Pre-Kindergarten in the South

Louisiana Florida
Mississippi
Alabama Georgia
South
Arkansas Carolina
Texas
North
Carolina
Tennessee
Oklahoma
Kentucky
Virginia
Maryland
West
Virginia
Southern Education Foundation
135 Auburn Avenue NE, 2nd Floor| Atlanta, GA 30303
www.southerneducation.org
SEF SINCE 1867
The Region’s
Comparative Advantage
in Education
Pre-Kindergarten
in the South
The Southern Education Foundation
The Southern Education Foundation (SEF), www.southerneducation.org, is a nonprofit organization
comprised of diverse women and men who work together to improve the quality of life for all of the
South’s people through better and more accessible education. SEF advances creative solutions to ensure
fairness and excellence in education for low-income students from preschool through higher education.
SEF develops and implements programs of its own design, serves as an intermediary for donors who
want a high-quality partner with whom to work on education issues in the South, and participates
as a public charity in the world of philanthropy. SEF depends upon contributions from foundations,
corporations and individuals to support its efforts.
SEF’S VISION
We seek a South and a nation with a skilled workforce that sustains an expanding economy, where
civic life embodies diversity and democratic values and practice, and where an excellent education
system provides all students with fair chances to develop their talents and contribute to the common
good. We will be known for our commitment to combating poverty and inequality through education.
SEF’S TIMELESS MISSION
SEF develops, promotes and implements policies, practices and creative solutions that ensure
educational excellence, fairness and high levels of achievement among African Americans and other
groups and communities that have not yet reached the full measure of their potential. SEF began in
1867 as the Peabody Education Fund.
CREDITS
Pre-Kindergarten in the South is a SEF special 140th anniversary report. Other SEF reports and
publications can be found at www.southerneducation.org.
SEF wishes to express genuine appreciation to Luz Vega, President, and Cynthia Renfro, Program
Officer, of the Marguerite Casey Foundation for the good counsel and general support that has helped
to make this report possible.
With the assistance of SEF associate program officer Lauren Veasey, SEF program coordinator Steve
Suitts was responsible for the development and writing of the report. Lynn Huntley and Andrea Young
of SEF also contributed to the development and editing of the report. Mary Sommers of Typographic
Solutions designed and supervised the printing of the report.
Louisiana Florida
Mississippi
Alabama Georgia
South
Arkansas Carolina
Texas
North
Carolina
Tennessee
Oklahoma
Kentucky
Virginia
Maryland
West
Virginia
Southern Education Foundation
135 Auburn Avenue NE, 2nd Floor| Atlanta, GA 30303
www.southerneducation.org
SEF SINCE 1867
The Region’s
Comparative Advantage
in Education
Pre-Kindergarten
in the South
© 2007 Southern Education Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America. First Edition.
Portions of this work may be reproduced without permission, provided that acknowledgement is given to the Southern Education Foundation.
Limited permission is also granted for larger portions to be reproduced by nonprofit and public agencies and institutions only, solely for
noncommercial purposes so long as acknowledgement to the Southern Education Foundation as the source is prominently given. Reproduction
or storage in any electronic form for any purpose, commercial or noncommercial, is prohibited without the express written permission of the
Southern Education Foundation.
A limited number of printed copies of Pre-Kindergarten in the South is available from the Southern Education Foundation, 135 Auburn Avenue, Second
Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303-2503, for $15.00 each while supplies last. The electronic version is available without charge at www.southerneducation.org.
Preface
by Lynn Huntley, President
The Southern Education Foundation 3
Executive Summary
Pre-K – The South Leads the Nation 5
Introduction
Pre-K in Southern Education 7
Pre-K Will Advance Southern Education 10
Pre-K Will Help the South’s Economy
and Quality of Life 14
Pre-K Access and Enrollment:
The South Leads the Nation 17
Pre-K Quality Standards:
The South Leads the Nation 19
Emerging Pre-K Trends:
New Challenges and Possibilities 22
Conclusion
Going the Distance 24
Appendix
Pre-K Enrollment Rates
by Region and State 26
Selected Bibliography 28
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 1
table of contents
Sidebars
SEF and Early Childhood Education 9
What is a State Pre-K Program? 16
What is High-Quality Pre-K Today? 21
More on Pre-K in the South on the Web 25

improve readiness for success, not just in the early years
of education but over the life of the child.
Leaders from all walks of life throughout the South
have begun to make significant contributions toward
providing publicly supported quality Pre-K. In fact, many
Southern states are leading the nation in the quality
of such services, the numbers of students served and
documentation of impacts to inform future efforts.
Pre-K programs have an educational focus and rigor
different from that provided by Head Start or most
day-care programs. While all are valuable, the data show
that quality Pre-K programs have especially dramatic
impacts on the learning readiness and achievement
levels of very young children.
In the future, SEF will convene and work with Southern
leaders of all types – business, public, education, community,
policymaker – to keep the momentum of change
strong. There is much that Southerners can learn from
each other and from others involved in quality Pre-K
service delivery in other parts of the nation.
The South has many shortcomings in education which
leaders have begun to address with courage and
vision. But in the area of Pre-K, many Southern states
are leaders in the finest sense of the word.
SEF intends to “stay the course” and help Southern
states remain at the forefront of leadership in this
vital area. We have no doubt that publicly supported,
high-quality Pre-K programs will become part of the
education pipeline for all children in the future. SEF
will work to make it so.
Lynn Huntley
President
The Southern Education Foundation
April 2007
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 3
The year 2007 is the 140th anniversary of the founding
of the Southern Education Foundation (SEF). From its
origins in 1867 with the establishment of the Peabody
Fund to the present, SEF has had one aim: To help the
people of the South improve educational quality, access,
attainment and opportunity so that the region can
provide a better life for everyone, no matter how poor
or what color, religion, race or ethnicity.
Through its service and leadership, SEF has helped
Southerners identify innovative ways to improve education
for low-income people as the best means to
reduce, if not eliminate, the many pockets of concentrated
poverty that make the South the nation’s poorest
region. SEF has made unique contributions to enhance
teacher preparation, development and recruitment;
advance diversity in higher education; and build capacity
among historically Black colleges and universities. It has
informed a broad public with its policy analyses, cuttingedge
research and educational outreach programs.
It has invested in leadership across the region – for
human capital is our most cherished resource and
source of innovation. SEF is still involved in all of these
areas, from preschool through higher education.
Though not well known, SEF was in earlier times one
of the leaders of the South’s efforts to provide publicly
supported elementary and secondary education for all
students on a fair and equal basis. Later, SEF encouraged
policymakers to provide publicly supported kindergarten
to all of the South’s children. Millions of children have
entered first grade better equipped for learning as a
result of these efforts.
With a gathering sense of optimism, SEF is building on
the work of the past to help Southerners take advantage
of the growing body of contemporary knowledge about
the effects of early childhood education. The news is
good. Data in this report demonstrate that quality prekindergarten
programs (Pre-K) add remarkable benefits
to the extant investment in kindergarten programs.
Indeed, the data show that quality Pre-K programs,
targeted at children of three and four years of age,
preface

Pre-K – The South
Leads the Nation
Over the last 140 years, Southern states have made
significant progress in catching up with the nation in
education and income, but in recent decades the South’s
gains have virtually flattened as the world economy
continues to elevate the critical role of education in
innovation, productivity and income. Today, most Southern
states remain where they were in the early 1980s,
closer to the national average than they were decades
ago, but still at or near the bottom of the nation’s major
rankings in education, income and well-being.
