Center for American Progress Indicates Federal Investment Can Help Close Preschool-Access Gap

A new study from the Center for American Progress shows American early childhood learning programs may leave something to be desired.   In Vermont, the state leading the county in state-funded school for 3 and 4-year-olds, less than half of 3 and 4 year olds are attending such programs.  Connecticut, falling smack in the center of the rankings, has only 10 percent of 3 and 4-year-olds enrolled.  Further, 11 states simply do not have state-funded preschool at all.

When looking further into the states that do have state-funded preschool, it is notable that the quality of programs varies substantially.  A big reason for this is that states simply do not have it in their budget to provide high quality programs (if any at all).  The proposed federal investment in these programs can thus show to be beneficial to early childhood learning. 

Okay – so what if little ones are attending state-funded preschools?  Are they attending private pre-schools instead?  Unfortunately the answer is – probably not.  According to the Center for American Progress, only 60% of all 3 and 4-year-olds attend preschool nationwide.  The number of those children who fall below the poverty line is less at 50%.

Fort those interested, New York’s preschool programs are rated “good,” while Connecticut’s fall a bit short with a “poor” rating.  More on state-by-state enrollment can be found by clicking on the interactive map linked below.

For more on Obama’s pre-k initiative see my prior posts:

What is “High Quality Preschool” Anyway?

Obama Education Reform – Pre-K for All

Additional Resources:

For more on the Center for American Progress state-by-state analysis click here.

For an interactive map of the state-by-state preschool access gap click here.

For a detailed state-by-state analysis on early learning see the The National Institute for Early Education Research – The State of Preschool 2011.