Research Does Not Identify an Optimal Teacher-Child Ratio That Improves Child Outcomes, Though More Stringent Ratios May Increase Per Child Spending

This brief reviews the literature on the relationship between teacher-child ratios and child outcomes, then describes how Head Start ratio standards compare with existing state licensing standards. Key findings include:

• Child care and early childhood education licensing regulations are set by states and identify minimum standards that programs must meet to be licensed to operate.
  • When covered by both federal rules and state licensing systems, Head Start programs are required to follow the more stringent requirement.
• Most research identifies mixed, weak, or no relationship between teacher-child ratios and outcomes in child care.
  • Rigorous systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining the pathway from structural quality (e.g., teacher-child ratios) to process quality (e.g., interactions between teachers and children) have found that while lower ratios can support better teacher-child interaction, especially for young children, evidence on direct child outcomes is inconsistent.
  • Research has also identified Head Start to be similarly associated with kindergarten readiness outcomes as other public pre-K or center-based settings even though Head Start sometimes has more stringent ratios.
• In general, the level of alignment between the state licensing standards and Head Start standards varies by child age.
  • Across both Head Start and state licensing standards, ratio requirements are smaller for younger children than for older children.
  • Head Start standards are more aligned with the state ratio standard for the youngest children (under one year old) and the oldest children (ages four to five).
  • For all age groups, when state ratio requirements are not aligned with Head Start standards, the state standard is most commonly larger than the Head Start standards.
• No single ratio or group size is uniformly viewed as necessary for quality care.
• Head Start has already permitted less stringent staff-child ratios and group sizes for thousands of funded slots through locally designed program option waivers, and there is no evidence that quality outcomes differ.
• Ratio choices carry direct cost implications: lower ratios may increase spending per child because the same staffing costs are spread across fewer children.

*This content is in the process of Section 508 review. If you need immediate assistance accessing this content, please submit a request to Amanda Benton, amanda.benton@hhs.gov. Content will be updated pending the outcome of the Section 508 review.