A study comparing early childhood education in the United States showed reduced pre-school enrollment and stalled spending by the state of Ohio to help educate young kids. According to the National Institution for Early Education Research (NIEER), the COVID-19 pandemic is still causing issues in the education of preschoolers. However, many problems already existed before the COVID pandemic worsened them.
NIEER conducted the annual survey to focus on how states funded preschool in the 2020-2021 academic year versus enrollment numbers in the states. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, NIEER is affiliated with the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
The study of NIEER showed spending for preschool programs in Ohio went down by more than $12 million, and the state only met five out of the ten benchmarks that the institute analyzes for quality. The study used data from the Ohio Department of Education's Early Childhood Education program, which is publicly funded, and the Ohio Public Preschool Program.
Ohio ranked just 33rd in state spending on preschoolers
Researchers stated in their study that the state of Ohio is not within reach of serving at least 70 percent of 4-year-old kids across state preschool, Head Start, and special education. Benchmarks analyzed in the study included curriculum supports, teacher and assistant teacher education, early learning and development standards, class size, staff-child ratio, screening and referral, specialized training for teachers, continuous quality improvement system, and staff professional development.
Ohio only met institution benchmarks in specialized teacher training, screening and referrals, curriculum supports, a continuous quality improvement system, and early learning and development standards.
Ohio ranked 33rd in the nation in state spending on preschoolers, allotting just $4,000 per child. Based on the enrollment numbers collected by NIEER, only 2 percent of 3-year-old children were enrolled in pre-school in Ohio in 2020-2021, and only 9 percent of 4-year-old children went to pre-school in that same year. Ohio began allowing 3-year-old enrollment to preschool back in 2016-2017.
According to a report by NPR, nearly 300,000 fewer kids were enrolled in preschool in the United States, mainly because of school closures, remote learning, and pandemic health risks. However, some states increased spending using federal pandemic aid to preserve capacity.
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Ohio used just 60 million in funding with decreased enrollment
More than $72 million in funding was made available in Ohio, but only $60 million of those funds was used with decreased enrollment. According to the study, only 58 percent of state school districts offer pre-school programming.
Preschools only received funding from the state, compared to K-12 funding that receives state and federal contributions as well as contributions from local sources such as levies. In the same years that NIEER studied, K-12 funding received $14,930 per-child spending among all contributions in Ohio, compared to just $4,000 for pre-school education from the state.
According to the study, unlike some states, Ohio did not use any of its federal funding provided through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money for pre-school education.
