Mississippi Recognized for Meeting Quality Pre-K Benchmarks

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released a report Tuesday, April 29, that recognized Mississippi as one of only five states to meet all 10 of NIEER’s recommended benchmarks for preschool quality. These benchmark indicators include teacher qualifications, class sizes, early learning standards, and program assessments. The report found that Mississippi’s state-funded pre-K programs enrolled 7,145 children in the 2023-24 school year, an increase of 1,816 from the 2022-23 school year as the state began the State Invested Pre-Kindergarten (SIP) Program. Both of our state’s pre-K programs (the SIPs and Early Learning Collaboratives) met all 10 research-based quality benchmarks recommended by NIEER.