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ERIC Number: ED623646
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep-20
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Tulsa Pre-K, Based on Effects on High School Graduation and College Attendance. Policy Paper No. 2022-029
Bartik, Timothy J.; Gormley, William; Amadon, Sara; Hummel-Price, Douglas; Fuller, James
W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
This paper presents new benefit-cost estimates for the Tulsa universal preschool program. These calculations are based on estimated effects from previous papers of Tulsa pre-K on high school graduation rates and college attendance rates of students who were enrolled in kindergarten in Tulsa Public Schools in the fall of 2006. In this paper, educational effects from these prior papers are used to infer lifetime earnings effects and are compared with program costs. Our conservative estimates of earnings effects suggest that per pre-K participant, the present value of earnings effects in 2021 dollars is $25,533, compared with program costs of $9,628, for a benefit-cost ratio of 2.65. Compared to prior benefit-cost studies of Tulsa pre-K, this benefit-cost ratio is below what was predicted from Tulsa pre-K's estimated effects on kindergarten test scores, but above what was predicted from Tulsa pre-K's estimated effects on grade retention by ninth grade. This fading and recovery of predicted pre-K effects as children go through K-12 and then enter adulthood is consistent with prior research. It attests to the importance of the "soft skill" effects of pre-K and reminds us that short-term studies of pre-K provide useful information for public-policy decisions.
W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. 300 South Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49007-4686. Tel: 888-227-8569; Tel: 269-343-4330; Fax: 269-343-7310; Web site: http://research.upjohn.org/upjohn_publications/
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Identifiers - Location: Oklahoma (Tulsa)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A