With early education shown to boost future earning potential but few states offering free preschool programs, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024's States with the Best & Worst Early Education Systems, as well as expert commentary.
In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to the number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K.
| States with the Best Early Education Systems | States with the Worst Early Education Systems | |||
| 1. Arkansas | 42. Hawaii | |||
| 2. District of Columbia | 43. Idaho | |||
| 3. Nebraska | 44. Montana | |||
| 4. Maryland | 45. Alaska | |||
| 5. Oregon | 46. New Hampshire | |||
| 6. West Virginia | 47. Minnesota | |||
| 7. South Carolina | 48. Massachusetts | |||
| 8. New Jersey | 49. Missouri | |||
| 9. Vermont | 50. North Dakota | |||
| 10. Connecticut | 51. Indiana | |||
Best vs. Worst
- 13 states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina, have the highest share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program, which is 3.8 times higher than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest.
- The District of Columbia has the highest share of 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, pre-K Special Education or Head Start programs, which is 8.1 times higher than in Idaho, the state with the lowest.
- Connecticut has the highest income requirement for state pre-K eligibility, which is 5.6 times higher than in Minnesota, which has one of the lowest.
- The District of Columbia has the highest total spending per child enrolled in preschool, which is 7.1 times higher than in Florida, which has one of the lowest.
- The District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Vermont and Idaho have some of the lowest monthly child care co-payment fees (as a share of family income), which is ten times lower than in Kentucky and North Carolina, the states with the highest.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
“The more that states invest in early education, and the more accessible they make those programs, the more they will benefit in the future. Having access to quality early education gives students a jump start that can improve their future performance in school, as well as lead to better job opportunities and higher earnings in the long-term. A better-educated, higher-earning population will in turn bring economic benefits back to the state.”
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“Arkansas is the state with the best early education system, and one contributing factor is that parents do not have co-payment fees for child care. Arkansas spends over $13,000 per child enrolled in preschool each year and requires schools to be audited to make sure that they properly meet regulations. In addition, Arkansas has the fourth-highest share of three-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, pre-K special education or Head Start programs.”
- Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst
Expert Commentary
What are the most important factors that influence a child’s educational development?
“A child's development is most strongly influenced by the care and nurturing of their parent(s) and other family members. They are the first teachers and the most powerful. These lessons are not necessarily direct or even related to academics. The child learns ‘how to interact and learn’ from daily experiences of living and to notice details, anticipate patterns, and view people and the environment as being trustworthy. They also learn to take risks and how mistakes will be viewed by others. There are so many lessons absorbed by just existing in a great home, and these lessons set the foundation for later academics. The family also helps the child see that learning is enjoyable so they will be willing to access all an educational environment has to offer. We would not be comfortable penalizing a doctor if a patient decided to ignore health advice or neglect taking a prescription. We understand that while medical excellence must be provided, the actual utilization of those services is a personal choice. The same goes for education. It is the family who will strongly determine whether a student develops the mindset that will encourage them to choose to access the educational environment and to become educated.”
Maria Sargent, Ph.D. – Professor, Ashland University
“The most important factors that influence a child's educational development are parental involvement, access to qualified and experienced educators, a safe learning environment, access to quality health care services and nutritious foods, feeling a sense of belonging in the learning environment, and a positive view of self and happiness.”
Lori Latrice Martin, Ph.D. – Associate Dean; Professor, Louisiana State University
What can state and local policymakers do to improve their school systems without raising taxes?
“Many state and local policymakers are able to improve their school systems without raising taxes. The first thing to consider is the curriculum they adopt for their school system. There are many curriculum developers. Many of these curriculum developers are merely a business trying to sell their product. State and local policymakers need to do their research on these curriculum companies before buying their product. Not all curriculum companies use the available research to build their product, nor do they conduct the needed research studies to determine the effectiveness of their product. State and local policymakers should examine the education and psychology academic literature to determine what works for teaching reading, math, science, and so on… The second consideration is to examine the curriculum's research supporting its use. Many curriculum companies report that their curriculum is effective in improving student outcomes. However, many report the curriculum's success with a limited number of school districts. If a curriculum company reports the findings of their curriculum using only one or two school districts, then state and local policymakers should be skeptical.”
Tina Stanton-Chapman, Ph.D. – Professor, University of Cincinnati
“State and local policymakers may wish to create more public and private partnerships to improve their school systems, including partnerships with local colleges and communities. State and local policymakers may also encourage involvement and engagement from community members in identifying and addressing existing assets and emerging needs.”
Lori Latrice Martin, Ph.D. – Associate Dean; Professor, Louisiana State University
Is education spending a direct measure of education quality?
“No, it may be the least powerful factor in the mix of variables. Of course, we would love for all educational environments to be stellar and contain the best materials, but children learn from interaction and nurturing of caring adults, and this can be accomplished without the latest technology or exorbitant spending. This is why children from long ago or in other countries can reach high levels of educational skill despite learning under very difficult or limited conditions. So, yes, of course the spending must be adequate and technology/material levels reasonable, but it is the utilization of these expenditures that must be examined the closest. More money does not equal more education. If children are failing in an educational location, it is appropriate to look at how to increase budgets, but that money will have little impact if the use of that money is poor.”
Maria Sargent, Ph.D. – Professor, Ashland University
“The availability of resources can certainly influence outcomes in any organization, industry, or system, but funding alone does not necessarily deliver value. While we are still untangling the overall results of sudden increases in available emergency funding during COVID, we do see cases where little guidance led to fraud, waste, abuse, and poor long-term planning given that the funds were never expected to be in perpetuity. Perhaps the question is what is one measuring and how is ‘quality’ being defined? After that, one can assess the value added by available funding. Yet defining quality and measuring it are tied to what one believes is the purpose of school, and while it may seem obvious, it is here that not everyone agrees. The bottom line is we must be more diligent in looking under the hood, per se, to see what is actually happening on the ground in terms of funding…We need to seek multiple perspectives from stakeholders, ensure transparency, and move forward together in a common direction.”
Cathy Kim, PhD, NBCT – Associate Professor, Pacific Lutheran University
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