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Description
NIEER’s Karin Garver shares key findings from NIEER’s State of Preschool Yearbook that helps policymakers and researchers make informed decisions on early childhood education.
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A
A
So
what
you
see
right
now
is
the
laundry
list
of
things
that
we
ask
our
program
administrators
to
to
talk
to
us
about
every
year,
but
one
of
the
things
I'd
like
to
focus
on
first
and
and
foremost,
is
our
benchmarks
for
minimum
quality
standards.
These
are
our
ten
benchmarks
that
nier
has
developed
based
on
research
to
identify
the
policies
that
are,
the
programs
need
to
have
minimally
in
place
in
order
to
reach
the
level
of
quality
that
can
impact
child
outcomes.
A
A
Do
a
quick
walk
through
of
each
of
them
to
give
some
understanding
of
what
they
are,
what
it
means
to
meet
them
and
the
extent
to
which
state
programs
are
actually
able
to
meet
them
and
you'll
notice
that
I
have
a
few
that
are
that
have
an
asterisk
next
to
them
and
that
are
bolded.
Those
are
ones
that
to
to
kind
of
keep
a
particular
ear
out
for
as
we're
talking
about
teacher
quality
of
programs.
A
These
are
the
benchmarks
that
are
that
really
particularly
speak
to
that
to
that
issue.
So
I'll
I'll,
try
to
to
point
that
out
as
I
go
along,
our
first
benchmark
is
about
early
learning
and
development
standards.
So
we
look
to
see
whether
or
not
states
have
a
policy
in
place
that
establishes
an
elds,
but
also
that
supports
the
elds.
A
So
we
want
to
see
that
states
are
that
state
standards
are
comprehensive,
so
they're
they
are
meeting
all
domains
of
development
of
child
children's
development
at
ages,
three
and
four
years
old,
but
also
that
they're
aligned.
So
we
know
their
standards
in
most
places
for
children
who
are
infants
and
toddlers
and
then,
of
course,
also
for
kindergartners
through
12th
graders.
So
we
want
to
see
alignment
across
those
standards.
A
We
also
want
to
see
support
for
those
standards,
so
the
state
agencies
that
are
overseeing
our
state
funded
preschool
programs
should
be
providing
support
for
the
dissemination
of
the
standards,
professional
development
on
their
standards
and
ensuring
that
the
programs
understand
and
are
using
the
standards
in
their
programs.
And
finally,
we
want
to
make
sure
that
our
early
learning
and
development
standards
are
culturally
sensitive.
A
So
we
know
we
have
an
incredibly
diverse
population
of
learners
in
our
state
pre-k
programs
and
want
to
make
sure
that
standards
are
sensitive
to
all
the
cultural
needs
of
children
and
families
who
are
attending
those
programs.
So,
thankfully,
this
is
one
of
the
standards
that
the
most
programs
are
able
to
meet.
97
of
our
state,
preschool
programs
are
able
to
meet
this
early
learning
and
development
standards
benchmark
our
next
standard.
A
Some
start
so
I'll
start
to
move
into
some
of
the
more
teacher,
specific,
related
benchmarks
teacher
degree.
I
think
we
just
heard
in
the
video
how
important
it
is
for
teachers
to
have
a
specific
education
and
credentials
related
to
early
childhood
in
order
to
increase
the
quality
of
programs.
So
we
look
to
see
whether
or
not
state
programs
have
a
policy
in
place
that
requires
the
lead
teacher
in
each
preschool
program,
classroom
to
have
at
least
a
bachelor's
degree.
And
surprisingly,
only
60
of
our
programs
have
that
policy
in
place.
A
The
remainder
require
either
an
associate's
degree
or
a
high
school
diploma
for
teachers
for
the
lead
teachers
in
state
pre-k
programs,
but
we
also
know
that
it's
not
enough
just
to
have
a
bachelor's
degree.
So
we
look
to
see
whether
or
not
states
require
specialized
training
in
preschool
education
and
training
specific
to
preschool
education.
So
it's
not
just
our
teachers
have
training
in
kindergarten.
