This story was originally published on Minnesota Reformer. [1]

This story was originally published on Minnesota Reformer. [1]
Published here under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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Report: Minnesota missing benchmarks for quality early childhood education
By: ['Rilyn Eischens Is A Data Reporter With The Reformer. Rilyn Is A Minnesota Native', 'Has Worked In Newsrooms In The Twin Cities', 'Iowa', 'Texas', 'Most Recently Virginia', "Where She Covered Education For The Staunton News Leader. She'S An Alumna Of The Dow Jones News Fund Data Journalism Program", "The Minnesota Daily. When Rilyn Isn'T In The Newsroom", 'She Likes To Read', 'Add To Her Plant Collection', 'Try New Recipes.']
Date: None

A new report on preschool quality and accessibility gave Minnesota middling rankings compared to other states.

Preschool enrollment and spending were declining in Minnesota and across the country before the pandemic, and COVID-19 made the situation worse, according to the report from the Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. Minnesota met about five of the 10 quality benchmarks in the report.

Experts say high-quality early education can set children up for success for the rest of their school careers. Robust public preschool programs can help close achievement and opportunity gaps and ensure students are prepared for elementary school.

Public preschool enrollment in Minnesota declined by just over 100 students, to 8,122 in 2020, according to the report. About 12% of 3-year-olds and 25% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in public, early childhood education, compared to 6% of 3-year-olds and about 33% of 4-year-olds nationwide.

The report ranked Minnesota 29th in preschool access for 3-year-olds and 37th in access for 4-year-olds.

Minnesota’s spending per child has fallen over the past two decades, adjusted for inflation, from $10,107 in 2002 to $6,370 in 2020, according to the report. The state ranked 17th in per-child spending. The education budget passed by the DFL-controlled House Monday includes $48 million in new early childhood spending.

For quality standards, the report assessed state requirements for curriculum support, teacher qualifications and class sizes. Minnesota met about half the benchmarks — early learning standards, curriculum, class size, staff-child ratio and wellness screenings — and fell short in teacher education, qualifications and professional development.

[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/report-minnesota-missing-benchmarks-for-quality-early-childhood-education/