A recent report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) finds that for every dollar invested in New Mexico’s state pre-K program, the state can expect to reap $5 in benefits, from the value of the child care itself to likely future outcomes for the children in education, college attendance, and the labor market, among others.
The study also examined the quality of New Mexico’s pre-K classrooms and direct effects on children’s language, literacy, and math skills. The researchers found positive effects in all three areas for the first three years of implementation. (Further research is needed to determine whether apparent declines in vocabulary scores for children in later years are meaningful.) The researchers found overall classroom quality in New Mexico to be good.