In October, the news reports called West Virginia’s universal pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds a national model. And they’re right. Some 68 percent of West Virginia children participate in pre-K at age 4.
The reports referred to now-Senator Joe Manchin’s involvement with the pre-K program’s rollout back when he was governor. He long has demonstrated a commitment to early childhood education, particularly today as he stresses the importance of achieving education milestones like reading at grade level by grade 3.
The overwhelming evidence shows that when children begin Kindergarten behind, they’re likely to remain behind throughout their schooling. States would do well to heed Sen. Manchin’s advice and focus on a child’s earliest years of learning and then solve the challenge of maintaining early education gains as the child progresses through school.
Economic development starts with early childhood development, and the best investments ensure all children have access to high-quality early childhood education. Evidence shows that increased access to high-quality early learning and care programs results in short- and long-term benefits to individuals and society.
Research by the Learning Policy Institute, for example, shows that for every dollar invested in high-quality early childhood education, society gains up to $7.30 in economic returns over the long term. But the gains made with early childhood education must be maintained as children make their way through school and into adulthood.
More than that, the number one priority in our state must be making sure every mom and dad has what they need to raise healthy, happy kids. And that includes quality child care and pre-K.
West Virginia has done a great job with our 4-year-olds, but quality child care and pre-K opportunities remain out of reach for families with younger children, and we cannot serve more kids and/or continue current funding without investment from the federal government. We also must find ways to maintain the early education gains being made with our youngest students.
As has been reported, West Virginia kindergarten students who have participated in our pre-K program demonstrate higher achievement in literacy, numeracy, and language skills within six and 12 months of pre-K participation, according to a 2018 study. But those early gains are not being maintained.
According to the Nation’s Report Card, otherwise known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the existence of universal pre-K in the state has not prevented West Virginia from demonstrating continued low fourth-grade performance in reading and math.
In 2019, the most recent year NAEP has reported, the average score of fourth-grade students in West Virginia was 213, which is lower than the average score of 219 for students in the nation. What’s worse, West Virginia’s 2019 score for fourth-grade reading was lower than in 2017 and not significantly different from our average score in 1998, which was 216.
We do have some brighter spots in our education attainment in the Mountain State – our high school graduation rates have been improving the last few years. But when children are not reading at grade level by third or fourth grade, they become far less likely to graduate from high school let alone succeed as adults.
High-quality Pre-K can prepare children for success in kindergarten, but those gains must be maintained by quality education thereafter. Where does the disconnect happen between such a strong start in our pre-K program for 4-year-olds and low performance by fourth grade? I won’t pretend to have the answer to that, but during my time as vice-chairman of the WV House Committee on Education, I can promise you that topic is of high importance with lawmakers. Senator Manchin understands this reality and continues to be a champion for West Virginia’s youngest learners.
The West Virginia Legislature has devoted countless hours exploring new approaches to delivering public education in West Virginia so we can improve student achievement and ultimately create a more vibrant workforce. As we all know, West Virginia’s workforce participation rate is one of the worst in the nation and business owners are clamoring for qualified, reliable employees. Parents can’t work if they don’t have access to child care and early learning options.
Clearly our state is giving 4-year-olds a great start with early childhood education. Maintaining those early gains all the way through school has been a long-standing challenge, but we will not stop until our children finish their public education journey ready to succeed in life.
Joshua Higginbotham
Cross Lanes, W.Va.