Over the past 20 years, Indiana has taken a systematic approach to building quality preschool opportunities for 4-year-olds.

Unlike many states that have seen declines in preschool as a result of COVID-19, Indiana will have a record year in the 2021-22 school year for On My Way Pre-K, the state’s preschool voucher program. served several children.

Despite this success, a recent article published by WalletHub incorrectly ranked Indiana last (51st) among all states and the District of Columbia for early education systems. While Indiana certainly has room for improvement, this ranking represents an incomplete and biased view of the state of preschoolers in our state.

We do not argue that legislators, policy makers, advocates, and the public should be complacent. In fact, much needs to be done to strengthen the early education system. But recognizing the progress Indiana has made in supporting quality preschool education for its youngest learners and how important that progress is to Indiana’s growth and opportunity It is important.

The state has established several major programs to meet the needs of Indiana families with young children.

In 2008, Indiana rolled out a quality assessment and improvement system called Paths to Quality. It encourages new and existing programs to improve program quality. In 2014, Indiana launched the On My Way Pre-K program to provide free, quality preschool services to children from low-income families.

Since its inception, On My Way Pre-K has expanded from five pilot counties to all 92 counties. Last year alone, the program helped her children more than $16 million in state, federal, and local funds.

Together, these initiatives lay the groundwork for an early education system that is quality-focused and easily integrated into current infrastructure. Specifically, our research shows that children participating in On My Way Pre-K outperformed other students in key preschool skills such as language and literacy.

Despite these significant advances, WalletHub’s rankings tell a different story. One reason for this is that the analysis relies on data sources that do not acknowledge that On My Way Pre-K meets “state kindergarten” standards. The primary reason for that exclusion is that her parent’s work status is a requirement for her On My Way Pre-K (eligibility requires a parent working, attending school, participating in a working or looking for a job). It cannot be used indefinitely.

A major consequence of adopting this definition for the rankings is that On My Way Pre-Ks do not count in five of the twelve metrics that make up Indiana’s rankings.

To dig deeper into these data, we requested more information from WalletHub on the methodology behind the rankings.

Including the nearly 5,000 children who served On My Way Pre-K during the last school year may not have shaken some metrics 3 and 4 year old ratio”). , it is certainly not accurate to report Indiana in a ranking similar to states that do not actually have a state-sponsored pre-kindergarten program, given the following accomplishments of her programs, which are also not reflected in the rankings: Let’s.

• Enrollments into On My Way Pre-K increased 48% from the 2020-21 school year to the 2021-22 school year.

• Indiana invested an average of $3,420 per child in On My Way Pre-K for the 2020-21 school year.

• Allowing only high-quality providers to qualify to offer On My Way Pre-K is a big reason why the number of high-quality Paths to Quality programs has nearly doubled since 2014.

It is shortsighted not to recognize the many ways in which early education goals can be achieved. The results of our longitudinal study show that, in terms of financial self-sufficiency, parents’ participation in On My Way Pre-K benefits children and provides children with opportunities they would otherwise not have access to. is suggested to be provided.

On My Way Pre-K is unique compared to other state-run preschool programs because it operates within the current mixed delivery system and blends state, federal, and county dollars I agree to

However, it reduces the administrative burden to serve more families, provides easy entry points to programs already in place, and provides parents with the best quality preschool programs. We see this as a strength because it gives us a choice to choose from. their needs.

Like all states, Indiana should strive to improve access to quality early education. The state is well positioned to make strategic investments and leverage the successful On My Way Pre-K model to expand its reach and reach.

Innovative progress requires a multifaceted approach with the support of many partners who share a commitment to promoting the well-being of children and families.

Potentially promising next steps include directing additional funding and resources to On My Way Pre-Kindergartens, typically underserved communities (e.g. rural areas); This includes expanding the eligibility of programs to provide services and funding mechanistic research. Promote high quality early experiences and support, sustain and diversify the early education workforce.

Here in Indiana, we have a lot of work to do, but the state has made great strides in recent years to develop evidence-based preschool programs. and infrastructure resources, we find that the whole practice of ranking states relative to each other is not a particularly useful exercise.

Instead, we should look forward to seeing how as a state we can take the next big leap forward in early childhood education and keep our goal of supporting the youngest Hoosiers a top priority.