We
want
to
make
sure
that
they
actually
have
training
in
the
age
levels
in
which
they'll
be
teaching
so
three
and
four-year-old
age.
Children.
A
But
we
know
that
it's
it's
important,
not
just
to
look
at
how
teachers,
what
teachers
are
coming
to
the
to
the
to
the
door
with
right,
not
just
the
education
and
the
credentials
that
they
get
before
they
become
teachers,
but
also
the
professional
development
that
they
receive
the
support
that
they
receive
once
they
are
teachers
to
continue
to
help
them
hone
their
craft.
So
we
have
a
professional
development
benchmark
that
looks
to
see
whether
or
not
both
teachers
and
teacher
assistants
are
provided
with
at
least
15
hours
of
professional
development
every
year.
A
In
addition
to
having
individualized
professional
development
plans,
and
coaching
and
you'll
see
that,
unfortunately,
this
is
the
benchmark
that
the
fewest
number
of
state
programs
are
able
to
meet
less
than
a
quarter
of
them,
receive
this
benchmark.
And
it's
for
a
few
different
reasons
and
the
most
prevalent
reason
is
because
states
provide
these
supports
to
teachers,
but
not
to
teacher
assistants,
and
we
know
it's
really
important
to
provide
this
kind
of
training
and
support
to
all
of
the
teaching
staff
in
a
program,
not
just
the
lead
teachers.
A
We
look
to
see
whether
or
not
programs
have
a
policy
in
place
that
limits
class
size
to
no
more
than
20
children
in
the
class
and
staff
child
ratio
to
no
more
than
10
children
for
every
adult,
and
you
can
see
that
most
of
our
state,
pre-k
programs
are
meeting
this
benchmark.
We
have
a
few
that
have
different
regulations
for
three-year-olds
versus
four-year-olds
or
maybe
are
even
silent
on
on
class
sizes,
which,
as
you
can
imagine
any
teacher
who
has
more
than
20
preschoolers
in
a
classroom.
A
That's
a
pretty
overwhelming
endeavor.
For
for
anyone,
our
ninth
benchmark
is
on
screening
and
referral.
So
we
look
to
see
whether
or
not
programs
are
required
to
assess
children's
vision
and
hearing
and
other
health
and
and
not
just
whether
that
that
screening
is
required,
but
whether
referrals
are
required
when
children
are
screened
and-
and
there
may
be
a
potent
a
potential
issue.
A
A
So
that's
a
very
quick
overview
of
nearest
ten
benchmarks
that
we
track
every
year,
in
addition
to
quite
a
number
of
of
other
policy
areas
and
aspects
like
access
and
resources
for
for
state-funded
preschool
programs,
but
the
other.
The
other
aspects
that
I
wanted
to
share
with
you
today
is
something
else
that
we
do
in
our
yearbook
every
year,
which
we
have
a
supplemental
section
to
our
survey
every
year
on
a
topic
of
particular
interest.
A
At
the
time
and
in
2018,
our
our
special
report
was
questions
related
to
supporting
teachers
in
state
funded
preschool,
and
we
found,
I
think,
our
findings
you'll
find
potentially
disappointing,
but
maybe
not
surprising
in
terms
of
how
how
poorly
really
we
are
supporting
our
teachers
in
our
state,
funded
preschool
programs.
So
I'll
take
you
through
some
of
the
findings
that
we
had
from
that
report.
A
When
we
look
in
general
about
different
kinds
of
support
for
the
state-funded
preschool
workforce,
we
see
generally
weak
support.
So
when
we
look
outside
of
things
like
like
salaries
and
and
benefits,
we
look
at
things
that
that
help
teachers
to
benefit
themselves
over
time,
things
like
scholarships,
loan
forgiveness
and
then
those
critical
mentoring
and
coaching
aspects
that
I
talked
about
before.
A
A
Only
four
only
four
states
require
those
teachers
to
be
paid
comparably
to
their
k-12
teacher
peers
who
have
similar
qualifications
and
that's
across
both
public
preschool
settings
and
private
preschool
settings.
So
it's
no
wonder
that
we
have
our
early
childhood
teachers
struggling
when
they
have
teachers,
who
are
you
know,
teaching
in
in
school
buildings
right
next
door
to
them?
