The State of Preschool report just released

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University has just released the 2011 State Preschool Yearbook. The report is the newest edition of an annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest Yearbook covers data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2010-2011 school year.

Some highlights from the report:

• Twenty-eight percent of America’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in a state-funded preschool program in the 2010-2011 school year
• At least $127 million in federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) were spent on state funded pre-K programs in 2010-2011. This spending has not been replaced in some states.
• State pre-K spending per child decreased by $145 from the previous year to $4,151 when adjusted for inflation. Without ARRA, per child spending would have dropped to $4,054, which would have been the lowest amount since NIEER began collecting data a decade ago.
• Arizona eliminated its Early Childhood Block Grant entirely in 2010, joining 10 other states that provide no state pre-K.
• Enrollment growth nationally continued to slow compared to the overall trend for the past decade.

The National Institute for Early Education Research has developed the State Preschool Yearbook series to provide information on the availability and quality of services offered  to children at ages three and four. View the full report and executive summary.