Enrollment in state-funded preschool inched up in 2014-15

The report from the National Institute for Early Education Research found a wide range in per-pupil spending and quality of programs, with New Jersey spending $12,149 for each child enrolled in pre-K compared with $2,304 in Florida and $1,981 in South Carolina.

"States announce that they're making some initiative and then the next year they take a couple of steps backward," said Steve Barnett, director of the early education institute, which is based at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

The institute, which advocates for early childhood education, is under contract with the National Center for Education Statistics to conduct an annual preschool survey.