Preschool and Prekindergarten Programs
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Headline

Among those children not yet enrolled in kindergarten, the percentage of three- to five-year olds enrolled in full-day prekindergarten and preschool programs increased from 22 percent in 1995 to 28 percent in 2003. (See Figure 1) Among children in families with very low incomes (less than $15,000), the percentage increased from 19 percent to 27 percent between 1995 and 2003. (See Table 1) The percentage of those children enrolled in part-day prekindergarten and preschool programs did not change significantly between 1995 and 2003, and was at 27 percent in 2003.

Importance

Involvement in quality center-based care, preschool, and prekindergarten programs can improve academic outcomes for children in kindergarten.^1,2 Nationally, children who attend high quality center-based child care, prekindergarten or preschool programs tend to have better pre-academic and language skills than other children.³ Children who spend more hours in high quality center-based care perform better in math and reading in the early grades of elementary school.⁴ One long-term follow-up study of very high-quality early care and education, the Abecedarian Project, found that children who participated in full-day high quality programs from birth to kindergarten were more likely than those who did not to eventually attend a four-year college and score higher on measures of academic and intellectual success and were less likely to have a teen pregnancy.⁵ High quality child care can be especially important in improving outcomes among children in families with low education or low incomes.⁶

All the findings are not positive though. There is some indication that overall children who spend more time in child care tend to show more externalizing problem behaviors such as aggression, disobedience, and temper tantrums.⁷ However, it is not clear that this pattern holds among children in low-income families.⁸ As states increasingly recognize the importance of early education, there have been increased allotments of funding towards public prekindergarten programs, something which could be especially beneficial for cognitive school readiness among children in low-income families.⁹ The finding that children who participate in Early Head Start and Head Start do not show problematic behavioral outcomes and instead show some favorable outcomes raises the question of whether and how this positive association could be extended to preschools and prekindergarten participation.

Trends

Between 1995 and 2003, among those children not yet enrolled in kindergarten, the percentage of three- to five-year olds enrolled in full-time prekindergarten and preschool programs increased modestly from 22 percent to 28 percent. Conversely, the percentage who were not enrolled in any preschool program declined from 51 percent to 46 percent. (See Figure 1) The percentage of three- to five-year olds enrolled in part-day programs remained relatively stable and was at 27 percent in 2003.

Increases in the percentage of three- to five-year olds attending full-day preschool or prekindergarten programs have been somewhat larger for non-Hispanic black children, increasing between 1995 and 2003 from 31 percent to 40 percent. (See Figure 2) The percentages of three- to five-year olds attending full-day preschool or prekindergarten programs have also increased among children with families in the lowest (less than $15,000) and the highest (over $75,001) income groups. (See Table 1)

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Differences by Race and Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic black children are more likely than other children to be enrolled in full-day preschool programs. In 2003, among those children not yet enrolled in kindergarten, 40 percent of non-Hispanic black children ages three to five were enrolled in full-day programs, compared with 19 percent of American Indians, 24 percent of Hispanics, 26 percent of non-Hispanic whites, and 27 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander children. (See Figure 2)

Non-Hispanic white children were the most likely to be enrolled in some type of preschool program (either full or part-day). In 2003, 60 percent were enrolled in a preschool program, compared with 33 percent of American Indian children. Non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander children fell in the middle. (See Table 1)

Differences by Parental Education

In 2003, one-third (36 percent) of children ages three to five whose parents had less than a high school degree were enrolled in a preschool program, compared with two-thirds (64 percent) of children whose parents had at least a bachelor's degree. (See Figure 3)

Differences by Nativity

While there were not significant differences in the percentage of three- to five-year olds enrolled in full-day preschool programs by nativity, native born children with native born parents were more likely than foreign born children and native born children with foreign parents to be enrolled in some type of preschool or prekindergarten program (57 percent versus 44 percent, respectively, in 2003). (See Table 1)

Differences by Family Income

Children from the wealthiest families were more likely than other children to be enrolled in full-day preschool programs. In 2003, for example, 36 percent of children ages three to five living in households with incomes of $75,000 or more were enrolled in full-day programs, compared with between 24 percent and 27 percent of children who lived in families with incomes under $50,000. (See Table 1)

Differences by Region

Children in the Northeast and the South are more likely than children in the Midwest and West to be enrolled in full-day preschool programs (33 percent compared with 23 percent and 22 percent, respectively, in 2003). Children ages three to five in the West were most likely to not be enrolled in any preschool programs (52 percent) compared with 37 percent of children in the Northeast. (See Figure 4)

Related Indicators

Full-day Kindergarten, Early Childhood Program Enrollment, Early School Readiness, Head Start,

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State and Local Estimates

None

International Estimates

None

National Goals

None available

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What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

None available at this time.

Research References

¹Takanashi, R. Reconsidering when education begins. What happens before kindergarten matters. http://ffcd.org/uploadDocs/4.30.04.Takanashi_page.pdf

²Adams, Gina, Zaslow, M, & Tout, K. Child Care for Children in Low-Income Working Families: Trends, Patterns, and Potential Policy Implications for Children's Development. Draft.

³Halle, T., Hair, E., Zaslow, M., Lavelle, B., Martin, L., Scott, E., et al. (2005, November). The effect of type and extent of child care on low-income children's outcomes in kindergarten, first, and third grades. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, DC.

⁴NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. Early child care and children's development prior to school entry: Results from the NICHD study of early child care. American Educational Research Journal, 39(1): 133-164.

⁵Campbell, F., Ramey, C. T., Pungello, E., Miller-Johnson, S., & Sparling, J. J. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian Project. Applied developmental Science, 6(1), 42-57.

⁶Adams, Gina, Zaslow, M, & Tout, K. Child Care for Children in Low-Income Working Families: Trends, Patterns, and Potential Policy Implications for Children's Development. Draft.

⁷National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Does amount of time spent in child care predict socioemotional adjustment during the transition to kindergarten? Child Development, 74(4): 975-1005.

⁸Halle, T., Hair, E., Zaslow, M., Lavelle, B., Martin, L., Scott, E., et al. (2005, November). The effect of type and extent of child care on low-income children's outcomes in kindergarten, first, and third grades. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, DC.

⁹Bainbridge, Jay, Meyers, Marcia K., Tanaka, Sakiko, & Waldfogel, Jane. Who Gets an Early Education? Family Income and the Enrollment of Three- to Five-Year-Olds from 1968 to 2000. Social Science Quarterly, 86(3): 724-745.

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Definition

This indicator includes children ages three to five whose parents answered nursery school (prekindergarten or preschool) when asked what grade they were attending. Parents were then asked to specify full-day or part-day. It is important to note that because of the way in which the question was phrased, parents may have included a wide variety of childcare options when responding that their child participated in 'nursery school.'

Children ages three to five who were enrolled in kindergarten or higher grades were excluded from these estimates.

Data Source

Child Trends' original analyses of data from the Current Population Survey, October Supplement, 1995-2003.

Raw Data Source

Current Population Survey, October Supplement
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/cpsmain.htm

Approximate Date of Next Update

Unknown

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