| Perspectives on Texas

“We must provide our children with the tools they need to succeed. We do that through education… that education begins with early education including high-quality Pre-K.” —Gov. Greg Abbott

Ask any businessperson if he or she would like to receive a proven return on an investment and the answer is likely to be “Yes!” A large part of the business of Texas is educating children. Business is booming from the standpoint of having plenty of kids to educate — one out of every ten children in the United States is born in Texas. However, from the results side, it is clear that we could be doing a lot better. Fortunately, as a recent study affirms, the path toward much better results is very clear. We just need to make the right investments.

A 2016 statewide study we recently published, funded by The Meadows Foundation and the Miles Foundation, shows any kind of Texas Pre-Kindergarten — half-day, full-day or quality Pre-K (e.g. full-day program, adequate funding, appropriate class size)  — followed by a high-quality K-3 education significantly helps economically disadvantaged students throughout Texas score higher on the 3rd grade STAAR Reading exam by as much as 78 points.

Families, the business community, academic researchers and policymakers all especially understand the importance of Pre-K for low-income children. For them, it is most often the very difference between academic success and failure.

Texas has improved the performance of economically disadvantaged students across the state reading at a college-ready pace in 3rd grade by 1 percent from 2012 to 2015. The Meadows Foundation and Children at Risk study projects that performance would have increased by 16 percent if all economically disadvantaged students had attended Pre-K (+18 percent for rural school districts, +17 percent for suburban school districts, and +15 percent for urban school districts).

Sixty percent of the five million public school students in Texas are economically disadvantaged, and research shows they’re more likely to drop out of high school and be unprepared for a postsecondary education if they’re not reading on grade level in 3rd grade. These students need quality Pre-K programs to get ahead and be ready to learn in Kindergarten. According to researchers, high-quality Pre-K programs help our most vulnerable students stay in school and succeed long-term. Without Pre-K, we ensure that millions of our children will not get the best education they need to fully participate in the future Texas economy and workforce.

From a business standpoint, it’s clear; Pre-K offers one heck of a return on investment — and the consequences of failing to invest in our children’s futures are grim.

We Texans are practical people; we want to put our resources where they will do the most good and make the biggest difference. That is why our governor and Texans throughout the state recognize how critically important Pre-K programs are. In his 2017 State of the State address, Gov. Abbott said, “Eighty percent of all voters agree: Texas should fund optional high-quality Pre-K education.”

If you believe in evidence-based, proven research, if you want our tax dollars invested wisely, if you want to see exponentially improved test scores, it is time for your voice to be heard.

We as citizens and voters must strongly encourage the Texas Legislature to invest in public Pre-K, sustain the previous funding of $118 million per year and sustain funding for the High-Quality Pre-K Grant Program at $236 million for the biennium. This is the only way to continue to give our children — including our most vulnerable students — a foundation for success.