There is an all-important exception to this pattern of
Southern underperformance: high-quality, early childhood
education – pre-kindergarten (Pre-K). Several
Southern states have become the nation’s leaders in
Pre-K over the last 10 years. As a result, the South in
2007 leads the nation in offering state-funded Pre-K
to three- and four-year-old children:| 19% of three- and four-year-olds in the South are
in state-funded Pre-K, more than double the rate in
non-South states.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 5
executive summary
Estimated Enrollment Rates
State Pre-K, 2007
Percent of 3- & 4-Year-Olds Served by State Pre-K
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
National Non-South South
13%
8%
19%
6 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
But Pre-K has not developed uniformly across the South.
For instance, as of the start of 2007, Mississippi was the
only Southern state that had no state Pre-K program;
and Alabama has a state program with only a minuscule
enrollment. In contrast, Georgia and Oklahoma have
ranked at the top of the nation in terms of both enrollment
and high-quality standards for the last several
years, and Arkansas has emerged as a new national
leader in Pre-K.
To realize the full benefits of Pre-K, Southern states
must continue to build and expand on their early, good
start. For the region to maintain national leadership
in this vital field of education, Southern states will have
to make substantial, additional investments in Pre-K.
Equally importantly, the South has miles to go in ensuring
that high-quality standards are actually realized as programs
expand across the states and that gains in Pre-K
learning do not dissipate in the early elementary grades.
Southern states will need to establish an adequate
infrastructure for sustaining successful Pre-K growth over
time, support an unbroken continuum of independent
research for evidence-based analysis and decision making,
and facilitate meaningful collaboration among entities
that provide early childhood care and education in
local communities.
The South’s continued leadership in Pre-K is an essential
strategy in finally closing the gap between the South and
the nation in educational attainment, personal income
and quality of life. Pre-K is not all that should be done
to improve the South, but it is proving to be an essential
part of what must to be done.| Two-thirds of the states with the highest standards
for Pre-K quality are in the South.| Only six states require full-day Pre-K programs
statewide, and all are in the South.| Nine Southern states fund Pre-K above the national
average cost per child.
Today, Pre-K is the South’s most important comparative
advantage in education and a significant, efficient
economic investment for the future. Pre-K promises
to go a long way in assisting the South to overcome its
historical deficit in education and eventually help move
the region out of the bottom ranks in education, income
and prosperity. When combined with other investments
and improvements throughout the education pipeline,
Pre-K can make a big difference for children and
for communities.
An overwhelming body of independent research
confirms that early childhood education has become
strategically important in shaping a child’s real-life
prospects and a state’s long-term future. The research
shows that high-quality, state-supported Pre-K across
the South is helping all children – especially low-income,
African American and Latino children – prepare for
school. In Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland,
Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia, independent
researchers have recently undertaken studies that
found strong evidence of positive effects on young
children’s learning in areas of language, literacy and
math skills. In some states, primarily Oklahoma,
Louisiana and Georgia, the results appear phenomenal.
In six Southern states, independent cost-benefit studies
consistently document very large economic gains from
investing in Pre-K. In Texas, for example, for each dollar
invested in high-quality Pre-K, the state can realize as
much as $3.50 in direct benefits or as much as $7.70
in direct and indirect benefits. The research evidences
substantial economic gains for all Southern states where
these studies have been undertaken.
Pre-K in Southern Education
The American South has lagged behind the nation in
education and income since before the Civil War. Over
the last 140 years, Southern states have made notable
progress in catching up with the nation. During the 20th
century, the South narrowed the income gap with the
rest of the country, especially in the years following both
the New Deal and the end of legalized racial segregation.
In the aftermath of both eras, the South rapidly
expanded its income relative to the national average
once the South’s people were afforded new opportunities
to develop their human capital.
In the last 25 years, however, the new world economy
has greatly enlarged the critical role of education in
innovation, productivity and income, and the South’s
gains in both education and personal income have
virtually flattened. The gaps in income that existed in
the early 1980s generally persist today in the South –
and notably in the Deep South.1
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 7
introduction
1The Southern Education Foundation includes 15 states in the South,
of which six are often referred to as the Deep South. The 15 Southern
states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The six Deep South
states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi
and South Carolina.
South Deep South
LEGEND
Per Capita Income in the South and
Deep South as a Percent of US Average,
1930–2005
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1930 1945 1960 1975 1990 2005
8 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
recent years has been the learning gains of fourth grade
students. In several Southern states, these elementary
school students demonstrated higher gains in reading
and math than the national average from 1998 through
2005. Yet, on almost all important educational benchmarks
for achievement and attainment, the South has
shown little progress and remains behind the nation.
There is an all-important, primary exception to this
Southern pattern of underperformance: high-quality,
early childhood education – Pre-K. Several Southern
states have become the nation’s leaders in Pre-K over
the last 10 years, and as of early 2007, the South leads
the nation in offering state Pre-K to three- and fouryear-
old children. Some Southern states also rank
among the nation’s top programs in terms of quality
and effectiveness.
The national movement to establish state-supported
Pre-K as the foundation of early childhood education
for a large number of children is a recent development.
In the early 1990s, two Southern states, Georgia and
Oklahoma, initiated efforts that led to the development
of the first statewide Pre-K educational programs in the
country. While federal support for Head Start began over
40 years ago and some states (in and outside the South)
established small Pre-K programs earlier, the initiatives
in Georgia and Oklahoma were the first to become
far-reaching, truly state programs of early education.
In 1992, Georgia Governor Zell Miller established a
Pre-K program financed by proceeds from the state’s
new lottery, which had been narrowly approved by voters
in a state referendum that Miller promoted. A year later,
Georgia became the first state to establish a Pre-K program
funded entirely with lottery revenues. In the first
few years, the program served only low-income children.
In 1995, Governor Miller announced that Georgia was
expanding the Pre-K initiative to become the first state
to offer universal, voluntary Pre-K to all four-year-olds.
Today more than ever, the difference in per capita income
between most Southern states and the rest of the nation
is due primarily to the region’s comparatively lower levels
of education. For example, almost 70 percent of the
difference between Arkansas’ per capita income (ranked
47th among states in 2005) and the national average is
attributable solely to Arkansas’ lower levels of education.
In several Southern states, education plays an even larger
role in explaining the state’s low income.
Arkansas’ Low Education Explains
the State’s Low Income
Factors Explaining Difference Between Arkansas and Nation
Per Capita Income
69%
Lower
Education
21%
Higher
Rural
Population
10%
Lower
Employment
per Capita
The historical trends and current economic research
provide a clear lesson: If the South’s personal income is
ever to reach the national average, Southern states must
increase their levels of educational attainment to match
or exceed the national average.
During the last three decades, Southern states have
initiated a wide range of reforms to improve their educational
systems and economies, including adopting
mandatory testing and measurable standards for achievement.
But so far the results have been mixed at best.
One of the few encouraging signs of regional progress in
In 2000, all but two Southern states, Mississippi
and Florida, had some kind of Pre-K pilot or program.
By the start of 2007, as research consistently evidenced
the growing educational and economic benefits of Pre-K,
all but one Southern state, Mississippi, had established
a significant effort to make state-supported Pre-K a more
important part of their strategies for improving the
South’s future.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 9
In his announcement, Governor Miller set a new
standard for Georgia, the South and the nation:
Today we become the first state in the country, in fact,
the first state in the nation’s history, to offer Pre-K for every
four-year-old who wants it… The benefits of Pre-K now
belong to every Georgia parent who has a four-year-old.
In 1990, as part of a broad agenda of education reform,
Oklahoma launched a new Pre-K program for students
eligible for Head Start. Over the next few years, the
Oklahoma program expanded both reach and eligibility
so that by the late 1990s it had become integrated into
the public school system as a statewide program open
to four-year-olds regardless of income. From early days,
Oklahoma set a high standard for Pre-K quality. The
program required teachers with a bachelor’s degree
and an early childhood teaching certificate, regular
professional development for teachers, a low teacherstudent
ratio, and a curriculum that aligned with early
elementary grades.
