What is Pre-Kindergarten? Characteristics of Public Pre-Kindergarten Programs

States have accumulated considerable experience in operating publicly sponsored pre-kindergarten programs. In spite of this extensive experience, only fragmentary accounts exist of how these pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs handle issues such as program intensity, location, staffing, and population served. These issues are addressed by the National Center for Early Development and Learning’s Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten, which collected data from 240 programs. Data were weighted to represent the 4 states (Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio) and each of the 2 regions in California and New York from which they were drawn. Using these weighted data, we estimate that slightly more than half of these school-related programs were part-day and slightly more than half were located outside of school buildings. Although these programs varied in process quality, on average, they met National Association for the Education of Young Children recommended standards for class size, adult:child ratios, and teacher certification. The programs served an ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse population of children, although about half of pre-k children were from low-income backgrounds. African American, Asian, and Latino children were more likely than White children to attend a pre-k class with a high proportion of children from low-income backgrounds. Issues of process quality were highlighted in the study.