Make quality early education a priority for Pennsylvania: Key facts

Quality early education is vital to preparing children for school so they can succeed in school and in life. Listed below are several key facts that support continued investment in early education.

Download and print our PA Promise wallet card to take these facts with you! Contact your county LEARN coordinator  for hard copies.

18
By 18 months, the achievement gap between children of college-educated parents and of parents with less than high school appears.
Source: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

58%
About 58% of PA's children under age five are considered at risk of school failure because they live in low-income families, are English language learners, or have disabilities or developmental delays.

Source: 2010 Census. Earning up to 300% of the poverty level. Pennsylvania recognizes children living in families earning between 200%-300% of the poverty level as high needs based on the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) analysis of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), which showed that children in this income group are underperforming, compared to their peers from lower income families, in the area of math and they are also significantly underperforming compared to their peers with family incomes above 300% of the federal poverty line. 

40
Forty years of research shows that children receiving high quality early education are more likely to be prepared for and do better in school; graduate high school; attend college or job training; and have higher earnings.
Sources: Abecedarian Project, Perry Preschool Project 

50%

High quality pre-kindergarten can reduce special education placements by nearly 50% through second grade
Source: "Investments in Pennsylvania's early childhood programs pay off now and later," Pew Center on the States, Partnership for America's Economic Success, March 2011 

10 + 3
For every 10 jobs created in early education sector, three more jobs are created outside early education
Source: America's Edge. "Strengthening Pennsylvania's Business through Investments in Early Care and Education," 2011

6 of 10
More than six out of 10 preschoolers in Head Start Supplemental, Keystone STARS 3 and 4, and PA Pre-K Counts programs ended the 2010-2011 school year with age-appropriate language, math and social skills
Source: Office of Child Development and Early Learning

Here are more useful facts:

700
A young child’s brain forms 700 neural synapses a second. Quality early education impacts how young brains develop.
Source: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

$1:$7
Every $1 invested in quality early education saves $7 in special education, public assistance, corrections, and lost taxes.
Source: Reynolds AJ, Temple JA, Robertson DL, and EA Mann. 2002. Age 21 cost-benefit analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 267-303

10%
The rate of return for quality early childhood education is 10% per year. An $8,000 investment at birth brings nearly an $800,000 return over the child’s life.
Source: letter from James Heckman to the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reform, September 2010

200%
For every $1 PA invests in early education, more than $2 is circulated in the regional economy through hiring and purchasing goods and services locally.
Source: Zhilin Liu, Rosaria Ribeiro & Mildred Warner. “Comparing Child Care Multipliers in the Regional Economy: Analysis from 50 States,” 2004

69%
Children in 69% of Pennsylvania’s counties are at moderate-high to high risk of failing in school.
Source: OCDEL Program Reach and Risk Report, 2009-2010
Check your county's risk level in the Early Education in my County section

36%
About 36% of Pennsylvania’s young children participate in publicly-funded quality early education programs.
Source: OCDEL Program Reach and Risk Report, 2009-2010
Check the percentage of children served in your county in the Early Education in my County section