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In the first comprehensive statewide look at early care and education in California, RAND researchers surveyed a representative group of 2,000 parents with preschool-age children and more than 700 providers, and observed and evaluated about 250 child care and preschool centers. The study's top findings include: |
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- Children in Poor Families Less Likely to be in Preschool: Just under half of 3 and 4 year olds in economically disadvantaged families are in center-based preschool programs of any quality, compared to 70 percent of those in more well-off families.
- Children with Less Educated Mothers Less Likely to be in Preschool: Forty five percent of children whose mothers have less than a high school degree are in center-based preschools, compared to 80 percent of children whose mothers have a graduate or professional degree.
- The parent survey found Mexican American, African American and low income parents reported the most difficulty finding the care they wanted.
- The groups of children who could benefit most are least likely to be in high-quality preschool.
- At best, 15 percent of those who could benefit most are in high-quality programs that prepare them for success in K-12.
- An earlier RAND study defined those children who could benefit most as the groups of children who start out behind in kindergarten and stay behind in elementary school.
- Quality falls short across the board. On average, no demographic groups are in high-quality programs that prepare them for kindergarten.
- High-quality preschool helps close the achievement gap by addressing the school readiness gap, according RAND Study 1.
- A preschool program in California for the kids who need it most would begin to pay for itself within six years, according to a 2007 study by the Economic Policy Institute.
- Proposed California legislation would lay the groundwork for reforming our preschool system to provide programs that prepare kids for success in school.
- San Mateo and San Francisco's First 5 Power of Preschool programs exceed the quality of a nationally-recognized program showing significant gains for children in early reading and math skills.
- Such high-quality programs:
- employ well-trained and qualified teachers;
- provide financial incentives for preschools to reach and maintain higher levels of quality; and
- offer rich learning environments with research-based curriculum.
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