If you think early learning debates are reserved for teachers, parents, academics and advocates, you weren’t paying attention this campaign season.

At one point in the New Jersey governor’s race, eventual winner Republican Chris Christie compared state pre-kindergarten to babysitting, The Star-Ledger reported. Christie clarified his position that preschool is worthwhile, but there isn’t funding for expansion, according to the newspaper.

Not surprisingly, his opponent, outgoing Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, used Christie’s comments in a campaign ad.

“He (Corzine) is still putting money in universal pre-k,” Christie is seen saying with apparent surprise during a television interview.

Wait a minute. Whatever your political position, a lot of governors are still putting money into state-supported pre-k, as shown in a report released last week, “Facing Grim Economy, Most State Legislatures Continue to Prioritize Pre-K.” Check out Corzine’s campaign ad on YouTube here.

EarlyStories highlighted political shifts in early learning agendas in “New Jersey, Virginia Could Face Pre-K Setbacks,” posted today.

Raw Data on Kindergarten Test Scores: Last month the Education Department released a report showing children from child care centers scored higher on math and reading tests when they entered kindergarten.

Students who primarily spent their time in non-Head Start child care centers the year before kindergarten scored, on average, 47 points in early reading assessments, while children who had no early care or education outside their parents scored 40 points. On math tests, those center-based kids scored 46 points compared to the parental group who scored 41 points.

Also, children who participated in regular early care and education arrangements the year prior to kindergarten scored higher on the reading and mathematics assessments than children who had no regular experience in early care and education the year prior to entering kindergarten. – “The Children Born in 2001 at Kindergarten Entry: First Findings from the Kindergarten Data Collections of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), First Look.”

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, the report warns against making causal inferences based on its findings. I guess these are simply more tea leaves researchers can scrutinize for clues about benefits of early learning.

Thanks to Child Care & Early Education Research Connections for finding this report.