These days, most people understand that what happens during a child’s early years greatly impacts his or her ability to be successful in the future. A toddler’s experiences and environments influence the development of language, reasoning, problem solving, social skills, behavior, and emotional health. That’s one reason to care about early learning. Another reason is economic. What’s becoming clear to national economists is the correlation between a community’s ability to achieve key early learning outcomes and its future economic vibrancy.

Two reports address both sides of the equation. The League of Education Voters Foundation 2007 Citizen’s Report Card on Washington State Education uses six indicators to measure Washington’s progress on early learning. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, through a series of papers and reports, has documented the high return on investment in early education. Both reports are worth a look:

View the League of Education Voters report.
View the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis paper.