Who
aren't
who
are
making
significantly
more
money
than
they
are,
and
we
yeah.
B
Karen
just
one
question:
you
know
we
want
to
be
responsive
to
people
in
the
chat
and
we
did
get.
Oh
absolutely,
a
good
question.
Someone
was
asking
if
you
could
just
clarify
how
you
all
are
defining
pre-k
through
throughout
your
work
right,
because
there's
a
lot
of
things
that
happen
before
kindergarten
and
just
wondering
where
you
all
are
focusing.
A
Absolutely
so
nier
has
a
very
specific
definition
of
pre-k,
and
so
it's
we
look
at
state-funded
pro
programs
that
serve
three
and
four-year-old
children
in
programs
that
we
distinguish
from
subsidized
child
care
programs.
So
they
need
to
be
programs
that
are
not
based
on
any
kind
of
an
education
or
work
requirement
for
parents,
but
that
are
provided
to
families
through
other
their
their.
A
B
B
A
Know
new
jersey
is
one
of
them.
I
I'd
have
to
look
up
the
other
four,
which
I
can
probably
do,
while
my
my
colleagues
are
presenting
that
I
know
new
jersey
is
one
and
I'm
forgetting
the
other
four.
If
you
had
asked
me
last
year,
I
would
have
been
able
to
rattle
them
off,
but
I
don't
move
them
off
the
top
of
my
head,
but
I'll
definitely
patrick
I
can.
I
can
chat
them
back
to
you.
B
Okay
looks
like
the
chat
is
blowing
up
now,
so
I'll
just
hit
these
real
quick.
While
we
haven't
kind
of
paused,
we
have
a
question:
can
you
share
whether
the
states
with
true
salary
parity
are
for
private
market
providers
as
well
or
just
for
the
publicly
provided
providers
and
if
they
apply
to
infant
toddler
teachers
or
just
pre-k
teachers.
A
So
these
are
teachers
who
are
part
of
state-funded
preschool
programs,
and
I
I'm
sure-
and
I
don't
want
to
put
caitlyn
on
the
spot,
but
I'm
sure
she'll
probably
speak
a
bit
more
broadly
about
the
early
early
care
and
education
field,
probably
inclusive
of
state
pre-k,
but
also
more
more
broadly
than
that.
So
this
is
a
subset
of
our
early
care
and
education
workforce
that
does
not
include
infants
and
toddlers.
These
are
our
three
and
four
teachers
of
three
and
four-year-olds.
A
So
we
to
the
extent
that
those
programs
are
integrated
into
the
state
preschool
program.
Yes,
so
we
ask
a
lot
of
questions
about
whether
or
not
so
we
ascertain
for
each
state
whether
or
not
special
children
with
disabilities
are
included
in
the
state
funded
preschool
program
for
some
states
they
are
and
for
some
states
they're,
not.
B
B
A
No
problem
and
please
interrupt
as
I
go.
I
I
think
this
slide
is
actually
one
of
the
most
jarring
of
of
the
work
that
we
did
on
on
on
salary
parity.
So
what
we're
looking
at
here
is
of
the
states
that
are
able
to
provide
us
with
information
on
average
teacher
salaries,
and
these
are
teachers.
These
are.
These
are
states
that
require
a
bachelor's
degree
for
all
of
their
teachers,
regardless
of
what
setting
they're
in,
we
see
that
public.
A
We
see
that
state
funded
preschool
teachers
in
public
school
settings
are
paid
almost
7
500
less
per
year
than
their
k-3
peers.
So
this
is
literally.
What
we're
talking
about
here
is
a
preschool
teacher
in
one
classroom.
Who's
down
the
hall
from
a
kindergarten
teacher
in
the
same
building
is
on
average,
making
7
500
less
than
that
kindergarten
through
third
grade
teacher,
even
though
they
have
the
same
education
requirements
to
be
in
those
positions.
A
A
You
know
because
we
know
that
compensation
is
about
more
than
just
salaries
when
we
look
at
things
like
retirement
and
healthcare,
and
we
look
at
equal
paid
planning
time.
