More and more policymakers are pushing for a heightened focus on early childhood education. Their efforts are commensurate with the current presidential administration’s proposal to provide universal preschool for children ages three to four.
From 2005 to 2019, there was a significant shift in the type of preschools that parents chose, according to data from the American Community Survey (ACS). Results from the ACS showed parents are gravitating more towards public schools, causing growth in that area and enrollment overall.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently analyzed ACS data stemming from a 2005-2008 period questionnaire that showed preschool enrollment increased by 3.4 percentage points to 47.4%, but declined after that until 2013. This decline could have been due to the global recession, as many parents were out of work and likely couldn’t afford preschool.
Along with overall growth in enrollment from 2005 to 2019, the percentage of preschool enrollees that attended public schools increased by 6.6 percentage points to 59.7%.
Preschool enrollment was highest in the Northeast in 2019, with 54% of three to four-year-olds in this region enrolled. However, some states outside this area, including Illinois and Mississippi, had high levels of preschool enrollment as well. In the District of Columbia, more than 80% of three to four-year-olds were enrolled in preschool in 2019. The District of Columbia also implemented a universal preschool program in 2008.
Though the increase in preschool enrollment cannot necessarily be confined to a specific region, the West and Northeast seem to be the highest growth areas in the United States.
Recently released data from the 2020Â Current Population Survey (CPS) showed declines in preschool enrollment during the pandemic. According to the CPS data, three to four-year-olds enrolled in school fell from 54% in 2019 to 40% in 2020, marking the first time since 1996 that less than half of children in that age group were enrolled in school.
