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Class in Session: Lessons from Local Universal Pre-Kindergarten Programs
Dylan Wall
Feb 9
By: Dylan Wall
Photo by Raise Your Hand Texas
While the Biden administration's ambitious proposal for establishing universal pre-kindergarten has stalled in Congress, state initiatives for universal pre-kindergarten are gaining momentum. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research's 2023 State Preschool Yearbook, during the 2022-2023 school year, a total of 1,631,968 children attended state-funded preschool, reflecting a 7% increase from the previous year and marking a significant leap in enrollment (Friedman-Krauss et al. 2024).
Despite these recent gains, the United States has a long way to go before high-quality preschool becomes universally accessible. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), while enrollment numbers have climbed, state-wide preschool funding has, on average, remained stagnant over the past two decades when adjusted for inflation. This comes as the quality of preschool programs remains inconsistent across states, with eight states failing to meet over half of the NIEER’s quality benchmarks, often due to inadequate funding, local control over standards, and teacher shortages impacting both lead and assistant teacher qualifications. In fact, only five states meet all of the institute’s 10 benchmarks. To make matters worse, the United States continues to slip behind other developed countries and emerging economies in terms of early childhood education quality and funding with every passing year (Friedman-Krauss et al. 2024). Thus, expanding enrollment alone will not yield meaningful improvements in children's learning and development without a strong commitment to program quality and increased funding. To address the disparities across states and improve early education outcomes, the federal government should allocate substantial funding to support states in establishing universally accessible, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs.
Investing in universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) is crucial for fostering children's growth and development, ultimately supporting the broader goal of equal access to education for all children. A case study conducted on Boston's preschool program by the National Bureau of Economic Research provides significant evidence of the long-term benefits of early childhood education. The Boston program, which offered preschool to children through a lottery system, revealed that those who attended preschool were nine percent more likely to graduate high school compared to their peers who did not attend. Moreover, Dr. Gray-Lobe and his team found that preschool enrollment in the Boston program increased the likelihood of participants attending college by over five percentage points when compared to their non-preschool enrolled peers (Gray-Lobe et al. 2021). This study highlights UPK’s potential for significant long-term impacts on educational attainment, making a strong case for increased investment in early childhood education initiatives.
Furthermore, the benefits of UPK extend beyond educational outcomes, significantly enhancing the prospects of impacted families and communities. UPK empowers parents by enhancing their labor market outcomes. A study on a full-time UPK program in New Haven, Connecticut, found that parents whose children participated in the city’s preschool program experienced a 21.7% increase in their earnings during their children’s pre-kindergarten years, with these gains lasting for at least six years after the program's completion (Humphries et al. 2024). Accessible, full-time preschool programs enable parents to pursue greater economic opportunities, such as higher education and longer working hours, rather than spending their time and financial resources on providing childcare. Remarkably, the New Haven study found that for every dollar spent on UPK, parents saw a return of about $5.50 in after-tax earnings, making it one of the most cost-effective labor market policies evaluated in the United States and outperforming programs as notable as the Expanded Income Tax Credit (Humphries et al. 2024). Thus, investing in the establishment of universally accessible preschooling across the United States appears to be a highly worthwhile and effective approach to supporting not only children’s educational outcomes but also their parents’ professional and economic outcomes.
Given the substantial benefits of UPK for both children and parents, expanding access to preschooling must be treated as a national priority. However, progress in meeting this necessity across the United States has been slow, with many children still lacking access to high-quality preschool. As noted in the NIEER’s 2023 State Preschool Yearbook, there is "no prospect of achieving this goal in our lifetimes without accelerated change".
Addressing the challenges in early childhood education requires a closer look at two critical issues: low participation rates in preschool programs and the overall quality of those programs. Despite the established advantages of preschool, including higher high school graduation rates and increased college enrollment, nearly two-thirds of all four-year-olds were not enrolled in preschool as recently as 2023 (Cooney 2024). This is attributable to the fact that many families still find early education inaccessible due to the high costs associated with preschool programs (Rosalsky 2021). Additionally, the quality of existing preschool programs poses a significant challenge as many state-funded preschool initiatives lack firm standards, resulting in inadequate learning environments. These programs often struggle to hire certified educators, further compromising the educational experience for children. In fact, an increasing number of states are waiving their bachelor's degree requirements for lead preschool teachers due to teacher shortages, which compromises quality and consistency in early education. Additionally, only 19 state programs require all assistant teachers to earn a Child Development Associate credential or equivalent, while many states have no substantial requirements for assistant teachers at all (Friedman-Krauss et al. 2024). These issues of low participation and inconsistent program quality highlight the urgent need for substantial support for states' early childhood education programs.
Universal pre-kindergarten offers significant benefits for both children and parents, but progress toward universal access remains slow and uneven, particularly for low-income families who face barriers to enrollment in traditional preschool programs. It is essential that the federal government take decisive action to ensure that all children have access to high-quality early education, including a renewed effort to get Biden's proposal through Congress. Further funding should focus on reducing student-to-teacher ratios, maintaining high curriculum standards, and providing better teacher recruitment, training, and compensation. Additionally, the federal government should allocate substantial funding to help states create robust UPK programs that improve teacher qualifications through accessible pathways to bachelor’s degrees and Child Development Associate credentials. These steps would not only expand access to preschool but would also address the current disparities in program quality. By investing in high-quality UPK programs, the federal government can ensure that every child, regardless of background, starts their educational journey with the tools they need to succeed, paving the way for a more equitable and brighter future for all.
The views expressed in this publication are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Rice Journal of Public Policy, its staff, or its Editorial Board.
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