The State of Preschool 2022 Annual Report

Rutgers University’s National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has released The State of Preschool 2022 annual report, which covers the 2021-2022 school year and tracks preschool enrollment, funding, and policies state-by-state.

Pennsylvania Highlights

According to the report, Pennsylvania remains far from offering children throughout the state the early education they need with just one in five children enrolled in state funded preschool in 2021-2022.

Pennsylvania key findings include:

  • Enrollment in state-funded preschool was 45,164, an increase of 4,602

  • State spending for preschool programs was $351,710,037, an increase of $7,038,439 (inflation adjusted)

  • State spending per child enrolled in preschool was $7,787

  • Pennsylvania met an average of 6.9 of 10 quality standards benchmarks

  • Pennsylvania has not committed to universal preschool for four-year-olds

  • Pennsylvania did not provide incentives for preschool teacher retention or recruitment

Pennsylvania National Rankings in 2022

  • Enrollment at age four: 28th (20%)

  • Enrollment at age three: 11th (10%)

  • State spending per child: 11th ($7,787)

  • All-reported spending per child: 24th ($7,787)

More Information

Details about Pennsylvania can be found in the state's profile. Information about how to interpret data in state profiles is available. The full report, Executive Summary, and more details can be found on NIEER's site.

NewsHeidi Winkler