U.S. Lagging Behind in Serving Young Children

“Out of 36 countries, the U.S. ranked 29 in enrollment rates for its 3- and 4-year-olds, according to Education at a Glance 2016, the 500-page report…from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,” wrote Lauren Camera in a 2016 US News and World Report article. 

Camera quotes Andreas Schleicher, director of the OECD's Directorate for Education and Skills as saying, “‘When you look at early childhood education and care, they are quite low by international standards.’

In the U.S., 42 percent of 3-year-olds and 68 percent of 4-year-olds enrolled in early childhood or preschool programs in 2014 – far below the OECD average of 71 percent of 3-year-olds and 86 percent of 4-year-olds.

Moreover, the report shows, the figures for the U.S. are nearly unchanged since 2005, when the enrollment rate was 39 percent for children aged 3 and 68 percent for children aged 4.”

Source: “On Early Ed, the U.S. is Light Years Behind Other Industrialized Countries,” by Lauren Camera, US News and World Report, September 15, 2016. 

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