Percentage of preprimary children ages 3–5 who were enrolled in center-based early childhood care and education programs, by child and family characteristics: Various years, 1991

Preprimary Education

Table 2-1. Percentage of preprimary children ages 3–5 who were enrolled in center-based early childhood care and education programs, by child and family characteristics: Various years, 1991–2005

Child or family characteristic	1991	1993	1995	1996	1999	2001	2005

Total	53	53	55	55	60	56	57
Age
3	42	40	41	42	46	43	43
4	60	62	65	63	70	66	69
5	64	66	75	73	77	73	69

Sex
Male	52	53	55	55	61	54	60
Female	53	53	55	55	59	59	55

Race/ethnicity¹
White	54	54	57	57	60	59	59
Black	58	57	60	65	73	64	66
Hispanic	39	43	37	39	44	40	43

Poverty status²
Poor	44	43	45	44	51	47	47
Nonpoor	56	56	59	59	62	59	60

Poverty status and race/ethnicity
Poor
White	41	40	43	39	43	46	45
Black	55	53	55	61	72	60	65
Hispanic	34	37	30	33	41	36	36
Nonpoor
White	56	56	60	60	63	61	61
Black	62	63	66	69	74	66	68
Hispanic	42	48	44	45	47	42	48

Family type
Two-parent household	54	52	55	54	59	57	57
One-parent or guardian-only household	50	54	56	58	62	56	58

Mother’s education
Less than high school	32	33	35	37	40	38	35
High school diploma or equivalent	46	43	48	49	52	47	49
Some college, including vocational/technical	60	60	57	58	63	62	56
Bachelor’s degree or higher	72	73	75	73	74	70	73

Mother’s employment
35 hours or more per week	59	61	60	63	65	63	64
Less than 35 hours per week	58	57	62	64	64	61	61
Looking for work	43	48	52	47	55	47	42
Not in labor force	45	44	47	43	52	47	50

¹Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Included in the total, but not shown separately, are children from other racial/ethnic groups.
²Poor is defined to include families below the poverty threshold; nonpoor is defined to include families whose incomes are at or above the poverty threshold. See supplemental note 1 for more information on poverty.
NOTE: Estimates are based on children who have not yet entered kindergarten. Center-based programs include day care centers, Head Start programs, preschool, nursery school, prekindergarten, and other early childhood programs. Children without mothers in the home are not included in estimates for mother’s education or mother’s employment.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Education Survey of the 1991 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES), School Readiness Survey of the 1993 NHES, Parent and Family Involvement in Education/Civic Involvement Survey of the 1996 NHES, Parent Survey of the 1999 NHES, and Early Childhood Program Participation Survey of the 1995, 2001, and 2005 NHES.

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