HighScope preschool programs represent an influential evidence-based educational approach that has significantly shaped early childhood practice through its emphasis on active participatory learning, intentional teaching, and developmental assessment. As an educational researcher who has closely studied early childhood frameworks, I’ve observed how the HighScope approach has maintained enduring relevance through its strong empirical foundation, clearly articulated principles, and remarkable longitudinal outcomes.
Origins and Development of the HighScope Approach
The HighScope approach emerged from a pioneering early intervention project in Ypsilanti, Michigan during the early 1960s. At a time when preschool education frequently lacked theoretical coherence or empirical validation, David Weikart and colleagues launched the Perry Preschool Project—an experimental program serving children from low-income backgrounds that would eventually become one of the most significant longitudinal studies in educational history.
This initial project evolved into the HighScope Educational Research Foundation, dedicated to developing, evaluating, and disseminating a comprehensive approach to early education. Over subsequent decades, the curriculum has undergone continuous refinement based on emerging research in child development, cognitive science, and educational effectiveness, while maintaining its core philosophical commitments to active learning and intentional teaching.
Core Principles and Philosophical Foundations
The HighScope approach rests on several foundational principles that distinguish it from other early childhood frameworks:
Active Participatory Learning
At its philosophical core, HighScope views children as active learners who construct understanding through direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas. This constructivist orientation draws from Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory, emphasizing that children build knowledge through their own activity rather than passively receiving information.
Key elements of active learning include:
- Direct manipulation of concrete materials
- Child-initiated activity and exploration
- Authentic choice-making within structured environments
- Verbal and nonverbal reflection on experiences
- Problem-solving through direct experience
This active learning principle manifests throughout all aspects of the program design, from classroom arrangement to assessment approaches.
Adult-Child Interaction
HighScope defines distinct roles for adults that balance support with autonomy, establishing what they term a “shared control” environment. Adults function as facilitators and partners rather than directors or passive observers, engaging in interactions characterized by:
- Scaffolding that extends learning without dominating
- Sustained shared thinking through collaborative problem-solving
- Strategic questioning that promotes reflection and reasoning
- Encouragement of initiative and independence
- Active listening that values children’s perspectives
This balanced approach avoids both the excessive directiveness of didactic models and the minimal guidance of some child-centered approaches.
Learning Environment
HighScope environments are carefully designed to support independent exploration while promoting specific developmental domains. These environments feature:
- Clearly defined interest areas organized by content domains
- Accessible, open-ended materials promoting multiple uses
- Logical storage systems supporting independent use and cleanup
- Visual cues supporting autonomy and self-regulation
- Space arrangement facilitating both collaboration and individual activity
The physical environment functions as an “invisible support system” that enables children’s initiative while subtly guiding their activity toward developmental objectives.
Daily Routine
A consistent yet flexible daily routine provides predictable structure while accommodating emerging interests and needs. This routine includes:
- Plan-Do-Review sequence where children articulate intentions, engage in self-directed activity, and reflect on experiences
- Small-group times featuring adult-initiated learning experiences
- Large-group times building community through shared activities
- Outside time for gross motor development and natural exploration
- Transition times designed as learning opportunities rather than waiting periods
This routine structure supports executive function development through the balance of consistency and flexibility.
Distinctive Curricular Elements
Several distinctive features characterize the HighScope curriculum approach:
Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs)
The curriculum organizes learning objectives around specific Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs)—observable behaviors reflecting fundamental cognitive, social, emotional, and physical milestones. These KDIs:
- Span major developmental domains including approaches to learning, social-emotional development, physical development, language/literacy, mathematics, creative arts, science/technology, and social studies
- Provide a framework for observation, planning, and assessment
- Connect daily activities to significant developmental progressions
- Align with state and national early learning standards
This KDI framework provides specificity while maintaining a holistic, integrated approach to development.
Plan-Do-Review Process
The signature Plan-Do-Review sequence distinguishes HighScope from other early childhood approaches. This daily process involves:
Planning: Children indicate what materials they will use, what actions they will take, and often who they will work with. These plans may be verbal, drawn, written, or demonstrated depending on developmental levels.
Doing: Extended work time (typically 45-60 minutes) allows children to carry out their plans, modify them based on discoveries, solve problems, and engage with materials, peers, and adults.
Reviewing: Children reflect on their experiences through various approaches including verbal discussion, drawing, dramatization, or demonstrations of their work.
This metacognitive cycle develops executive function, intentionality, reflection, and language skills while supporting deeper engagement.
Conflict Resolution Approach
HighScope’s distinctive approach to social problem-solving involves a systematic process where adults guide children through conflict resolution:
- Approaching calmly and stopping hurtful actions
- Acknowledging feelings through observation and verbalization
- Gathering information about the problem from multiple perspectives
- Restating the problem based on children’s perceptions
- Generating solutions with children rather than imposing adult solutions
- Supporting children in implementing their chosen solution
- Remaining available for follow-up support
This approach develops crucial social-emotional competencies while recognizing children’s capacity for problem-solving rather than relying on adult-imposed consequences.
