Colorado's Children Are Thriving.
Private Child Care Is Why.
National data from three independent sources tells a consistent story: Colorado's private child care providers are delivering results that state mandates cannot replicate โ and the numbers prove it.
High State Standards Don't Equal Better Outcomes.
States with the highest government quality mandate scores โ perfect 10s on the NIEER scale โ consistently rank near the bottom of national child outcome measures. Colorado, with one of the lowest mandate scores, ranks near the top.
Low Mandates. Exceptional Outcomes.
Perfect Scores. Children Left Behind.
% of 3-Year-Olds On Track in All 5 Developmental Domains
The gold standard measure: children on track in every developmental area โ early learning, social-emotional, self-regulation, physical health, and motor skills. Colorado ranks #2 in the nation.
Lowest in the nation. Only 1 in 6 kids fully on track โ with a high mandate score.
Near-lowest. Last in NAEP rankings. High standards, worst results.
The national baseline. Colorado beats this by more than 9 percentage points.
#2 in the nation. Nearly half of all Colorado 3-year-olds are on track in every single developmental domain.
Strong outcomes, moderate mandates. Consistent with the Colorado pattern.
#1 overall โ but a unique urban environment with concentrated federal investment.
Quality Is Built by Providers.
Not Mandated by Bureaucrats.
The Data Is Consistent Across Three Sources
NIEER quality scores, 2024 NAEP rankings, and Child Trends' Healthy & Ready to Learn measure all point to the same conclusion: government mandate compliance does not predict child success.
Colorado's Private Sector Is the Engine
With a state preschool mandate score of just 2 out of 10, Colorado's children rank #6 nationally in academic achievement and #2 in whole-child developmental health. The private child care ecosystem is driving this.
More Mandates May Harm What Works
Every state that scores highest on NIEER's mandate checklist struggles on child outcomes. Piling new requirements onto Colorado's providers risks destabilizing the very system that is producing top-tier results.
Partnerships Generate Real Returns
What moves the needle for Colorado kids is not regulatory burden โ it's a thriving private child care sector supported by partnerships that save providers money, reduce turnover, and let them focus on children.
Colorado's Children Are Counting on the Providers Who Are Already Delivering.
Support the private child care ecosystem that is producing the best outcomes in the nation โ not more mandates that have proven to fail children everywhere they've been tried.
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