By the end of the 1990s, other states such as New York,
Illinois and New Jersey had begun to make large investments
in Pre-K, and most Southern states started to
explore or experiment with preschool education. At
that time, newly published research on the human brain
began to demonstrate how the learning functions of a
child require nurturing, interaction and stimulus, usually
before the age of five, in order to promote learning at
later ages. In addition, the results from a few long-term
empirical studies of the positive effects of Pre-K on children’s
life chances were widely disseminated. Together,
these two lines of research reawakened a wide interest in
the importance and effectiveness of early education.
SEF and Early Childhood Education
As early as the late 1890s, the Southern Education
Foundation (known at that time as the Peabody
Education Fund) recognized the need for early childhood
care and education by assisting some of the
South’s Black colleges to start day-care programs
on their campuses.
Forty years ago, SEF announced that “while early
education is not the solution to all our education
problems,” it is a critical concern especially for
“children who because of race and poverty have been
excluded from access to real education.” Beginning
in 1976, SEF undertook a series of approaches to
establish state-supported kindergarten across the
South and to spur the growth of community-based
child care centers in the rural South. Working with
experts, policymakers, community leaders, and
schools of education at both state universities and
HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities),
SEF helped to lead the way for Southern states to
adopt kindergarten as an integral part of the modern
public education system.
10 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
often start school behind and score lowest on standardized
tests. For example, both African American and
Hispanic students in Pre-K made impressive gains in all
tested skills – letter-word identification, spelling and
problem solving. And they made significantly higher
gains than those made by White children. Similarly,
children from low-income families in Tulsa’s Pre-K made
excellent gains in learning that outpaced the gains of
all other children from families with higher incomes.
This study illuminates not only how Pre-K helps to
jump-start the learning of the children who often are
not school-ready but also corroborates the fact that
Pre-K is a benefit to all children. In comparing children
with and without Pre-K, the study found that “the
child exposed to Tulsa Pre-K is substantially better off.”
Expressed in terms of age-appropriate skills, the study
found that Pre-K kids were approximately seven months
ahead of other children in cognitive skills for letter-word
identification, six months ahead for spelling, and three
months ahead in learning applied problems.
Pre-K Will Advance
Southern Education
High-quality Pre-K programs for three- and four-year-old
children are among the best education investments a
state can make. The independent research documenting
the positive effects of Pre-K in Southern states is remarkably
consistent and clear. In Oklahoma, for example, an
independent study by Georgetown University demonstrates
clearly that high-quality Pre-K prepares all children
to be school-ready. After examining the learning skills
of children enrolled in Pre-K in Tulsa over two years
(2001-2003), the Oklahoma study shows that students
in every racial and ethnic group and in every income
group made substantial gains in basic cognitive skills.
The Oklahoma study also confirms that Pre-K delivers
the largest gains in early learning skills to minority and
low-income children – the student groups who most
Learning Levels in Oklahoma
Pre-K and No Pre-K
5-4
5-2
5-0
4-10
4-8
4-6
4-4
4-2
4-0
Letter-Word Spelling Applied
Identification Problems
Pre-K No Pre-K
Note: Age-equivalent scores are expressed in years and months.
LEGEND
AGE
5-2
4-7
5-0
4-6
4-9
4-5
Learning Gains in Oklahoma Pre-K
by Race and Income
Test Score Gains by Race/Ethnicity of Student
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Black Hispanic Native White
American
53%
29%
21%
79%
39%
54%
49%
20% n.s.
35%
52%
26%
6% n.s.
Letter-Word Identification
Spelling
Applied Problems
n.s.= not significant
LEGEND
“Children enrolled in the Georgia Pre-K program gained
substantially on their peers nationally on the assessments
of language and cognitive skills,” the researchers concluded.
“They began preschool well behind the national
norms on three of four skills assessments and finished
well above the national norms” by end of the first grade
on three assessments (and on par with the national norm
on the fourth assessment).
In addition, the GSU study found that Georgia Pre-K
children were the students who are least likely to repeat
kindergarten. Only 2.8 percent of the children who had
been in Georgia Pre-K repeated kindergarten in 2003-
2004; this retention rate was less than half the percentage
of all students repeating kindergarten and almost
one-fifth the rate for Head Start students. In fact, Pre-K
students were generally more school-ready than all other
groups of children – those attending Head Start, private
preschool or no preschool.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 11
In West Virginia, South Carolina and Arkansas, researchers
from Rutgers University’s National Institute for Early
Education Research (NIEER) have undertaken similarly
measured studies in recent years on random groups of
children to determine the educational impact of statesupported
Pre-K on four-year-olds. In each state, NIEER
found “strong evidence of positive effects on children’s
learning in areas of language, literacy and math skills.”
In each state, while Pre-K programs created substantial
growth in children’s learning in all areas, the gains in
“print awareness” more than doubled in all states.
In Georgia, scholars at Georgia State University (GSU)
have studied the academic impact of the state’s Pre-K
program for several years and consistently have found
significant growth in all areas of learning among all Pre-K
children – especially low-income and minority students.
Their latest findings followed a sample of children over
time to measure how Pre-K skills carry forward into the
first years of elementary school.
Learning Growth in Pre-K in Southern States
Percent of Growth in Learning Skills During Pre-K
140%
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Arkansas South Carolina West Virginia
31%
37%
116%
42%
N/A
102%
30%
63%
121%
Receptive Vocabulary
Mathematical Skills
Print Awareness
LEGEND
Georgia Students Not School-Ready, 2003–04
Percent of Students Repeating Kindergarten
16%
12%
8%
4%
0%
Pre-K Head Private No All
Start Preschool Preschool Students
2.8%
13.6%
4.4%
5.9%
5.8%
12 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
In other words, a half-year of Pre-K had the same degree
of positive effects for low-income third graders as all
of Louisiana’s six years (1999-2005) of education reform
and investments, which involved accountability, curriculum
standards, yearly standards-based and high-stakes
testing, reading programs, remediation efforts, and all
other special reforms and interventions for low-income
students in the fourth, eighth and twelfth grades.
Essentially, the positive effects of one year of a half-day
Pre-K equaled the cumulative results from all other
K-12 reforms over six years.
The academic gains of Pre-K students, which these
recent state-based studies document in the South,
appear to continue beyond a student’s early grades.
In the long-term study of the Perry early childhood
education program, students who attended preschool
were three times more likely to make better grades and
significantly more likely to graduate from high school
on time than students without high-quality Pre-K.
Georgetown University’s recent study of Louisiana’s fullday
program for low-income children has extended the
examination of Pre-K’s impact into the third grade.
Researchers tracked a cohort of the first class of Pre-K
students in the state’s LA4 program who moved into
elementary schools. In short, the learning gains of these
four-year-olds who had only one semester of Pre-K (not
a full year as is the case in following years) have been
phenomenal, especially in comparison to the cumulative
results of the state’s wide-ranging set of additional
K-12 reforms.
The independent scholars found that the LA4 Pre-K
children increased by 12 percent the proportion of lowincome
children scoring at or above basic in the third
grade tests. This gain by Pre-K children exactly matches
the percentage of gain that low-income fourth, eighth,
and twelfth graders have achieved in Louisiana test scores
since 1999 when major K-12 reforms began in the state.
