Washington, D.C. – Alabama is one of two states that met all 10 benchmarks of a study on educating the nation's youngest schoolchildren.
Researchers at the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University ranked states on the quality of their pre-kindergarten programs. The benchmarks included issues such as class size, teacher-to-child ratios and whether the teacher has a bachelor's degree
North Carolina was the other state to meet all 10 benchmarks.
According to the report, 9 states met nine of the 10 standards.
Researchers say the recession could mean states will cut back on funding such programs.
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