Prekindergarten Participation Rates in West Virginia. REL Technical Brief. REL 2012-No. 021
Author: Geraghty, Thomas M.
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Preschool Education,Participation,Enrollment Rate,Change,Preschool Children,Economically Disadvantaged,Low Income Groups,Minority Group Children,Special Education,Rural Schools,School Districts,Poverty Areas,Public Schools,Partnerships in Education,Financial Support

In 2009, in response to concerns of state policymakers, Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia published &quot;West Virginia's progress toward universal prekindergarten&quot; (Cavalluzzo et al. 2009), which covered school years 2002/03-2006/07. This follow-up brief updates that report with data for 2007/08-2010/11. It compares the shares of preK seats provided by public school systems and collaborative partners--federal or private--and analyzes participation rates based on socioeconomic and racial/ethnic subgroups and district characteristics. This study answers five research questions: (1) What is the statewide participation rate in the preK program, and how did it change between 2002/03 and 2010/11?; (2) What is the participation rate by collaborative partners, and how did it change between 2002/03 and 2010/11?; (3) How does the participation rate vary by child subgroup, including children from a low-income household, racial/ethnic minority children, and children receiving special education services?; (4) How does the participation rate differ between rural and nonrural districts and between high-poverty rural districts and the state as a whole?; and (5) Do participation rates vary by child subgroup between rural and nonrural districts? These questions are answered using West Virginia Department of Education data on public school enrollments (West Virginia Department of Education 2011; West Virginia Department of Education, Office of School Readiness 2010); the U.S. Department of Education's (2011) Common Core of Data on student family incomes and levels of district urbanization; and U.S. Census Bureau (2008) geographical data. Key findings on statewide participation rates include: (1) The statewide participation rate in the preK program has more than doubled, from 26 percent in 2002/03 to 63 percent in 2010/11; (2) PreK enrollment has grown since 2007/08, though annual growth slowed from 7 percentage points a year from 2005/06 to 2007/08 to 4 percentage points a year from 2008/09 to 2010/11; and (3) Variation in participation rates between districts has shrunk since 2006/07. Most participation growth has been in districts where the participation rate was below the statewide median. Key finding on collaborative partners includes: (1) Seating capacity provided by collaborative partners has grown. By 2010/11, 53 of West Virginia's 55 districts had preK programs funded through contracts between local education agencies and collaborative partners, and 74 percent of the state's seating capacity was funded through collaborative partners. Key findings on preK participation by child subgroup include: (1) Since 2006/07, the participation rate of children from a low-income household, which at the time was lower than the statewide rate, has grown faster than (and now exceeds) the statewide participation rate; (2) The participation rates of racial/ethnic minority children is higher than the state-wide average and has mirrored statewide growth in preK participation; and (3) The participation rate of children receiving special education services exceeded the statewide average through 2006/07, but since 2007/08, has been lower than the statewide participation rate. Key finding on participation rates in rural and nonrural districts includes: (1) Since 2002/03, rural districts have had the highest preK participation rates, but nonrural districts have had the fastest growth in participation rates. Key findings on participation rates by subgroup in rural and nonrural districts include: (1) The participation rate of children from a low-income household was at least 5 percentage points higher in rural districts than in nonrural districts every school year except 2008/09; (2) The participation rate of racial/ethnic minority children in rural and nonrural districts has not followed a consistent pattern, though it has usually been higher in nonrural districts since 2004/05; and (3) The participation rate of special education students was on average 8 percentage points higher in rural districts than in nonrural districts over 2002/03-2010/11. Appended are: (1) Literature review; (2) Data and methodology; and (3) Detailed tables. (Contains 10 figures, 14 tables, 2 boxes, 2 maps and 2 notes.)