Pre-K Education

Pre-kindergarten is one of the most well-researched public education strategies of the last forty years.  Children who complete quality pre-k programs are more academically and socially prepared when they enter school and more likely to complete high school and contribute to their community as adults.

Despite substantial budget shortfalls for FY 2010, most governors and state legislatures continue to invest wisely in pre-k education for three- and four-year-olds.  A 2009 analysis by Pew’s Pre-K Now campaign  shows that 29 states and the District of Columbia chose to increase or hold steady funding for pre-k.  Leading economists have found that each dollar spent on quality pre-k saves taxpayers later costs in remedial or special education, public benefits and the criminal justice system.

Download the 2010 “Votes Count” report (Adobe PDF).

What We Do

Pew’s Pre-K Education projects—rigorous, policy-focused and research-based—demonstrate the value of quality early education for all three- and four-year-olds.

Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States, collaborates with advocates and policy makers to advance high-quality, voluntary pre-k for all.  To fulfill this mission, Pre-K Now:

• provides targeted financial and technical assistance to advocates and other leaders working to secure policy changes and public funds that will improve the availability and quality of
  state-funded pre-k programs; and
• educates policy makers and the public about the evidence showing quality pre-k for all will improve children’s school readiness and raise student achievement.

Visit the Pre-K Now Web site  for more about our mission, research and advocacy.

Pew works with a variety of groups to advance access to pre-k programs, including:

• The National Institute for Early Education Research  (NIEER), which conducts and communicates research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children.  NIEER publishes an annual report about enrollment and quality in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs. The institute was established at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education with Pew’s support.