The Road to High-Quality Early Learning: Lessons from the States

This report describes and analyzes how four states — Michigan, West Virginia, Washington and North Carolina — have built high-quality early education systems. These states share a common commitment to advancing foundational elements of a quality preschool education and have relied on common overarching strategies. Their experiences provide important insights into how best to leverage resources and develop policies and practices to improve and expand early learning opportunities. Key lessons include: prioritize quality and continuous improvement; invest in training and coaching; coordinate the administration of birth-through-grade-3 programs; combine multiple funding sources to increase access and improve quality; and create broad-based coalitions and support.