Education
The State of Preschool 2007
A nationwide survey of state-funded preschool programs shows that enrollment, access, spending per child, and quality rose on average in the 2006-07 school year. The State of Preschool 2007 (247 pages, PDF), a new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research, ranks each state by the percentages of three- and four-year-olds enrolled in state-funded pre-K education, state spending, and all reported spending, and scores state initiatives against a checklist of ten quality benchmarks. Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the report finds that Alabama and North Carolina meet all ten quality benchmarks, including early learning standards, teacher qualifications, and class size; Illinois and Oklahoma provide the best access for three- and four-year-olds, respectively; and New Jersey ranks first in both state spending and all reported spending per child enrolled. The report includes a profile of each state's quality checklist as well as enrollment and resources data.
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