Education Research Report

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Transforming Public Education: Pathway to a Pre-K-12 Future

This report challenges our nation’s policy makers to transform public education by moving from a K-12 to a Pre-K-12 system. This vision is grounded in rigorous research and informed by interviews with education experts, as well as lessons from Pew’s decade-long initiative to advance high-quality pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds.

The report also reflects work by leading scholars and institutions to identify the knowledge and skills students need to succeed in school and the teaching practices that most effectively develop them. Together, these analyses and perspectives form a compelling case for why America’s education system must start earlier, with pre-k, to deliver the results that children, parents and taxpayers deserve.

State investment in pre-k programs has more than doubled in the past decade, but states have yet to maximize the impact of high-quality pre-k on children’s academic performances. Bridging early education and school reform will strengthen the return on investment from the billions of public and private dollars that are being spent each year on increasing academic achievement.