How High-Quality Early Care and Education Helps Build a Strong Workforce

Businesses have always needed workers proficient in the “3 Rs” – reading, writing, and arithmetic. But today’s fast-paced marketplace requires even higher proficiency levels, as well as the social-emotional skills needed to think critically, work collaboratively, and persevere through challenges. Yet businesses are hard-pressed to find workers that meet these needs.

Problems arise early: At kindergarten entry, disadvantaged children can already be as much as 18 months behind their peers in skills development. In fact, 60 to 70 percent of the achievement gap in high school is already present on the first day of kindergarten. Many of these children never catch up, and, as a result, they are more likely to become high-school dropouts.

There is a solution: High-quality early care and education.

In this factsheet, we cite research that shows how quality early learning can help children succeed in school so they can become a part of the effective workforce our country needs to be competitive in the global marketplace.

An investment in early care and education is a solid investment in our nation’s ability to compete. Congress must continue to prioritize investments in Head Start, the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Preschool Development Grants.