We
can
see
right
here.
Not
only
are
our
teachers
in
public
school
settings
preschool
teachers
in
public
school
settings
not
being
provided
with
equal
retirement
and
health
care
to
their
k-3
peers
or
equal
pay
planning
time
with
their
k-3
peers,
but
their
their
colleagues.
A
Some
work
that
we
did
this
year
with
nier
is
looking
at
what
what
would
it
take
if
we
wanted
to
really
invest
in
quality
and
invest
in
our
teachers,
and
we
did
a
cost
analysis
of
what
it
would
take
for
each
of
the
50
states
and
dc
to
meet
all
ten
of
nearest
quality
standards.
Benchmarks,
provide
a
full
day
program
and
also
provide
salary
parity
for
teachers.
A
So,
even
though
quality
is
is
expensive.
Most
of
our
states
aren't
spending
enough
to
achieve
high
quality.
So
the
the
per
child
amounts
that
you
see
in
this
map
are
what
near
is
estimating
each
state
needs
to
spend
per
child
in
order
to
meet
all
10
of
our
policy.
Quality
benchmarks
provide
a
full
day
program
to
all
children
and
also
provide
salary
parity
for
teachers
and
teacher
assistants
in
programs.
The
shading
that
you're
seeing
is
indicating
how
far
off
states
are
from
that
goal.
A
So
the
dark
red
states
are
the
states
that
are
at
least
five
thousand
dollars
or
more
away
from
from
that
goal,
and
as
you
can
see,
the
vast
majority
of
this
map
is
dark
red.
The
states
that
are
in
lighter
colors
in
particular
the
white
color,
are
at
least
within
striking
distance.
So
we
see
new
jersey
and
dc,
which
is
this
tiny
little
dot
here.
A
West
virginia
north
carolina
alabama
oklahoma
are
all
again
within
a
reasonable
range
of
of
meeting
where
we,
where
we
think
they
should
be
in
terms
of
child
spending,
but
most
in
most
of
the
country.
We
have
a
long
way
to
go,
and
this
includes
our
our
six
states
that
don't
currently
have
a
state-funded
preschool
program.
A
So
you
know
the
the
total
price
tag.
You
know
it's
not
for
the
faint
of
heart,
it's
going
to
take
a
massive
investment,
but
when
we
look
at
this
altogether,
what
it
would
look
like
across
the
nation,
the
true
cost
of
universal
high
quality
pre-k
is
about
91
billion
dollars,
annual
and
and
that
would
be
to
serve
all
three
and
four-year-olds
in
a
high-quality
full-day
program
while
providing
salary
parity
to
teachers.
A
So
if
we
break
this
down
a
little
bit,
we
we're
currently
spending
about
10.4
billion
dollars
across
the
nation
in
our
state,
funded
preschool
programs
and
we're
spending
just
under
seven
billion
dollars.
Right
now
on
three
and
four-year-olds
in
head
start.
So
that's
taking
early
head
start
out
of
out
of
that
figure.
A
Now,
if
we
wanted
to
take
all
of
our
current
state
funded
preschool
slots
and
our
current
three
and
four-year-old
head
start
slats
and
move
all
of
them
up
to
full
day,
move
all
of
them
up
to
the
highest
quality
standards
and
and
provide
salary
parity,
we
would
need
another
12
billion
dollars
on
top
of
what
we're
already
spending.
In
order
to
achieve
that
now,
if
once
we
establish
that,
we
then
want
to
expand
that
program
out
to
at
least
all
low-income,
three
and
four-year-olds.
A
We
need
another
31
billion
dollars
per
year
to
do
that
and
then
another
32
billion
dollars
on
top
of
that
to
reach
a
truly
universal
program
that
would
serve
all
three
and
four-year-old
children.
So
again,
like
I
said,
not
not
a
price
tag
for
the
faint
of
heart,
but
certainly
an
investment
that
we
know
has
incredibly
strong
returns
over
time
and
what
we're
hoping
to
see.
I
think
the
the
conversations
that
we're
seeing
at
the
federal
level
about
universal
preschool.