State Pre-K Program Maintains Top 5 National Ranking

For the third year in a row, West Virginia’s pre-K program has ranked among the very best in the nation. 

West Virginia once again scored well in the latest State of Pre-K report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University.  The institute has been advocating for universal pre-K and grading each state’s existing program for more than 20 years. 

West Virginia maintained its position as 4th in the nation for preschool enrollment for 4-year-olds, serving 67% of the state’s 4-year-olds. That is nearly double the national enrollment, which is trending upwards, and the report points out West Virginia’s enrollment number has not changed in 5 years.

Steven Barnett , NIEER’s senior director and founder, went so far as to call West Virginia “a national leader in supporting four-year-olds with quality pre-K” in the report.

The state’s program met 9 out 10 NIERR criteria, which include student to teacher ratios, teacher specialized training and maximum class sizes.

The only missed benchmark continues to be professional development for teachers and assistants. 

As a state with declining K-12 enrollment, the report also recommends West Virginia look towards Oklahoma’s implementation of pre-K as part of the public school system to improve quality and funding. 

“Oklahoma experienced a declining K-12 population a quarter century ago and was perhaps the first state to recognize that the problems this caused (e.g., school closures, lost economies of scale) could be addressed by adding universal preschool to the public education system,” the report argues.