Some young children go to preschool, nursery school, Head Start or Early Start programs, or kindergarten before they start school. Parents of children aged 3 to 5 were asked if their children regularly attended any of these programs.

Overall, 60.7 percent of young children attended one of these forms of early childhood school in the month prior to the survey.

Enrollment in early childhood programs varies by children’s race and ethnicity. Of Black children aged 3 to 5, 69.9 percent attended early childhood school, as did 64.9 percent of multiracial children, 63.5 percent of White children, and 68.8 percent of children of other races in this age group. Hispanic children aged 3 to 5 were the least likely to attend early childhood programs, with only 44.1 percent doing so regularly.

Attendance at early childhood programs also varies by family income. Only half of children aged 3-5 in families with incomes below 200 percent of poverty (50.1 percent of children with family incomes below 100 percent of poverty and 50.6 percent of children with family incomes between 100 and 199 percent of poverty) receive formal early childhood education. Of children with family incomes between 200 and 399 percent of FPL, 63.8 percent attend early childhood school, as do 76.1 percent of children with family incomes of 400 percent of FPL or more.