State pre-K programs keep more students in college
In 1985, the Texas Legislature began funding prekindergarten for eligible children. Over the years, our state has seen a significant return on that investment.
Students who participated in public pre-K in 1999 persist in college today at a rate 6.8 percent higher than their peers who were eligible but did not attend public pre-K, according to a 2017 report from the Texas Education Agency.
As commissioner of education, I know that prekindergarten in Texas matters. It is a critical component of a public education system that prepares future generations for success in life. Studies show that fewer than 1 in 5 children reading below grade level in third grade will go on to college. A focus on early childhood education will place our students on the road to success by giving them the reading and math tools they need.
That’s why Texas currently invests more than $800 million of taxpayer money each year in public pre-K classrooms to help provide more children — particularly at-risk children — an opportunity to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Some have argued that academic improvements achieved in pre-K aren’t lasting. Though we do see fade-out on test score gains in lower-quality programs, long-term impact can still be quite strong.
Given this, there are additional steps we can take to ensure an even greater return on our current investment.
First, we must ensure that children attend prekindergarten programs that include high-quality standards.
In turn, we need to make certain they enter schools that are ready to leverage the gains made in pre-K and sustain them through third grade and beyond. Texas is taking steps to do both.
Under the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott, the Legislature passed and funded the High-Quality Pre-K Program in 2015. Before this program, there were no prekindergarten requirements for curriculum, teacher training or progress monitoring. This doesn’t mean the old approach to pre-K in Texas wasn’t quality; it means there weren’t any systemic incentives to encourage smarter spending and best practices that help children succeed.
Thanks to the initial $118 million in grant funding approved last session, those high-quality standards are now in place for more than 85 percent of the 185,000 eligible 4-year-old prekindergarten children across the state. Most of these children are from families that are economically disadvantaged, homeless, foster or military.
Those grant funds have been a catalyst for change. In just one year, we’ve seen a near-doubling in the number of teachers receiving early childhood training, a near-doubling of effective progress monitoring practices, and major increases in schools participating in quality program design, including a reduction in student-teacher ratios, according to data from the Children’s Learning Institute.
Just as important, this grant program stressed effective family engagement as an essential component. Such engagement recognizes the truth that parents are a child’s first teacher and empowers them as full partners in education from the child’s earliest years.
Yes, high-quality prekindergarten does matter. I am proud of the gains Texas has achieved so far. The Texas Education Agency remains focused on this critical need to ensure that even more of our children reach their full potential.