Assessment System
The HighScope approach includes an integrated assessment system aligned with its developmental framework:
Child Observation Record (COR)
The Child Observation Record provides a comprehensive, observation-based assessment tool that:
- Aligns directly with curriculum objectives and KDIs
- Documents development through authentic work samples and anecdotal records
- Allows ongoing assessment during regular activities rather than artificial testing
- Provides developmental progressions with specific indicators
- Generates data for individual planning, program improvement, and accountability
This observation-based approach maintains assessment authenticity while providing systematic documentation of progress.
Daily Anecdotal Recording
Teachers systematically document children’s behavior and language through brief anecdotal notes that:
- Capture objective, factual observations
- Focus on significant developmental indicators
- Document children’s work across settings and activities
- Provide evidence for assessment ratings
- Inform individualized planning
This ongoing documentation creates a cumulative portrait of each child’s development while supporting responsive teaching.
Evidence of Effectiveness
The HighScope approach stands distinguished by its exceptional empirical foundation:
Perry Preschool Study
The landmark Perry Preschool Study has followed participants from early childhood into their 50s, demonstrating remarkable long-term outcomes including:
- Higher educational achievement and completion
- Increased lifetime earnings and economic self-sufficiency
- Reduced criminal activity and incarceration
- Higher rates of stable family formation
- Better health outcomes and fewer risk behaviors
The exceptional return on investment (calculated at $7-12 for every dollar invested) has made this study particularly influential in policy discussions about early childhood funding.
Implementation Research
Beyond the original Perry study, research on HighScope implementation in diverse settings demonstrates:
- Significant cognitive, language, and social-emotional gains
- Particularly strong outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Successful adaptation across diverse cultural contexts
- Effectiveness in both half-day and full-day implementations
- Sustainable implementation when provided adequate training and support
These findings support the approach’s adaptability while maintaining educational effectiveness.
Quality Rating Alignment
Program quality assessments consistently show that well-implemented HighScope programs align with external quality indicators:
- High ratings on environmental assessment scales (ECERS, ITERS)
- Strong performance on process quality measures
- Alignment with quality rating improvement systems
- Adherence to developmentally appropriate practice guidelines
- Successful accreditation through national systems
This alignment demonstrates compatibility with broader quality frameworks.
Implementation Requirements
Successful implementation of the HighScope approach requires specific supports:
Teacher Training Components
Comprehensive professional development includes:
- Understanding of developmental theory and research
- Mastery of curriculum content and assessment procedures
- Skill development in scaffolding techniques
- Observational assessment capabilities
- Reflective supervision and ongoing coaching
This intensive training distinguishes HighScope from approaches requiring minimal preparation.
Administrative Support Requirements
Program leaders must provide:
- Appropriate materials and physical environments
- Staffing patterns allowing appropriate adult-child ratios
- Schedule design supporting the full curriculum implementation
- Ongoing professional learning communities
- Family engagement systems
This administrative infrastructure ensures sustainability beyond initial implementation.
Family Engagement Approaches
HighScope emphasizes partnerships with families through:
- Home visits establishing reciprocal relationships
- Regular sharing of observational data
- Family participation in classroom activities
- Parent education aligned with curriculum principles
- Two-way communication systems
These partnerships recognize parents as primary educators while providing developmental support.
Contemporary Applications and Adaptations
The HighScope approach continues evolving to address contemporary early childhood contexts:
Cultural Adaptations
While maintaining core principles, HighScope has been successfully adapted across cultural contexts through:
- Incorporation of culturally relevant materials and activities
- Respect for diverse family structures and childrearing practices
- Adaptation to varied national educational frameworks
- Accommodation of community values while maintaining key principles
- Translation of materials into multiple languages
These adaptations demonstrate the approach’s flexibility while maintaining efficacy.
Special Education Applications
Modifications for diverse learners include:
- Individualized adaptations maintaining active learning principles
- Universal design for learning implementation
- Collaborative teaming with specialists
- Targeted scaffolding maintaining appropriate challenge
- Assistive technology integration
These specialized applications maintain inclusive principles while addressing diverse needs.
Contemporary Issues Integration
Recent curriculum developments address emerging priorities:
- Enhanced focus on STEM learning experiences
- Digital literacy integration maintaining hands-on principles
- Expanded approaches to dual language learning
- Trauma-informed practices aligned with core philosophy
- Enhanced executive function development emphasis
These enhancements maintain relevance while preserving foundational principles.
Conclusion
As an educational researcher dedicated to evidence-based practice, I find the HighScope approach exemplifies how rigorous research, clear developmental theory, and responsive practice can converge in an early childhood framework with remarkable staying power. Its enduring influence stems from both its exceptional longitudinal evidence and its coherent philosophical integrity.
The approach’s balanced perspective—neither completely child-centered nor adult-directed—offers a nuanced middle path that respects children’s agency while providing intentional teaching. This “shared control” environment creates optimal conditions for developing the cognitive, social-emotional, and executive function capabilities that support lifelong success.
For early childhood educators committed to practices that genuinely prepare children for future learning and life success, the HighScope approach offers a comprehensive, well-articulated framework built on decades of implementation refinement and empirical validation. Its continued evolution ensures relevance to contemporary educational contexts while maintaining the core principles that have demonstrated such remarkable long-term impact on children’s development and life trajectories
