Two Decades of Growth in State Pre-K Investments: Is there a Tradeoff Between Access and Quality?

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Policy, Inclusion and Accessibility for Vulnerable Children

Abstract

Given the continued focus on pre-k as a policy priority in the U.S., the early childhood education field can benefit from more descriptive work on the expansion of state-funded pre-k across the country. We leverage a national panel of data compiled annually by the National Institute of Early Education Research (2002-2023) on state-by-year pre-k spending, enrollment, and program characteristics to examine overarching patterns of pre-k expansion. We first show a strong trend of growth in pre-k investment across states. We then examine how this investment relates to access and quality, finding that increased spending primarily corresponds with greater access for four-year-olds, rather than increased investment in each slot. We discuss implications for how states have approached scaling up pre-k.

Authors

• Casey Moran, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Tyler Watts, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Jade M. Jenkins, University of California - Irvine

• Kenneth A. Dodge, Duke University

• Mindy Lachs Rosengarten, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Allison Friedman-Krauss, National Institute for Early Education Research

• W. Steven Barnett, Rutgers University