Louisiana Pre-K: Monumental Impact
Gains from Half-Year of “LA4” Pre-K
Equal K-12 Reform Gains (1999–2005)
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
3rd graders 4th, 8th &
12th graders
Percent
making
gains
who had
only 1/2
year of
LA4
Percent
making
gains
who had
benefit
of K-12
Reforms
=
Percent of Additional Low-Income
Students Scoring at Basic or Above
Long-Term Education Outcomes of Pre-K
Perry Preschool: Educational Effects
Pre-K No Pre-K
LEGEND
Special Education
Age 14 Achievement at 10th Percentile
Graduated from High School on Time
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
15%
34%
49%
15%
66%
45%
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 13
The long-term studies of a North Carolina preschool
program, Abecedarian, reveal similar academic gains
that reach years into the future. For example, Pre-K
students at Abecedarian were almost three times
more likely to go to a four-year college than students
without Pre-K.
All controlled, long-term studies of high-quality preschool
programs reveal the same trend line: Pre-K
students can carry their gains in learning and learning
skills forward. In other words, Pre-K students in the
South will perform better in school, stay out of trouble
with the law, graduate on time from high school and
go on to college more often than other students.
Long-Term Academic Outcomes of Pre-K
Abecedarian Program in North Carolina
Pre-K No Pre-K
LEGEND
Received Special Education
Repeated a Grade
Graduated from High School
Attended Four Year College
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
25%
48%
31%
55%
67%
51%
36%
13%
14 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
viduals and for states in developing human skills. One
reason for such remarkable results, Heckman observes,
is that the early childhood years are when children
develop fundamental, lasting skills – both cognitive
and social. At three and four years of age, children learn
how to learn and how to achieve – absorbing lifelong
qualities such as curiosity, persistence, focus, aspiration,
patience and cooperation into learning habits. The social
skills that Pre-K students learn can influence success in
school and in life just as much as their learning skills. In
combination, these different skills can help take a child
a long way.
Pre-K Will Help the South’s
Economy and Quality of Life
In recent years, economists and business groups across
the nation have begun to document the importance of
early childhood education as an investment in economic
development. In the last couple of years, for example,
the Business Roundtable (representing America’s top
500 corporations), the Committee for Economic Development
(a 60-year-old national business group), and the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis have issued reports
demonstrating that high-quality Pre-K programs provide
the best long-term investment for economic growth. In
their words, the economic return “on investment from
early childhood development is extraordinary.” Pre-K
offers “greater potential returns and substantially less
risk” than state subsidies and incentives that try to
attract plant locations, company headquarters, office
towers, entertainment centers, or professional sports
stadiums and arenas.
One of America’s Nobel laureate of economics, James
Heckman of the University of Chicago, is examining
the economic gains in national productivity that come
from early childhood education. Heckman has found
that high-quality preschool programs have a very high
economic benefit for communities. “We cannot afford
to postpone investing in children until they become
adults,” Heckman observes, “nor can we wait until they
reach school age…” The economic benefits that Heckman
documents flow from the ways Pre-K sets in motion
a long-range pattern of learning that helps to keep
students in school, out of juvenile detention and crime,
and on their way to becoming active citizens and productive
workers who contribute to a state’s increased
productivity and quality of life.
Based on his review of hundreds of studies, Heckman
believes that Pre-K is currently the single most effective
and efficient investment in building human capital.
High-quality Pre-K produces the largest returns for indi-
There have been long-term studies of high-quality
preschool education that show clearly the comparative
economic value of Pre-K. For example, in one of the
nation’s older, most closely documented programs,
Perry Preschool, researchers have followed neighborhood
children into adulthood and now are able to
compare what actually has happened to participants
and nonparticipants from a working-class, low-income
area. The results are striking.
Heckman’s Model for Best Rate of Return
in Human Capital Investment
Rate of return to investment in human capital
0 Age
Preschool School Post-school
r
Opportunity cost of funds
Preschool programs
Schooling
Job training
There has been a study of the combined direct and indirect
benefits from investing in Pre-K in four Southern
states. These calculations include not only the “direct”
benefits of increasing taxes and avoiding some current
government expenses but also “indirect” benefits such
as increased personal income. On these terms, the costbenefit
ratios grow substantially. In Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Texas, the cost-benefit ratios for public
investments in high-quality Pre-K were as large as $1 to
$8 when both direct and indirect benefits were included
in the calculations. Simply put, for every dollar these
states invest in high-quality Pre-K, the state will get back
a minimum of $7 over time.
In terms of macroeconomic measures, Arthur J. Rolnick,
senior vice-president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis,
has documented that investing in high-quality
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 15
The middle-aged adults who had the benefits of Perry
Preschool are today four times more likely than those
without the program to earn a good monthly income.
They are almost three times more likely to own their own
home and twice as likely to have never been on welfare
as an adult. The results from other programs with longterm
studies show similar results.
In several Southern states, cost-benefit studies have
demonstrated the potential economic advantages of
investing in Pre-K. The cost-benefit studies that have
measured direct benefits from Pre-K investments show
that for every dollar invested, Southern states will realize
between $2.25 and $5.20 in savings and benefits (see
chart right). In West Virginia, Marshall University’s business
research center found the cost benefit ratio as $1
to $5.20. In Texas, a study by the Bush School of Government
and Public Service found that for every $1 spent
on Pre-K the state will generate $3.50 in savings. The
North Carolina cost-benefit study found that every dollar
invested in Pre-K will return $4 in direct benefits in
that state.
High-Quality Preschool: Economic Outcomes
Perry Preschool: Economic Effects
Pre-K No Pre-K
LEGEND
Earn $2,000+ monthly
Own home
Never on welfare as adult
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
29%
7%
36%
13%
41%
20%
Cost Benefit Analysis of Pre-K
in Southern States
Amount of Direct Benefits for Every $1 Pre-K Investment
Arkansas
Louisiana
West Virginia
$0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6
$2.32
$1.00
$2.25
$1.00
$5.20
$1.00
Texas
$3.50
$1.00
North Carolina
$4.00
$1.00
16 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
In Arkansas, an econometric projection in 2006 undertaken
for an SEF study indicated that the academic and
economic outcomes of Pre-K could grow the state’s economy
by an extra $15 billion – a rate of over 11 percent –
within two generations, if Arkansas made high-quality
Pre-K available to all three- and four-year-olds among
the state’s low-income and working-class families.
In discussing education’s critical role in reducing
income inequality in America, Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke pointed out the importance of Pre-K
in a speech in early 2007. “Although education and the
acquisition of skills is a lifelong process, starting early in
life is crucial,” Bernanke stated. “Recent research…has
documented the high returns that early childhood programs
can pay in terms of subsequent educational
attainment and in lower rates of social problems, such
as teenage pregnancy and welfare dependency.”
In summary, across a wide spectrum of possible
investments for creating economic growth and income,
improving a state’s quality of life, and developing a
state’s physical and human capital, Pre-K currently ranks
above all others. Today, it is the South’s most efficient,
rewarding economic investment for the future and
the region’s most important comparative advantage
in education.
Pre-K produces a larger rate of return than almost all
traditional economic development investments. Rolnick
finds that even after adjusting for inflation, Pre-K provides
a rate of return of 12 to 16 percent. As Rolnick observes
about investing in Pre-K, “the costs of not making such
an investment are just too great to ignore.”
What is a State Pre-K Program?
This report does not consider or define Pre-K as including
any and all state childhood education programs.
Each element of a state’s early childhood services has
a real, promising role for improving the development
and learning of young children from birth through
five, especially parent training centers and parental
assistance with in-home instruction for low-income
families. These types of programs are probably necessary
components of any on-going, successful Pre-K
program, but, as stand-alone programs, they do not
provide the same experience for a child as Pre-K. Nor
is there a solid body of research at this time to verify
that these types of programs on their own have large
educational and economic gains that match those
of Pre-K. For these reasons, this report considers and
defines pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) as only preschool
experiences in private centers and public classrooms
that include independent standards and assessments
to assure a high-quality program.
