Georgia sets new benchmark as first state to meet all 10 NIEER preschool quality standards

Georgia becomes the first US state to fully meet all 10 quality benchmarks set by NIEER for preschool programmes, thanks to increased investment and improved classroom standards, marking a significant milestone in early childhood education.

Georgia has become the first universal state-funded pre-school programme in the United States to meet all 10 of the National Institute for Early Education Research’s quality benchmarks, a distinction that places its Pre-K scheme at the top of the institute’s 2025 State of Preschool Yearbook. The report says the state’s programme for four-year-olds is also the largest of its kind to clear every benchmark, which measure factors such as teacher qualifications, class size, early learning standards and assessment systems.

According to NIEER, Georgia improved its standing after increasing investment and tightening classroom standards, including a better teacher-to-child ratio and smaller maximum class sizes. The institute said the state’s approach shows that a broad public programme can still meet high quality thresholds when funding is directed towards staffing and classroom conditions. Georgia enrolled 70,572 children in the 2024-25 school year and provided $538 million in state funding, according to the yearbook’s state profile.

The latest yearbook also found that preschool funding and enrolment reached record levels nationally in 2024-25, although growth slowed from the previous year. Enrolment rose by 44,000 children to almost 1.8 million, covering 37% of America’s four-year-olds and 9% of three-year-olds. States spent nearly $14.4 billion on preschool, with total spending, including federal and local money, approaching $17.7 billion. California, New Jersey and New York alone accounted for 45% of all state preschool spending, while Texas added almost another $1 billion.

Even so, the report points to wide gaps between states. Only six states met all 10 of NIEER’s recommended quality standards, and 20 states enrolled fewer children than the year before. Twenty-eight states increased preschool funding, but 17 spent less after adjusting for inflation. NIEER director Steve Barnett said other states should look closely at Georgia’s model, while lead author Allison Friedman-Krauss warned that access and quality still vary sharply depending on where a child lives.