Big Ten Early Learning Alliance

Our Work

Analysis briefs

At least twice each year, the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance will produce an analysis brief on a particular topic of research in early childhood. The briefs are designed to aid policymakers in the states and communities where our universities are located, using data from research undertaken in our communities and relevant to the pressing concerns of our communities.

BIG TEN EARLY LEARNING ALLIANCE BRIEF Number 3 — Winter 2025

Head Start and Outcomes for Children and Families: How Head Start Serves the Big Ten States
Anna J. Markowitz, Alejandra Ros Pilarz, David Purpura, Terri Sabol, & Dawn Thomas

Three generations of women in a family sit on a sofa. A grandmother sits in the center with her arms around her pregnant daughter, left, and her granddaughter, right. The daughter holds her hands over her enlarged tummy, and the granddaughter clutches a stuffed animal toy.

Big Ten states leverage substantial federal Head Start dollars to provide early care and education, and family support services, for more than 310,000 children annually. Decades of research provide strong evidence that Head Start participation improves children’s development in the early years and helps them enter school more ready to learn, and Head Start programming supports caregivers’ parenting skills and improves their educational and labor market outcomes.

Click here to view the brief.

BIG TEN EARLY LEARNING ALLIANCE BRIEF Number 2 — Winter 2025

The State of Early Learning Standards for Mathematics in the Big Ten States: The Need for Consistent and Data-Based Expectations
David Purpura & Patrick Ehrman

Two small children standing at a table move their fingers along an abacus on the table.

Early learning standards are intended to lay a foundation for school readiness and long-term success. States, however, organize the ages/developmental stages they include in their early learning standards in different ways, and early learning standards in mathematics vary substantially across Big Ten states.

Click here to view the brief.

BIG TEN EARLY LEARNING ALLIANCE BRIEF Number 1 — Fall 2024

State of Early Childhood Education in Big Ten States
Laura Justice & W. Steven Barnett

The period of early childhood from birth to age 5 years is potentially the most important for enhancing development over the human lifespan. This brief describes the characteristics of young children (0 to 5 years) in Big Ten states; examines the current state of early childhood education among these states; and discusses trends and opportunities for early childhood education in these states.

This brief is available either as a webpage or as a downloadable PDF.

Click here to view the web version of the brief.

The cover of a PDF version of the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance brief number 1, "State of Early Childhood Education in Big Ten States"

Click here or on the image above to download a PDF of the brief.

Online discussions on early childhood research and policy

Throughout the year, the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance is holding online discussions on critical topics in early childhood research and policy. These discussions, which are free and open to the public, are designed to bring the latest scientific findings to a broader audience, translating research into workable solutions to improve outcomes for young children in the Big Ten states.

April 2025: Parent Engagement and Partnerships in Early Childhood: Research from Across the Big Ten

This event, featuring experts from the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance, discussed current research on parent engagement and partnerships and outlined its vital connection to policy and practice.

Watch the recording on our YouTube channel.

Extra resources:

  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Sue Sheridan that introduced the event and provided context about the importance of parent engagement
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Lisa Knoche on Getting Ready, a program that promotes children’s learning and development by strengthening relationships among families and educators in home- and center-based early childhood settings
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Karen Bierman on the Head Start REDI program, which uses guided activity kits to support parent engagement and home learning
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Jimena Cosso on understanding the culturally embedded practices that Latine families use to promote their children’s learning
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Charis Wahman on families’ experiences with preschool suspension and expulsion

    • March 2025: Early Math Learning in Big Ten States

    This event examined a multi-level view of early math learning, including the big picture of early math standards in Big Ten states, assessing math learning in the classroom and at home, and the brain science of numerical development.

    Key Takeaways:

    1. States should consider aligning early math standards​.
    2. Math assessment in preschool can be fun and instructionally relevant​.
    3. Children recruit different systems in the brain as a function of their home experiences.

    Watch the recording on our YouTube channel.

    Extra resources:

  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. David Purpura concerning current pre-K math standards in Big Ten states
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Kristen Missall concerning the LLAMA assessment development project on early math skills
    • For more information about LLAMA, visit the project website at LLAMApreK.com
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Ece Demir-Lira concerning the brain science of numerical development

    • December 2024: Reflecting on the Perry Preschool and Chicago Longitudinal Studies

    The Perry Preschool Project and Chicago Longitudinal Study are two landmark studies demonstrating the value of high-quality early childhood education for children and society. With data collection starting in 1962, the Perry Preschool Project was one of the first real cohort studies in the field of early childhood education. Kicking off in 1986, the Chicago Longitudinal Study is the largest and longest running. Featuring experts from the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance, this event reflected on the value of these two studies and how they apply to today’s current context.

    Watch the recording on our YouTube channel.

    Extra resources:

  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. W. Steven Barnett concerning the Perry Preschool Project
  • Download a PDF of the slides presented by Dr. Arthur Reynolds concerning the Chicago Longitudinal Study

    • October 2024: The State of ECE Data in Big Ten States

    In this panel, experts from Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Georgia discuss barriers and opportunities surrounding the use of data systems that states maintain about the services provided to children before they enter kindergarten. Three themes arose from the discussion: 1) securing funding to sustain these data systems; 2) finding the right experts to build and maintain data systems; 3) building trust between state agencies and the stakeholders (such as care and early education providers, as well as researchers and policy advocates) who provide, share and use state data.

    Watch the recording on our YouTube channel.

    Extra resources:

  • Transform State Early Childhood Data to Meet the Needs of Children, Families, and Those Who Support Them — a policy brief from the Data Quality Campaign to promote an understanding by states of the return on investment of improving their early childhood data capacity
  • Early Intervention Exiter — a PDF flyer that briefly describes a pilot program in Ohio to make a connection between families with a child who has aged out of Early Intervention, and early education programs that can support the child until the child enters kindergarten