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Background
The Chicago Program Evaluation Project (C-PEP) is a system-level evaluation of the largest center- and school-based early care and education (ECE) programs operated by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services (CYS), including Head Start, State Pre-Kindergarten (SPK), and full-day collaborative programs. These three programs are the largest components of the overall CPS/CYS ECE system, serving a combined total of 27,500 children.
This evaluation represents the culmination of a year-long planning process led by Erikson institute at the request of CYS and CPS. A project advisory committee composed of 16 leaders in the Chicago early childhood community assisted in the development of an evaluation design, research protocol, and Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project.
In June 2006, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. was selected through a competitive process to conduct the evaluation. Data collection on a sample of approximately 800 4-year old children in over 100 Chicago classrooms began this month. A broad array of child, teacher, and classroom assessments will be conducted during the preschool year.
The C-PEP is supported by federal and state funds and a generous grant from the McCormick Tribune Foundation.
Purpose of the Evaluation
The primary purpose of the project is to inform CPS and CYS of the effectiveness of these three primary program types and to measure the developmental gains children make during the preschool year. Specifically, the evaluation assesses the relationship among teacher and program characteristics, classroom quality, cognitive and social-emotional outcomes, and child and family characteristics including risk status and home language.
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