New data show that a growing percentage of children, especially those from well-off households, attend center-based care in the year before they attend kindergarten. In fact, only 21 percent of children now spend the year before kindergarten in parent-only care, though that percentage jumps to 35 percent among children from lower-income families.
The report, produced by the American Institutes for Research for the U.S. Department of Education, is based on a broad sample of children entering kindergarten. It also links center-based care to a boost in children’s math and reading skills.
