EVALUATION SUMMARY - 8 YEARS OF CINCINNATI PRESCHOOL PROMISE
Cincinnati Preschool Promise (CPP) is committed to ensuring children have equitable access to highquality preschool, preparing them for kindergarten and setting them on a path to long-term success. To do this, CPP assists families with finding a high-quality preschool program and provides Tuition Assistance (TA) funding for 3- and 4-year-old children living at or below 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL) to attend. The CPP Provider Network is a blend of community-based and public preschools within the Cincinnati Public School (CPS) district boundary. This Year 8 Evaluation Executive Summary highlights key findings from the 2024-2025 mixed-method evaluation, which includes agency-level and student-level data from CPP, CPS, and partnering agencies. Findings show the impact of CPP programs on preschoolers, families, teachers, Providers, and the returns for Cincinnati. Note that preschool progress, KRA-R, and Grades 1-3 results represent Tuition Assistance recipients enrolled in CPP Community Providers and CPS Preschools. All other results represent CPP Community participants only
CPP DRIVES POSITIVE TRENDS IN PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT, ATTENDANCE, AND LEARNING
1,090 Preschoolers Served
Enrolled in High-Quality Community Preschools with CPP Tuition Assistance
89.1% Attendance Rate
Highest Percentage To Date Increased 5.7 Percentage Points Since Year 1
Learning Gains
Improvement in All Domains of the Teaching Strategies GOLD Preschool Assessment
RECIPIENTS ACHIEVE HIGHER KINDERGARTEN READINESS
The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment-Revised (KRA-R) results showed preschool students who attended CPP Community and CPS preschools were Demonstrating or Approaching readiness at higher rates than non-participants, including kindergartners from similar school districts in Ohio. Research has found that students who score at these levels of readiness are more likely to achieve future academic milestones.
Receiving CPP Tuition Assistance to attend a highquality preschool was a statistically significant predictor of kindergarten readiness increasing the odds of Demonstrating readiness by 33.1% and being On Track for Literacy by 62.9%, showing positive impacts for all preschoolers, especially those from high-risk areas.
and
CPP TUITION ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS SHOW LONG-TERM ACADEMIC GROWTH IN GRADES 1-3
▪ Former CPP TA recipients now in grades 1-3 showed growth in reading scores from fall to spring
▪ Former CPP TA recipients in grade 3 performed similarly to their peers (i.e., economically disadvantaged) on Reading and Math State achievement tests
CPP TA Participants and Cincinnati Public Schools: Third Grade Ohio Achievement Levels (2023-24)
Grade 3 NGA ELA for CPP TA
Compared to 2023-24 CPS District
Results
*Does not exclude CPP TA participants.
Grade 3 NGA Math for CPP TA
Compared to 2023-24 CPS District
*Does not exclude CPP TA participants.
CPP SUPPORTS PRESCHOOL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN THE GROWING CPP COMMUNITY PROVIDER NETWORK
Adding More Than 150 Preschools Since Year 1 Year 8
CPP Community Provider Network Tuition Assistance (TA) and Quality Improvement (QI)
2025 RECOMMENDATIONS
• Continue Providing Tuition Assistance for Preschool Enrollment and Success: Continue supporting preschool enrollment through tuition assistance, which is strongly linked to kindergarten readiness and long-term academic success.
• Support Early Childhood Providers and Programs and Their Sustainability: Continue efforts like teacher and Provider grants that improve teacher compensation and retention and support the sustainability of high-quality early childhood programs. CPP’s support is especially important as funding for preschool education becomes more limited and educational policies are rapidly changing.
• Strengthen Support for Preschool Attendance Through Collaborative Parent Outreach: Additional family outreach efforts with schools and partners can strengthen efforts already in place and help raise awareness of the importance of regular school attendance, which is an early predictor of future academic achievement.
• Leverage Existing Partnerships to Enhance Public Communications of CPP’s Impact and Benefits: The reach of CPP’s public communications could be expanded through collaboratively developed communications. Tailored messages should amplify CPP’s role in improving early education outcomes and showcase existing public support for a broad range of audiences.
• Explore New Data Collaboration Opportunities to Understand Factors for Success: Consider ways to strengthen strategic data collaboration and resource coordination among CPP, educational institutions, community partners, and public agencies to better understand and predict the factors contributing to academic success for preschool through third grade students. Expanding data collection can identify students who may need additional support early on.
• Continue Working with Partners to Sustain Funding and Efforts: CPP and partners can work together to secure funding for future programs that advance access to high-quality preschool, support preschool teachers and Providers, and coordinate resources for parents.
Visit - https://cincy-promise.org/ - to view additional results and reports about CPP’s impact. Note that INNOVATIONS’ unique data access as an independent evaluator may result in minor reporting differences between INNOVATIONS and CPP.