WV Evaluation Longitudinal Cohort

2017 WV Universal Pre-K Evaluation

2019 WV Universal Pre-K Evaluation

2020 WV Universal Pre-K Evaluation

The West Virginia Universal Pre-K program, mandated by 2002 legislation, aimed to provide preschool access to all 4-year-olds by the 2012-2013 school year. As of now, the program is available in all 55 counties, ranking 5th in access nationwide. Approximately 75% of these programs operate in collaborative settings with private prekindergartens, child care centers, or Head Starts. The program's funding is integrated into the State School Aid Funding Formula.

The program meets all 10 of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) quality benchmarks, with lead and assistant teachers in public centers earning salaries on par with K-3 public school teachers. Since the 2016-2017 school year, all programs must operate full-day sessions (1,500 minutes per week; 48,000 annually) for a minimum of four days a week. State spending per child is $6,427, with total spending per child at $9,898, ranking West Virginia 13th in state spending and 4th in total spending.