A national report says Ohio’s pre-K system is lagging, which a researcher largely blames on a lack of resources for the system.
The National Institute for Early Education Research has been ranking pre-K systems in its annual State of Pre-K report since 2002.
This year, Ohio ranked 32nd out of 43 states when it comes to access to quality pre-K for 4-year-olds, and 36th for spending. Those rankings largely remained unchanged from the previous year.
The institute's co-director, Steve Barnett, says the state only met 5 out of 10 quality indicators as well, which he links to state funding.
“There are some key elements of program quality that Ohio hasn’t put into place and that’s mostly about whether the resources are going to be committed," Barnett said.
Ohio does not require pre-K teachers to have bachelor’s degrees and has an average class size of 28, which Barnett says indicates state leaders have not committed the necessary resources to create a quality system.
Ohio spends $4,000 on average per student enrolled in a pre-K classroom. The national per student average is $5,000.
