State Pre-K: Effectiveness, Access, and Support for Quality Milagros Nores, PhD Steve 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

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

Oklahoma Pre-K: an example Program impacts in months Preschool programs strengthen reading, writing, and math skills Woodcock-Johnson achievement subtest

States at Risk California cut spending per child by 10% for , 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

10 Years of State Pre-K 600,000 child increase in state pre-K enrollment since Especially important for Hispanics who depend heavily on state programs. Enrollment at age 3 barely budged. Spending per child $715 lower than in 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