Mapping Pre-K

Availability	Quality

Pre-K Now's maps are valuable tools for evaluating the state of pre-kindergarten in the U.S. These four maps show the current status of pre-kindergarten and the prospects for its future in every state and the District of Columbia. The three topical maps indicate existing pre-k quality, pre-k availability, and the political atmosphere surrounding efforts to improve and expand pre-k, respectively. The Pre-K Climate Map combines all three of these specific factors into an overall gauge of the status of pre-k across the country.

The Pre-K Availability Map, drawn directly from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) State of Preschool Yearbook, represents the percentage of four year olds served in state-funded, public pre-k programs.

The Pre-K Quality Map employs a ten-item checklist from the NIEER Yearbook. The benchmarks contained in the NIEER checklist represent critical minimum standards of effectiveness in pre-k programs. States receive a score equivalent to the number of benchmarks met or exceeded in a review of their pre-k programs. It is these scores that are represented on the map.

We encourage all stakeholders - policymakers, teachers, parents, advocates, and community leaders - to use these maps to effect state action on pre-k. They can reveal how well a state measures up regionally or nationally or how all states compare on a specific criterion. Advocates can use them to identify strategies that are succeeding in states around the country and to generate attention and action from state legislators, executive administrations, and media outlets. The Pre-K Now maps are not only a measure of states' commitments to early childhood education but also an instrument of real progress in pre-k advocacy.