U.S. Lags Far Behind Other Countries in Access to Early Childhood Education
Strong bipartisan support tends to allude more education issues, but expanding access to early childhood education is one of the few. Study after study has outlined the cogitive and social benefits of these programs and a 2016 survey by the First Five Years Fund found that 73% of the electorate – 54% of Republicans, 70% of Independents, and 91% of Democrats – support a federal plan that helps states and local communities provide better access to quality early education. According to theAmerican Institutes for Research, 36 states have 220 bills related to early childhood education on their legislative agendas.
Still, despite all the attention, not much has been done in the United States to move the needle on universal access. Over the past few years, the campaign to expand early education has been global and most other industrialized nations are forgeing ahead.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),enrollment rates in early childhood or primary education programs rose across OECD member countries – from 54% in 2004 to 69% in 2014 for 3-year-olds and from 73% to 85% for 4-year-olds. This statistic is just one of many that can be found in the new 2016 Education At a Glance, OECD’s annual compendium of facts and figures comparing education systems around the world.
The United States, according to the data, has one of the lowest enrollment rates U.S. Lags Far Behind Other Countries in Access to Early Childhood Ed:
