State Pre-K: Effectiveness, Access, and Support for Quality

Milagros Nores, PhDSteve Barnett, PhD

Why invest in Pre-K?

First 5 years are a time of rapid brain development

Early experience substantially influences development

Pre-K has been demonstrated to produce short- and

long-term positive impacts

Later compensatory efforts face reduced plasticity and

higher costs

Early failure & success are self-reinforcing

Potential Gains from Investments in Early Education

Educational Success and Economic Productivity Achievement test scores Special education and grade repetition High school graduation Behavior problems, delinquency, and crime Employment, earnings, and welfare dependency Smoking, drug use, depression Decreased Costs to Government Schooling costs Social services costs Crime costs Health care costs (teen pregnancy and smoking)

ECD programs 0-5 in the US produce long-term gains: 123 studies since 1960

Treatment End Ages 5-10 Age >100

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All Designs HQ Designs HQ Programs

Age at Follow-Up

Effe

cts

(sd)

Key Lessons Immediate impact should be at least twice

the size of desired long-term impact

Some programs are much more effective than others

Multiple approaches are effective, but educational quality is a key element

Earlier is not necessarily higher payoff

Three early education sectors• Private child care and preschool

– Lowest quality– Minimal benefits

• Head Start and Early Head Start– Better quality– Modest benefits

• State Pre-K– Highly variable quality– Highly variable benefits

Preschool Quality in California

Private Head Start Public Pre-K0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

Percent Good or Better

Oklahoma Pre-K: an example

Letter-Word ID Spelling Applied Problems0123456789

10TPS Pre K Head Start

Prog

ram

impa

cts

in

mon

ths

Preschool programs strengthen reading, writing, and math skills

Woodcock-Johnson achievement subtest

States at Risk• California cut spending per child by 10% for 2010-11, achieves

only 3 of 10 benchmarks & threatens further budget reductions.• Florida ranks first in access (76%) but near last in support for

quality. Class size limits raised, & further cuts may be coming.• Georgia met all 10 benchmarks then cut its pre-K school

calendar by 1 month & increased class size to 22. • Illinois reduced enrollment has funding troubles.• North Carolina moved pre-K out of education, reduced staffing

and enrollment. May face more cuts. • Oklahoma a national leader cut spending by more than 10%.• Pennsylvania had made strong gains but the new governor made

serious cuts over 10% per child in 2010-11.

10 Years of State Pre-K• 600,000 child increase in state pre-K enrollment

since 2001-02. Especially important for Hispanics who depend heavily on state programs .

• Enrollment at age 3 barely budged.• Spending per child $715 lower than in 2001-02.• Adoption of statewide comprehensive early learning

standards nearly universal.• Less progress in raising standards for

teachers.

Conclusions Pre-K can be a strong public investment

Cut the achievement gap by 40 percent

Increase job and GDP growth

Intensity and quality are the keys to high returns

More progress on enrollment than on quality.

Some states moved backwards sharply due to the recession.

Quality costs—but failing to invest in quality early education costs far more