State of Preschool 2008

The State of Preschool 2008
National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers

The State of Preschool Yearbook seeks to improve the public's knowledge and understanding of state efforts to expand the availability of high-quality education to young children in the 21st century.

The first report in this series focused on programs for the 2001-2002 school year and established a baseline against which we may now measure progress over seven years. Tracking these trends is essential, since changes in states' policies on preschool education will influence how successfully America's next generation will compete in the knowledge economy. Includes:

- summary of the data, national trends: enrollment, quality, spending

- detailed state profiles outlining each state's policies
- - - including states without state-funded programs

In the United States today, more than 80 percent of all 4-year-olds attend some kind of preschool program. About half of those (39 percent of all 4-year-olds) are enrolled in some kind of public program (state pre-K, Head Start or special education), with the other half enrolled in a private program. Most of the 4-year-olds in public programs attend state pre-K, which enrolls almost a quarter of the population at age 4.

Unfortunately, these numbers vary tremendously by state. In Oklahoma nearly 90 percent of the 4-year-olds receive a free public education. At the other extreme, as few as 10 percent are enrolled in public programs in some states. Private enrollment does not make up the differences in enrollment between these extremes.

Pre-K enrollment at age 3 is much more limited, primarily because public provision is so much lower. Enrollment in private programs is very similar at ages 3 and 4. Only 14 percent of 3-year-olds attend some type of public program, with barely 4 percent of 3-year-olds attending a state-funded pre-K program. Enrollment also varies dramatically by state, but most states serve less than 1 or 2 percent of their 3-year-olds outside of special education and Head Start.

As some states move forward rapidly, others fall further behind. Oklahoma remains the only state where virtually every child can start school at age 4, but other states are approaching that goal. In at least eight other states, more than half of 4-year-olds attend a public preschool program of some kind. At the other end of the spectrum, 12 states have no regular state preschool education program. In eight states, less than one in five children are enrolled in a public preschool program at age 4 even taking into account preschool special education and Head Start.