Access to high quality publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs, defined as those that offer full-day instruction and low student-to-staff ratios, is a proven strategy for supporting students throughout their academic careers. Research has shown that attending high quality pre-kindergarten not only increases early academic achievement but also increases the likelihood of students’ graduating high school and attending college. The importance of early childhood education and its impacts on later student outcomes presents a dual agenda for the state and region: the need to support public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) and the need to improve the quality and consistency of pre-k instructional practice by providers to ensure children get the most out of the educational system. Texas has already taken positive steps to ensure that all eligible four-year-olds have access to full-day pre-kindergarten, but more can be done to increase the quality of public pre-kindergarten by lowering staff-to-student ratios. Better outreach to ensure that students enroll in and consistently attend pre-kindergarten ensures that communities who have been historically excluded from education systems in Texas receive the supports they need to be successful in their academic journey. Examining data can help identify trends and improve equitable pre-k access and attendance.

About this data:
The following data are public pre-k utilization rates retrospectively collected at the time of kindergarten enrollment. This lagging data reflect whether a student attended pre-k one year (referred here as pre-k 4 at age 4) and/or two years (referred here as pre-k 3 at age 3) prior to their kindergarten enrollment.

Based on the available data, E3 alliance defines public pre-k eligibility as it is reported as part of students’ school records. In the charts below, students are counted as eligible for public pre-k if the student comes from a low-income household and/or a student is determined to have emergent bilingual status at the time of kindergarten enrollment. This definition does not capture every student who might be eligible for public pre-k but it is used as a proxy to most closely measure eligibly from the available data.

For more information about E3’s public pre-k eligibility, please visit our website here.

Following are items to note:
E3 Alliance relies primarily on data from the University of Texas Education Research Center (ERC). There is a delay in data availability due to state approval within the ERC and analysis time. This data pertains to students from within the state of Texas who are eligible for and/or attend public pre-k. Additionally, this data allows for a longitudinal understanding of pre-k eligibility and attendance.