NIEER State of Preschool Yearbooks Shows Washington State Among Leading States in Resources, Quality

                                                           

Each year the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) produces a national report, The State of Preschool Yearbook, on state-funded preschool programs with detailed information on enrollment, funding, teacher qualifications, and other policies related to quality. Decades of research shows that early childhood education can prepare children for greater success in elementary school and beyond, with benefits largest for the most disadvantaged-- but only if quality is high. 

Some highlights specific to Washington State include:

• Washington boosted funding by 26 percent for its Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and improved its relatively low enrollment of both 3- and 4-year-olds, according to the 2016 State of Preschool Yearbook released today by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).
• Washington’s funding for ECEAP exceeded $97 million while enrollment totaled 11,691 children, about 6.5 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds in the state. 

“Early childhood education is a great investment,” said NIEER Director W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D. “We see Washington making progress on enrollment and spending but more work is needed to expand access to the high-quality pre-K that helps children get the best possible start in life.”

In Washington: 

• Total funding for ECEAP was $97 million, up 26 percent or almost $20.3 million, adjusted for inflation from 2014-2015. 
• Enrollment increased 16 percent, or 1,600 additional 3- and 4-year-olds compared to 2014-2015. 
• Washington served almost 9 percent of 4-year-olds, ranking 32^nd out of 44 states, the same as last year. The state also served more than 4 percent of 3-year-olds, ranking 17^th out of the 29 states that serve 3-year-olds. 
• Funding per child was $8,305, up $693 from 2014-2015. Washington ranked 4^th on state resources per child, up from 8^th last year. 
• ECEAP meets nine of NIEER’s current quality standards benchmarks; the program does not require lead teachers to have bachelor’s degrees. 
• Washington’s Department of Early Learning identified a new strategic goal to ensure 90 percent of the state's children are kindergarten-ready by 2020.

Current benchmarks were designed to help states build programs, focusing on resources and policies related to the structural aspects of public pre-K—elements needed for a high-quality program but not fully defining one. This year, NIEER is introduced major revisions to the policy benchmarks raise the bar by focusing on policies that more directly support continuous improvement of classroom quality. State profiles in the 2016 Yearbook include both current and new benchmark scores.

Washington met seven of NIEER’s new quality standards benchmarks, including the new requirement for supports for curriculum implementation. They also meet the new requirement for early learning and development standards that are culturally sensitive, supports, and aligned with other state standards and child assessments. However, current policies fell short on requiring 15 hours of ongoing professional development per year for assistant teachers and professional development plans for all lead and assistant teachers. Washington is engaged in work to bolster state-pre-K quality as they work to serve all eligible children.

Read the full report on the State of Preschool 2016 or the Executive Summary.

Washington’s state-funded preschool ranks high for funding and quality, low for access

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) today released its rankings of state preschool programs, and once again Washington’s program ranked among the top in the nation for quality, but landed 31^st out of 39 states that provide state-funded preschool in 2010-11 for access.

Not surprisingly, the study found many states are seeing declining funding for preschool programs. The State of Preschool 2011: State Preschool Yearbook shows total state funding for the nation’s pre-K programs decreased by nearly $60 million from the previous year to the 2010-2011 school year. In the past 10 years, real spending on state pre-K has declined by about 15 percent, or more than $700 per child.

Washington’s state-funded preschool program is the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), which has been serving Washington preschoolers for 25 years. ECEAP serves 3- and 4-year-olds whose families’ incomes are at or below 110 percent of the federal poverty level ($24,585 for a family of four). Sixty four percent of ECEAP families are at or below annual incomes of $17,880 for a family of four.

Here is a breakdown of NIEER’s rankings for Washington:

• Washington meets nine out of 10 benchmarks for preschool education quality, up from six out of 10 in 2001-02. The one benchmark Washington does not meet is requiring a bachelor’s degree for the lead teacher in ECEAP programs. While 42 percent of ECEAP teachers have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, the current standard requires an Associate of Arts degree.  
• For access to the state pre-K program, Washington ranked 31 out of 39 states that provide state-funded preschool programs: Just 8 percent of Washington’s 4-year-olds are enrolled in ECEAP.
• Washington ranked 7 out of 39 for spending on state-funded preschool: Per-child funding has fared better than other states in the past 10 years. Washington spent $6,780 per enrolled child in 2010-11.
• Washington spent $54.4 million on ECEAP in 2010-11.

“Washington’s program remains well-funded, dropping real per-child funding only slightly in 2010-2011, and the quality is there,” said Steve Barnett, director of the nonpartisan National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University that has surveyed state preschool programs on a number of measures since 2001-2002. “As one of the states to receive an Early Learning Challenge grant in 2011, there is hope of improving early learning opportunities for preschoolers in Washington.”

View NIEER’s report for 2011: http://nieer.org/yearbook 
Read the Associated Press story about Washington's ranking.