BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland has the third-best early education system in the U.S., according to a new study by WalletHub.

With pre-K enrollment dropping by nearly 300,000 students last year, which hurt educational progress and increased inequality, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2022’s States with the Best & Worst Early Education Systems.

In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K.

Quality of Early Education in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• 30th – Share of 3- and 4-year-olds Enrolled in pre-K, pre-K Special Education and Head Start
• 10th – Income Requirement for State Pre-K Eligibility
• 5th – Total Reported Spending per Child Enrolled in Preschool
• 10th – Total State Head Start Program Spending per Child Enrolled in Preschool
• 20th – Monthly Child Care Co-Payment Fees as a Percent of Family Income

Arkansas (#1) and Nebraska (#2) were the only states ranked higher than Maryland.

The full 2022 report can be viewed at WalletHub here.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels