Early Learning

Research shows the early years of education are critical. Students in high-quality pre-K classrooms develop skills needed to be successful throughout life.

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The Importance of Pre-K

90% of all brain development happens in the first five years of life. These years are critical.

According to a study published in the Journal of Public Economics, children entering kindergarten who are ready for school are:

more likely to read on grade level
more likely to graduate from high school
more likely to attend college
more likely to earn more and have a stable job

Preparing these young brains is paramount to setting students up for success.

How can we prepare students for kindergarten?

Students who attend public or private pre-K are significantly more likely to be ready for school when they enter kindergarten than children who stayed at home or with a relative.

All students—regardless of household income—are 1.8 times more likely to be kindergarten ready when they have pre-K experience.

Students from low-income households were 2.6 times more likely to be kindergarten ready when they had pre-K experience.(1)

Student impacts beyond kindergarten

Kindergarten readiness predictive of advanced performance on 3rd grade STAAR math assessment

Students who were ready for kindergarten were five times more likely to pass the 3rd grade reading assessment, and six times more likely to be on track for college and career readiness in math.(1)

Pre-K enrollment

And yet, pre-K enrollment has only just started to increase since 2021. Only 69% of eligible students in pre-K were enrolled in 2022-23.

(1) E3 Alliance analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data and UT Austin Education Research Center PEIMS data; data ranged across study years 2010-11 through 2015-16.

Data

Central Texas

Pre-K enrollment increases slightly after a sharp downturn during the pandemic.

Percent of eligible kindergarten students that attended pre-K as a four year old, by kindergarten year, Central Texas

A chart that shows pre-K enrollment from 2019 to 2023 holds steady around 70%

Source: E3 Alliance analysis of PEIMS data at The University of Texas at Austin Education Research Center

Data

Central Texas

Pre-K is imperative to close the gap in Kindergarten Readiness, especially for our most vulnerable students.

Central Texas students meeting Kindergarden Readiness standard by those who enrolled or didn't enroll in pre-K based on free pre-K eligibility

A graph that shows fewer students who are eligible for free pre-K, but don't attend are Kindergarten Ready compared to their peers who did attend pre-K. Students who aren't eligible for free pre-K are less impacted by whether they attend pre-K.

Data

Central Texas

More students met 3rd grade STAAR standard if they were kindergarten ready compared to their peers who were not Kindergarten Ready

Students meeting grade level standard on 3rd grade STAAR in Math and Reading, comparing students who did or did not meet kindergarten readiness standard, Central Texas, 2023

Students who met kindergarten readiness standard outperformed their peers on the 3rd Grade STAAR compared to students who were not Kindergarten Ready. They outperformed their peers by 33% in Reading and 32% in Math.

Get a closer look at this data

Now, we focus on gaining a greater understanding of family needs around pre-K.

To identify our Why (see our Theory of Change), we begin by convening groups whose roles intersect in our Pre-K Work Group. This expertise and collective knowledge helps us better understand our community’s needs.

The goal of this group is to improve pre-K access, enrollment, and quality. They will identify and test the best approaches.

Promising Practices

promising practices

Increase kindergarten readiness with full-day pre-K combined with lower student-to-teacher ratios

Students who attend full-day pre-K in classrooms with low student to teacher ratios are more ready for kindergarten than their peers who didn't attend pre-K.