Children’s Institute, in partnership with the Rochester City School District Office of Early Childhood, is pleased to announce the publication of the 27th annual report of the Rochester Early Childhood Assessment Partnership (RECAP).  

Since 1992, RECAP has been a key partner in Rochester, NY’s early care and education system, which ranks among the highest in the United States. RECAP has played a foundational role in promoting positive child outcomes and program quality improvements in our community by documenting and contributing to the achievements of high-performing early care and education systems.  

The 27th annual report marks the final year of the formal RECAP evaluation system.

Key findings from the report include:

1. Classroom Quality: Independent observers rated pre-K classrooms as having "good" quality on average. There were 44.9% of classrooms rated as “good” and 25.3% rated as “excellent”. Classrooms have maintained consistent high-quality over the past several years.  
2. Social-Emotional Growth: Preschoolers showed gains in social skills, behavior control, and task orientation, with the most improvement in assertive social skills. However, a significant proportion still exhibit multiple social-emotional risk factors. Specifically, 40.7% of pre-K-3 students in fall and 35.3% in spring had multiple social and emotional risk factors, while 33.4% of pre-K-4 students in fall and 30.6% in spring had multiple social and emotional risk factors.
3. Pre-Academic Development: Children demonstrated progress across learning domains, with notable gains in Creative Arts and Science/Technology. However, Mathematics and Language/Literacy remain areas for improvement.
4. Kindergarten Readiness: Only 44.8% of pre-K-4 students were rated as kindergarten-ready. However, children attending two years of pre-K showed a clear advantage over those with just one year: 49.2% of children who attended two years of pre-K were kindergarten ready, and 39.4% of children who attended only one year of pre-K were kindergarten ready.
5. Developmental Screenings: Over a third of preschoolers were flagged for potential developmental concerns. Key concerns included speech/language, physical health, and vision.
6. Chronic Absenteeism: Attendance remains a major challenge. Findings showed that 57.5% and 55.3% of pre-K-3 and pre-K-4 students, respectively, were categorized as chronically absent.
7. Family Needs: More families reported unmet needs, particularly in transportation, childcare, and housing stability.

These findings underscore both progress and persistent challenges in Rochester’s preschool system as RECAP concludes its final year of evaluation. 

Children’s Institute Technical Report T25-001: Duprey, E.B., Embt, K.M., McFall, J., Strano, L., Macgowan, A., Peelle, D., Hooper, R., Van Wagner, G., Murray, L., Cone, G., Avery, K. (2025). 

Rochester Early Childhood Assessment Partnership 2023-2024 twenty-seventh annual report.