooms.  

At the State level, P-3 continuity is affected by inconsistencies in state standards for P-TK as opposed to K-3, a lack of standardization of assessments, a plethora of adopted curricula, inconsistencies in credentialing and professional development (PD), and unclear oversight responsibilities.  At the district and school level, P-TK instruction must be better integrated into the administrative structures, alignment of curricula across grade levels must be ensured, and early childhood education PD should be provided for both site administrators and teachers.  

How Our Work Connects 

Making P-3 math coherence and continuity a priority

California Education Partners’ school district partners have been at the forefront of building continuity from pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade math.  Since 2020, Ed Partner’s Preschool through Third Grade Coherence Collaborations (P3CC) have supported over 50  district teams with establishing clear expectations for grade-level standards, adopting common effective instructional practices, establishing a system to monitor progress, and building the capacity of teachers and leaders. 

These districts understand that they cannot wait until third-grade CAASPP scores reveal that many students have fallen behind.   Student success in mathematics begins in TK and must be aligned, supported, and monitored each year.  

Design of Ed Partners’ District Improvement Teams scales and spreads P-3 continuity

District improvement teams intentionally bring together teachers, site administrators, and district administrators from each district participating in the P3CC collaboration to ensure that improvements to practices and tools are aligned vertically and horizontally across the districts’ TK-3rd grades. 

Ed Partners has long recognized that the promise of universal preschool and TK is not guaranteed without grade-to-grade coherence, and we have honed the structure of our P3CC collaborations to respond to the real challenges that districts face.  We partner with district improvement teams through context-based coaching and use data to inform strategic, proactive, and effective pivots. These multi-role teams learn to use existing system structures and create new ones as needed to implement changes and adopt shared practices across focal schools and ultimately throughout the district.