Pre-K Impact on the Arkansas Economy
Projections of Extra Growth in the State GDP by Year 2035
$155
$150
$145
$140
$135
$130
$125
No Pre-K Pre-K
$151
Billion
$136
Billion
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Pre-K
in Southern States
Amount of Direct and Indirect Benefits
for Every $1 Pre-K Investment
$10
$9
$8
$7
$6
$5
$4
$3
$2
$1
$0
Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Texas
$1.00
$8.00
$1.00
$8.20
$1.00
$6.90
$1.00
$7.70
SEF’s estimates show the nation’s enrollment rate was
at approximately 13 percent.
Since the beginning of 2000, most states have increased
enrollment of eligible children in Pre-K at a steady pace.
However, especially in states leading the nation in Pre-K
enrollment, new Pre-K slots did not grow enough to
outpace the enlarging number of young children who
became of age for Pre-K. In other words, the growth in
the number of three- and four-year-olds in many states
matched or exceeded the growth of new Pre-K openings.
Therefore, from 2001-2007, there was relatively little
growth in Pre-K enrollment rates in several states,
including the three Southern states (Oklahoma, Georgia
and Texas) that have become the nation’s leaders in
Pre-K coverage.
This slowdown did not apply to all states. During the
first seven years of the decade, some states – primarily
in the South – grew their Pre-K enrollment at a rapid
pace. Florida, Kentucky and Arkansas along with Illinois
improved their enrollment rates by at least 10 percentage
points during this time. North Carolina, New Jersey,
and Louisiana also grew Pre-K enrollment by an average
of at least 1 percentage point each year over seven years.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 17
Pre-K Access and Enrollment:
The South Leads the Nation
As of 2007, the South leads the rest of the nation in
Pre-K enrollment. Seven of the top 10 states with the
highest estimated enrollment rates are Southern. Ten
of the South’s 15 states comprise half of top 20 states
for Pre-K enrollment of three- and four-year-old children.
2Estimates for Pre-K enrollment in 2007 are computed as the percentage
of three- and four-year-old children enrolled in state-supported
Pre-K. This rate is based on both ages since some states include both
three- and four-year-olds in their coverage and because research indicates
that children of both age groups can benefit from appropriate
play-based academic learning.
While Oklahoma, Georgia, West Virginia, and Texas
have been nationally ranked for several years, they have
been joined in 2007 by Kentucky, Florida and Arkansas
in the top ranks for Pre-K enrollment rates.2 As a result,
the South in 2007 has twice the estimated rate of Pre-K
enrollment as the rest of the country.
Nineteen percent of the South’s three- and four-yearold
children are in state-supported Pre-K as of the start
of 2007, while the rest of the nation has a rate of only
8 percent. The national rate, including the Southern
states, stands at 13 percent.
During the last seven years, the enrollment rates of all
three- and four-year-olds across the country in statesupported
Pre-K have grown steadily but slowly. In 2001-
2002, according to NIEER, 9 percent of the nation’s
three- and four-year-olds were in Pre-K. By 2007,
Top 10 Pre-K States
2007 Estimated Enrollment Rates
Oklahoma 33% Illinois 25%
Kentucky 32% Texas 24%
Florida 32% New Jersey 23%
Vermont 29% West Virginia 21%
Georgia 27% Arkansas 17%
Estimated Enrollment Rates
State Pre-K, 2007
Percent of 3- & 4-Year-Olds Served by State Pre-K
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
National Non-South South
13%
8%
19%
18 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
Kentucky advanced to second place among the states
in 2007 Pre-K coverage – only 1 percentage point
behind the national leader, Oklahoma. Also, unlike
Florida’s, Kentucky’s Pre-K program receives solid marks
for high quality.
From 2001 to 2007, Arkansas quadrupled its enrollment
rate of Pre-K coverage from only 4 percent of all the
state’s three- and four-year-old children to a total of
17 percent. While maintaining some of the nation’s best,
high-quality standards, the growth in Arkansas Pre-K
enrollment has moved the state into national leadership
for early childhood education.
Similarly, both North Carolina and Louisiana have moved
out of the nation’s lowest ranks for Pre-K enrollment during
the current decade. In 2001, North Carolina Pre-K
enrolled barely more than one-half of one percent of all
three- and four-year-old children in the state. In 2007,
the state has an estimated enrollment of 8 percent, and,
by the latest study, maintains its status as one of the top
programs in the nation for high-quality standards. Also,
Louisiana has tripled its Pre-K enrollment rate since 2001,
when less than 3 percent of the state’s three- and fouryear-
olds were in state-supported Pre-K.
Vermont remains a leader in Pre-K enrollment, although
its rate of growth has slowed. The two non-Southern
states, Illinois and New Jersey, that made significant
gains in Pre-K enrollment since 2001 were also able to
establish high benchmarks for quality. While New Jersey
increased its rate of enrollment by 7 percentage points
and Illinois enlarged coverage by 10 points, both had
Pre-K systems3 that in 2006 were rated with four Southern
states (Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina and
Tennessee) as the best in the country.
With the 2002 passage of a referendum amending the
state constitution (an effort that received only lukewarm
support from the state’s primary elected officials), Florida
voters endorsed universal, state-supported Pre-K. Three
years later, after intense political in-fighting, the Florida
legislature finally passed a Pre-K law and in only two
years Pre-K in Florida has grown from zero to 32 percent
enrollment of all three- and four-year-olds. This growth
in enrollment has not been matched by a growth in per
child funding, which remains among the lowest levels in
the country (roughly $2,625 per child per year).
As a result, Florida has become a leading state in Pre-K
enrollment in the space of two years, but endangers
the long-term promise of Pre-K if it continues to lag near
the nation’s bottom in per child funding and possibly
in quality.
Kentucky was ranked among the top states for Pre-K
enrollment of three- and four-year-old children in
2001, and the state has continued to enlarge its rate
of coverage. With an increase of 16 percentage points,
3The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) rates state
Pre-K programs across the nation for establishing high-quality standards.
New Jersey maintains more than one Pre-K program, but its
largest program is commonly known as the “Abbott Preschools.” This
program, named after the court case of Abbott v. Burke (149 N.J. 145,
693 A.2d 417, 1997) that prompted the funding for the Pre-K programs,
meets benchmarks that the 2006 NIEER study established for
highest quality.
Estimated Growth in Pre-K Enrollment Rates,
2001-2007
States with Slow Growth
2007 2001
LEGEND
Texas
Georgia
Oklahoma
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
24%
23%
27%
27%
33%
28%
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 19
Pre-K Quality Standards:
The South Leads the Nation
The South has led the nation throughout this decade
in establishing and maintaining high standards for statesupported
Pre-K. In the only national survey of state
Pre-K quality, the National Institute for Early Education
Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University has found Southern
states to have the highest rankings for state Pre-K
quality standards since its first report in 2001. In fact,
six Southern states – Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma,
North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – have
ranked among the top states for high-quality Pre-K
benchmarks in each surveyed year.
As in most fields of education, preschool experts do not
agree about the exact standards for high-quality Pre-K,
but NIEER tracks nationally 10 basic benchmarks that
constitute a general consensus about the framework for
high quality. The states that have established more of
these standards since 2000 are Southern.
All told, Southern states constitute two-thirds of the
states with the highest standards for quality in Pre-K
across America.
One factor that is especially important to ensure the
impact of high quality is the length of the Pre-K day.
The longer experience in early childhood education of
other economically advanced countries tends to confirm
the need for full-day programs. While young children
require rest and quiet times throughout the school day,
gains in child development and education at ages three
and four are more likely to occur in full-day programs.
