State-Funded Prekindergarten: What the Evidence Shows

This report examines whether States can meet the challenge of providing high quality, comprehensive early childhood education and whether States would be dedicated to the effort. Data show that some States are already major providers and funders of pre-K programs. Most State-funded pre-K programs meet children’s health and nutrition needs and use a range of strategies to involve parents in their children’s education. There is promising evidence that States can implement programs that produce positive outcomes in areas that include cognition, language, and academic achievement, with some evidence of improved achievement test scores, reduced grade retention, and increased school attendance in the elementary grades. Several States are funding large-scale initiatives to build early childhood systems that serve children from birth through age five years. It is concluded that not all States have the capacity to undertake the administration of a coordinated and comprehensive early childhood system that includes a strong evaluation component to measure results.