Policy Analysis

Highlights Even without valuing health benefits to citizens of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Beverage Tax (PBT) is likely to have a net positive effect on city residents. The total estimated economic impact of the PBT on Philadelphia’s overall economy

Download (PDF) The Covid-19 pandemic upended the nation’s child care system and New Jersey is no exception. Over the last year, the Infant and Toddler Policy Research Center at the National Institute for Early Education Research (ITC@NIEER) conducted t

With Universal Pre-K (UPK) receiving renewed attention at national and state levels, one question that policy developers must address is how many families will participate if high quality preschool education is offered to all 3- and 4-year-olds at no c

UPK_Fact_Sheet_2.3 Download (PDF) Question 1. Why does the United States need Universal Pre-K (UPK)? High quality preschool has been shown to benefit children from all backgrounds, though it has larger benefits for children in low-income homes. Yet, th

Final_Policy_Brief_Ideas-and-Inspiration-for-Targeting-Federal-American-Recovery-Act-Funds-to-Early-Childhood-Education-June-4-21.pdf I. Introduction State early childhood administrators are planning to strategically invest the federal appropriations i

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Two decades ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke mandated that the state establish high quality preschool education in the 31 highest-poverty school districts. New Jersey created a pre-K program with high standards and a continuous impr

The United States still struggles to provide high quality preschool education to the nation’s 3- and 4-year-olds. State-funded pre-K and Head Start serve less than 1 in 3 age-eligible children, and quality standards remain far too low in many of these

Guide to Support Pre-K Expansion This brief is intended to provide information and guidance for advocates and other stakeholders, especially those new to this issue, as they seek to increase investments in high quality preschool in their states. The be

To understand the degree to which the Covid-19 pandemic affected young children’s learning and preschool experiences, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducted two nationally representative surveys of parents of children age

Executive Summary Most of New Jersey’s nearly 300,000 children under age 3 receive nonparental child care. While highly diverse, this population widely shares a common characteristic: a high rate of parental labor force participation. This makes the af

Executive Summary Although most children under age 3 are cared for by parents and other family members, the percentage in formal care increases with the age of the child and has been growing over time. Between 2012 and 2019 there was a shift toward cen

Introduction New Jersey’s youngest children and their families depend on an under-funded system of care with widely varying quality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems by reducing families’ ability to pay while also increasing costs. This r

NIEER has updated its Review of State School Reopening Plans and Implications and Suggestions for State Funded Pre-K Programs authored by GG Weisenfeld to include pre-K reopening plans that have occurred as of August 18, 2020 and steps states have take

Assessments of children’s learning and development can be important tools for teachers, administrators, and even parents. Used together with other information, they may inform the teaching of individual children and—when aggregated—decisions about how

Introduction The 2011 Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant was instrumental in introducing to states the concept of systematically collecting and using data from formative assessments of children at kindergarten entry.1 By the 2018-2019 schoo

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers has focused the nation’s attention on the unequal treatment of Black Americans. Black children experience unequal treatment beginning at an early age, which contributes to inequaliti

Guide to Support Pre-K Expansion One of the goals of pre-K programs funded by states is to support the learning and development of young children. Research finds that only high-quality programs can achieve positive, long-term outcomes in areas such as

Guide to Support Pre-K Expansion There are three critical steps to ensure adequate funding for high quality pre-K. First, fully specify quality standards, the number of children to be served, and a timeline to achieve these; then cost it out year-by-ye