New York early education system ranked 10th worst nationwide

NEW YORK (WWTI) — With pre-school enrollment dropping due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York’s early education system has been found to be one of the worst in the country.

This was determined by a study conducted by the personal-finance website WalletHub, which compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. Data sets in the study ranged from share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program, to number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in these programs.

New York ranked tenth worst overall with low rankings in quality and access. The study also found that Arkansas has the best early education system, ranking first in quality and fourth in access; and Indiana has the worst early education system, ranking last in quality and fourth worst for resources and economic support.

Fort specific metrics, New York ranked 30th for highest income requirements for state Pre-K eligibility, 24th highest total reported spending per child enrolled in preschool and 28th for highest share of school districts that offer state preschool programs. Higher rankings included its preschool growth, placing 19th, and change in states spending per child enrolled in preschool, placing 17th.

A map detailing each state’s ranking and a chart with metrics are featured below:

Full results from the study can be found on the WalletHub website.