Top States in Pre-K Quality Standards,
2001-2006
Southern States in Bold
2001
Arkansas (9) Georgia (7)
Illinois (9) Kentucky (7)
New Jersey (9) Minnesota (7)
Oklahoma (8) New York (7)
Tennessee (8) North Carolina (7)
Alabama (7) South Carolina (7)
Delaware (7)
2003
Arkansas (10) Maryland (8)
North Carolina (9) South Carolina (8)
New Jersey (9) Tennessee (8)
Illinois (9) Louisiana (8)
Alabama (8) New York (8)
Oklahoma (8) Minnesota (8)
2005
Arkansas (9) Georgia (8)
North Carolina (9) Minnesota (8)
New Jersey (9) Delaware (8)
Illinois (9) South Carolina (8)
Tennessee (9) Kentucky (8)
Alabama (9) Louisiana (8)
Oklahoma (8)
2006
Alabama (10) Delaware (8)
North Carolina (10) Georgia (8)
Arkansas (9) Kentucky (8)
Illinois (9) Minnesota (8)
Oklahoma (9) Nebraska (8)
Tennessee (9) South Carolina (8)
New Jersey (8.5) Louisiana (7.8)
All other states with Pre-K programs scored 7 or below.
Numbers of benchmarks met are indicated in parentheses.
20 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
As of the start of 2007, all but 11 states left the length
of the Pre-K day to the local provider. Several states
allocate funding for nothing more than a half-day and
permit local schools and centers to extend the day if
they can find the additional resources. The largest New
Jersey Pre-K program operates a full day, but the two
other state programs do not. Only six states require fullday
Pre-K programs to operate throughout their states.
All are in the South.
Another factor critical for high-quality and high-impact
Pre-K is adequate funding. No state can deliver on high
standards without spending a reasonable, necessary
amount of money per child to ensure quality. States that
spend the most money per child in Pre-K cannot guarantee
high quality by that measure alone, but states that
underfund Pre-K will rarely, if ever, deliver on high quality.
Southern states have not measured as high on this
important indicator as they do in growing enrollment,
setting high standards and operating full-day programs.
Only three Southern states – Georgia, North Carolina
and Alabama – have consistently spent at least $3,000
per Pre-K child since 2000, and only North Carolina has
ranked yearly in the top one-third of the states in terms
of per-child expenditures in Pre-K.
State-Established Full-Day Pre-K Programs
Arkansas Louisiana
Georgia Alabama
North Carolina Tennessee
Southern State Pre-K Per Pupil Expenditures
Two-Year Median, 2005–2006
Alabama (16)
Arkansas (6)
Florida (29)
$0 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000
$4,332
$6,022
$2,625
Georgia (20)
$3,910
Kentucky (31)
$2,307
Louisiana (14)
$4,618
Maryland (39)
$1,286
Mississippi (N/A)
$0
North Carolina (7)
$5,729
Oklahoma (28)
$2,941
South Carolina (38)
$1,287
Tennessee (18)
$4,195
Texas (21)
$3,754
Virginia (15)
$4,410
West Virginia (11)
$4,962
United States
$3,669
National ranking of state Pre-K per pupil expenditures in parentheses.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 21
This pattern of comparatively low per-pupil funding has
a longer, broader history in Southern education, but as
it relates to Pre-K, the practice appears to be shifting for
the better. Since 2001, the number of Southern states
ranking in the top 20 for per-child funding has gradually
increased. In 2005-06, eight Southern states were ranked
among the nation’s top 20 states in terms of per-child
funding: Arkansas (6th), North Carolina (7th), West
Virginia (11th), Louisiana (14th), Virginia (15th),
Alabama (16th), Tennessee (18th) and Georgia (20th).
Texas was next in line. In 2001, Arkansas had been
ranked 21st among 36 Pre-K programs across the country
but increased its funding steadily so that by 2006 it
reported the South’s highest per-child funding ($6,022).
Nine Southern states funded Pre-K at a per-child cost
in 2006 above the national average. Oklahoma spent
nearly $3,000 per child, and Florida spent $2,625.
South Carolina and Maryland remained far below,
ranking next to last and last in the nation among states
with programs. Unfortunately, Mississippi spent nothing
per child in 2006 since it was the only Southern state
without a Pre-K program.
Pre-K developments in late 2006 and early 2007 suggest
that the South may be continuing to improve its preschool
financing, although efforts are not uniform within
the region. The South Carolina legislature made a special
appropriation in 2006 for Pre-K in response to a state
court’s order on adequate funding of K-12 education.
Those extra funds could increase the state’s Pre-K perchild
expenditure as well as enrollment in its rural areas.
While enrolling large numbers of children over the last
two years, Florida vastly underfunded its Pre-K program
for the number of children it enrolled. Its per-child
expenditure was barely more than $2,500 in 2005-06,
but appears to be increasing yearly.
What is High-Quality Pre-K Today?
There are several ways to define high-quality Pre-K,
but essentially all such programs usually will have
the following components: a) a healthy, child-friendly
and safe environment; b) effective, highly qualified
teachers; c) the practice of proven learning and
teaching approaches; d) a strong curriculum;
e) small classes with a relatively low child-teacher
ratio; and (f) meaningful parental involvement.
Currently, most states are ranked for high quality
on the basis of the professional standards they established
by statute or regulation. National rankings by
the National Institute for Early Education Research
(NIEER) also include 10 categories of high-quality
benchmarks: 1) comprehensive early learning standards;
2) BA degrees for teachers; 3) specialized
Pre-K training for teachers; 4) assistant teacher
degrees; 5) At least 15 hours per year of in-service
training for professionals; 6) a maximum of 20 children
per class; 7) a staff-child ratio of no more than
one to 10; 8) health screenings and at least one
supportive service; 9) at least one meal per day
served; and 10) site visits for the regular monitoring
of these standards.
At this time, national or regional ranking for highquality
Pre-K do not involve an actual, independent
review of how well high-quality standards are being
implemented in Pre-K centers across the states. As
Pre-K growth approaches a truly universal level, states
will face a larger challenge of insuring the common
practice of high-quality standards.
22 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG| New Jersey has increased Pre-K funding, especially
for low-income children, annually in the last few years.
As a result, the state has moved its enrollment percentages
for three- and four-year-olds from 16 percent in
2001 to an estimated 23 percent in 2007. New Jersey
is also among the states consistently at the top in
NIEER’s ratings for high quality.| Vermont, a very small state with a total of less
than 13,000 three- and four-year-olds, already has
almost one-third of these children in state Pre-K and
is currently considering adding more resources to
establish universal coverage. Other states such as
Massachusetts, New Mexico and Iowa also have
governors and legislative leaders pushing to set up
broad, high-quality programs.
In the South, several states appear to be ready to continue
making major gains in Pre-K in the next few years.| Arkansas’ new Governor, Mike Beebe, made full
funding of the current Pre-K program a headline of
his recent campaign and in early 2007 proposed an
additional, annual $40 million increase for Pre-K funding,
which the Arkansas legislature promptly enacted.
By 2008, Arkansas could match the current enrollment
rates of Georgia, a long-time Pre-K leader. Arkansas
already outranks Georgia and most other states in
establishing high-quality Pre-K benchmarks and perchild
funding. It also has one of only six statewide,
full-day programs. In less than four years, Arkansas
has emerged as a national leader in Pre-K.| North Carolina, with consistent gubernatorial
leadership on the issue of early childhood education,
is ranked today among the nation’s leaders in highquality
Pre-K (1st) and per-child expenditures (7th).
