According to the recently released 2016 report on preschool nationwide, Wisconsin is ranked 4^th in the nation for the percentage of 4-year-olds in state-funded Pre-Kindergarten programs in the 2015-16 school year. Wisconsin, through its Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Program and its Head Start State Supplement program, enrolled 51,551 children, almost 71 percent of the state’s 4-year-olds and one percent of 3-year-olds.

In addition 7% of 4-year-olds were served by federally funded Head Start (note: more 4-year-olds are served by state funding).

Here is the link to NIEER’s State of Preschool 2016 profile for Wisconsin:
http://nieer.org/state-preschool-yearbooks/yearbook2016#profiles

Wisconsin’s rank in state funding per child was not nearly as high, with a rating of 30th in state funding for Pre-K. The report shows that Wisconsin’s 4K programs meet 4.1 out of 10 quality standard benchmarks (because Wisconsin public schools operate under local control, many quality standards are not required statewide). Wisconsin Head Start programs meet 8 out of 10 quality benchmarks.

For more information, go to NIEER Wisconsin Press Release

Dave Edie
Early Education Policy Analyst