Now, with a new state lottery offering additional
revenues, Pre-K may be on the verge of expanding
by leaps and bounds. North Carolina’s Pre-K is one of
only six statewide, full-day programs and has grown
Emerging Pre-K Trends:
New Challenges
and Possibilities
Individual Southern states lead the nation in Pre-K
enrollment and high-quality programs as of 2007, but
new trends and developments are emerging that may
alter this pattern in and outside the South over the next
four to five years. States outside the South like Illinois
and New Jersey have emerged in recent years as leaders
in Pre-K and are continuing to make large investments
each year.
Within the South, Arkansas, Kentucky and West
Virginia are increasing Pre-K enrollment, while taking
steps to advance quality. Other Southern states like
Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia appear ready
to fulfill promises to broaden their state Pre-K systems.
Although current legislatures and governors cannot
obligate future state governments to appropriate funds
and priorities, some states appear on their way to enlarging
high-quality Pre-K. Outside the South, several states
appear on the move to make Pre-K a cornerstone of their
educational systems:| Illinois, with the leadership of Governor Rod R.
Blagojevich, has established legislation and substantial
funding in order to become the first state in the nation
with a system of universal Pre-K for all three- and fouryear-
old children. (In 1995, Georgia was the first state
to establish universal Pre-K for four-year-olds, but
enrollment rates have flattened at around 50 percent
of eligible children since 2001.) By SEF estimates,
Illinois already is ranked 6th in the nation in Pre-K
enrollment as of 2007 and is grouped with five other
states as leading the nation in meeting Pre-K standards
for high quality.| Within only two years, Florida has created a state
Pre-K system that in 2007 serves almost an estimated
one-third of all three- and four-year-old children.
The state’s estimated enrollment rate ranks second
in the nation as of 2007. Yet, Pre-K is suffering from
a low per-child spending rate and a vastly uneven
quality of schooling and care throughout the state.
These problems are, in part, the product of budgetary
restraints and a consequence of a program’s phenomenal
growth. If Florida successfully improves per-child
funding and program quality, the state is posed to
become one of the nation’s top states in Pre-K.| Oklahoma has been a national leader in Pre-K for
almost 10 years. Governor Brad Henry recently
announced his intention to continue the state’s leadership
by proposing an increase of $30 million in Pre-K
funding to establish a voluntary pilot program for
three-year-olds and to expand enrollment of four-yearolds
by financing Pre-K in private centers. If the state
maintains high-quality Pre-K and increases enrollment
and per-child funding, Oklahoma will remain a
national leader.| Georgia has been one of the nation’s leaders in highquality
Pre-K for the last decade. Today the state
ranks among the top states for high-quality standards,
all-day programs and enrollment. In 2007, an estimated
27 percent of all three- and four-year-olds
were enrolled in Georgia Pre-K. This rate has remained
virtually flat since 2001 and in 2007 caused the state
to fall to fifth in the nation in enrollment of children.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 23
more rapidly in the last two years than most other
state programs. While only an estimated 8 percent
of three- and four-year-olds are covered currently
by North Carolina Pre-K, the “More at Four” program
is itself an infant ready to grow.| With a substantial increase in annual Pre-K funding
for 2007, Kentucky has emerged ahead of Texas,
Georgia and most other states in enrollment rates.
With an estimated coverage of 32 percent of all
three- and four-year-olds, the state holds the distinction
of second place in the nation with Florida – and
barely behind Oklahoma, the national leader. The
state also ranks among the top in benchmarks for
high-quality programs.| West Virginia has reaffirmed its statutory goal of
creating a universal Pre-K system that includes virtually
all four-year-olds in the state by the year 2012. The
state is nearly halfway there, and in 2007 has an
estimated 21 percent of all three- and four-year-olds
in Pre-K. If the state also improves its high-quality
benchmarks and per-child expenditures, West Virginia,
one of the nation’s poorest states, may emerge as a
national leader in advancing Pre-K as a comparative
advantage in education.| Tennessee has only an estimated 6 percent of its
three- and four-year-old children in state-supported
Pre-K programs as of 2007, but Governor Phil Bredesen
has pledged to set up universal coverage for all fouryear-
olds within the next four years. The state legislature
increased annual appropriation by $70 million
over the last two years. Tennessee is already a national
leader in Pre-K quality and has one of six full-day
programs across the country.| In Virginia, Governor Timothy Kaine is working to
create a universal Pre-K system by 2011. Currently,
the state has a pilot program, and the state’s early
childhood education task force in late 2006 released
a report outlining the ways and means to establish
a universal system.
24 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
Going the Distance
Southern states have begun to lead the nation in one
critically important area of education: providing young
children with the education they need to become good
students and good citizens. Over the last two decades,
the South has emerged to lead the nation in expanding
state-supported Pre-K enrollment to three- and fouryear-
old children. Several Southern states also now
lead the nation in establishing state standards that,
when implemented, can assure high-quality Pre-K to
every child.
The major beneficiaries of the South’s nationally ranked
Pre-K programs can be both the region’s children and, in
the long run, all of the region’s people. Southern states
will realize significant economic and educational benefits
if the states continue to move forward in Pre-K and stay
ahead – by building a high-quality universal system of
voluntary early childhood education. Today, Pre-K is the
South’s best comparative advantage in education and
arguably one of the most important economic investments
for advancing the region’s quality of life and
improving its economy over the next 30 to 50 years.
To realize the full benefits of Pre-K, the South must do
more than make a good, early start. At this juncture,
Southern states as a group face significant challenges
and choices in the near future in order to continue to
lead the nation in Pre-K and to realize its future educational
and economic benefits.
conclusion
Pre-K is all-important, but it is not all there is to a child’s
successful education. Pre-K alone cannot transform
the long-standing patterns of inadequate education
and depressed personal income that have burdened
the South for more than 140 years. The South cannot
neglect or shortchange the role of parents nor the necessary
improvements and funding in K-12 education and
higher education, especially for low-income students.
States cannot realistically expect Pre-K programs to
produce students who routinely overcome any and all
obstacles in otherwise inadequate educational systems.
At the same time, if they make the necessary investments
and take the right steps, Southern states can expect
that, over time, high-quality Pre-K will make a big difference
that children can enjoy, researchers can measure,
and ordinary people can see through improvements in
their communities.
There is in every small child a wonderful human potential
that can come alive with a nurturing opportunity
to develop lifelong capacities and habits of mind. The
South needs to tap that enormous potential for the
good of all. Pre-K uniquely holds the promise to help
small children create within themselves the human
tools necessary for a good life and, in so doing, benefit
all people in the South’s future. That is a future worth
investing in today and in the days to come.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 25
First, Southern states must act upon the truth that both
quantity and quality matter in education today. Southern
states must expand enrollment rates while ensuring
that high-quality standards are actually realized in every
Pre-K center. This challenge requires more than merely
expanding slots with low per-pupil expenditures and
adopting high-quality standards. It requires establishing,
implementing and sustaining high-quality programs in
every Pre-K center across each Southern state. It is not
an easy task, but it can be accomplished with consistent,
sufficient funding; talented, trained personnel; focused
strategies for parental involvement; and an infrastructure
that provides support, professional development,
monitoring, regulation and program alignment with
elementary schools. Currently, no Southern state has
in place this infrastructure for sustaining successful Pre-K
growth over time.
Second, Southern states must embrace ongoing Pre-K
research as a necessity. Every state needs a system for
supporting, maintaining and using an unbroken continuum
of independent research that tracks Pre-K children’s
learning and progress, examines teaching methods and
curricula, and identifies effective, innovative ways to
ensure that Pre-K gains enlarge and continue over time
for all students. At the moment, no Southern state has
established a system for this kind of continuous, evidencebased
analysis and decision making.
Third, Southern states must facilitate meaningful
collaboration among federal, state and private entities
that provide early childhood care and education, including
Head Start and others. There will be a growing
need to foster real cooperation and avoid duplication
of services and roles on the local level across each state.
This cooperation will be necessary to maximize limited
community resources and to offer children both safe,
nurturing care and early learning opportunities when
parents elect to take them outside the home.
More on Pre-K in the South on the Web
www.southerneducation.org
A state-by-state review of Pre-K in the South is available
on line at www.southerneducation.org. Also,
SEF’s web site provides additional maps, graphs,
charts, tables and details about pre-kindergarten in
the Southern states.
26 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
Pre-K Enrollment Rates by Region and State
February 2007
appendix
Percent of 3- and 4-Year-Olds
Served by State Pre-K Programs
West
5.6%
South
19.4%
Midwest
9.0%
Northeast
12.0%
National 13.1%
South 19.4%
Non-South 8.4%
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 27
Percent of 3- & 4-Year-Olds
Served by State Pre-K
NORTHEAST 12.0%
Connecticut 9.9%
Delaware 4.1%
Maine 2.3%
Massachusetts 9.3%
New Hampshire 0.0%
New Jersey 23.4%
New York 14.8%
Pennsylvania 3.4%
Rhode Island 0.0%
Vermont 29.0%
MIDWEST 9.0%
Illinois 25.3%
Indiana 0.0%
Iowa 4.7%
Kansas 9.2%
Michigan 9.8%
Minnesota 1.7%
Missouri 3.2%
Nebraska 0.5%
North Dakota 0.0%
Ohio 10.3%
South Dakota 0.0%
Wisconsin 15.2%
Percent of 3- & 4-Year-Olds
Served by State Pre-K
SOUTH 19.4%
Alabama 1.0%
Arkansas 16.8%
Florida 31.7%
Georgia 27.4%
Kentucky 31.9%
Louisiana 9.2%
Maryland 16.0%
Mississippi 0.0%
North Carolina 7.7%
Oklahoma 33.4%
South Carolina 14.1%
Tennessee 5.7%
Texas 24.3%
Virginia 7.0%
West Virginia 21.4%
WE S T 5.6%
Alaska 0.0%
Arizona 4.7%
California 8.0%
Colorado 10.6%
Hawaii 5.2%
Idaho 0.0%
Montana 0.0%
Nevada 1.9%
New Mexico 4.1%
Oregon 4.0%
Utah 0.0%
Washington 4.0%
Wyoming 0.0%
State Listing By Region
28 WWW.SOUTHERNEDUCATION.ORG
Henry, Gary T.; Dana Rickman; Bentley Ponder; Laura
Henderson; Andrew Mashburn; and Craig S. Gordon.
“The Georgia Early Childhood Study,” Georgia State
University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies,
December 2005.
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation,
“The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through
Age 40: Summary, Conclusions, and Frequently Asked
Questions,” November 2004.
Hustedt, Jason T.; W. Steven Barnett; Kwanghee Jung;
and Jessica Thomas. “The Effects of The Arkansas Better
Chance Program on Young Children’s School Readiness,”
The National Institute for Early Education Research,
Rutgers University, January 2007.
Klein, Lisa; and Jane Knitzer. “Promoting Effective
Early Learning: What Every Policymaker and Educator
Should Know,” National Center for Children in Poverty,
Columbia University, January 2007.
Lamy, Cynthia; W. Steven Barnett; and Kwanghee Jung.
“The Effects of South Carolina’s Early Education Program
on Young Children’s School Readiness,” The National
Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University,
December 2005.
Lamy, Cynthia; W. Steven Barnett; and Kwanghee Jung.
“The Effects of West Virginia’s Early Education Program
on Young Children’s School Readiness,” The National
Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University,
December 2005.
Louisiana Department of Education; University of
Louisiana at Lafayette, The Center for Child Development;
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Center for
Educational Accountability; Georgetown University,
Center on Health and Education, “LA 4 & Starting Points
Prekindergarten Program Evaluation 2004-2005.”
Opfer, V. Darlene; Margaret H. H. Brackett; and
Gary T. Henry. “Impact of Georgia’s Pre-K Program on
Kindergarten through Third Grade Teachers,” Council
for School Performance, November 1999.
Aguirre, Elisa; Thomas Gleeson; Amanda McCutchen;
et al. “A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Universally-Accessible
Pre-Kindergarten Education in Texas,” The Bush School
of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University,
May 2006.
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, “Quality
Pre-K Expansion in Arkansas: Lessons Learned,” 2005.
Barnett, W. Steven; Jason T. Hustedt; Kenneth B. Robin;
and Karen L. Schulman. “The State of Preschool,”
2005 State Preschool Yearbook, The National Institute
for Early Education Research, 2005.
Belfield, Clive R. “An Economic Analysis of Pre-K in
Louisiana,” pre[k]now, June 2005.
Committee for Economic Development, “Preschool for
All: A Priority for American Business Leaders,” 2005.
Dorfman, Lori. “Framing the Economic Benefits of
Investments in Early Childhood Development,” The
Committee for Economic Development, 2005.
Foundation for Child Development, “Getting There:
PK-3 as Public Education’s Base Camp,” October 2005.
Georgetown University Center for Research on Children
in the U.S., “The Effects of Oklahoma’s Universal
Pre-Kindergarten Program on School Readiness,”
November 2004.
Gormley, Jr., William T.; Ted Gayer; Deborah Phillips;
and Brittany Dawson. “Running Head: Effects of Pre-K,”
The Effects of Universal Pre-K on Cognitive
Development, Georgetown University, 2004.
Heckman, James J.; and Dimitriy V. Masterov. “The
Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children,”
Working Paper 5, Invest in Kids Working Group, Committee
for Economic Development, October 4, 2004.
selected bibliography
Southern Regional Education Board, “State-supported
Prekindergarten in the SREB Region: Growing in Hard
Times,” 2003.
U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 3, Table PCT23
Sex by School Enrollment by Age for the Population
3 Years and Over, Census 2000.
U.S. Census Bureau, Total Number of Children Under
the Age of 5, Census 2000.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN IN THE SOUTH 29
Oppenheim, Jerrold; and Theo MacGregor. “The
Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-Quality
Preschool Education for Low-Income Children,” Entergy,
October 30, 2002.
Potter, David; Melanie Barton; Jo Anne Anderson; and
William Brown. “Results and Related Recommendations
of the Inventory and Study of Four-Year-Old Kindergarten
Programs in South Carolina,” A report from the
Education Oversight Committee of the General Assembly
of the South Carolina pursuant to the provisions of
Concurrent Resolution 4484 of 2006, March 15, 2006.
Rand Education Research Brief, “Scaling Up High-
Quality Pre-K: What Can Be Learned from States’ Efforts
to Date?” 2005.
Rolnick, Art and Grunewald, Rob. “Early Child
Development: Economic Development with a High
Public Return,” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis,
FedGazette, March 2003.
Scott, L. Carol; and Jennifer V. Doctors. “Leadership
Matters: Governors’ Pre-K Proposals Fiscal Year 2007,”
pre[k]now, May 2006.
Scott, Ph.D., L. Carol. “Votes Count: Legislative Action
on Pre-K, Fiscal Year 2006,” pre[k]now, November 2005.
Southern Education Foundation, “Miles To Go Arkansas,
Beyond High School: Economic Imperatives for Enlarging
Equity and Achievement,” August 2003.
Southern Education Foundation, “Miles To Go Arkansas
Update, Closing the Economic Gap: Education in the
Arkansas Economy,” November 2003.
Southern Education Foundation, “Miles To Go Arkansas
Pre-Kindergarten,” February 2006.
Southern Regional Education Board, “Improving
Children’s Readiness for School: Preschool Programs
Make a Difference, But Quality Counts!” 2001.

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