ERIC Number: ED612621
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
High-Quality Publicly Funded Pre-Kindergarten Programs: How Much Do They Cost? Research Brief. RB-A252-1
Karoly, Lynn A.; Cannon, Jill S.; Gomez, Celia J.; Whitaker, Anamarie A.
RAND Corporation
There is strong evidence that children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs learn skills that benefit them in school and life. The price tag of most private programs puts them out of reach for some families, however. In response, many states and school districts fund pre-K programs to expand opportunities for their youngest citizens to learn and thrive. Although some states and districts document how much they spend on programs, less is known about the true cost of delivering them. To help policymakers understand the cost of providing high-quality pre-K programs, RAND Corporation researchers collected 2018-2019 fiscal year expenditure data for 36 public and private providers operating as part of four publicly funded pre-K systems in three states: (1) Michigan's Great Start Readiness Program; (2) Oregon's Pre-Kindergarten and Preschool Promise; and (3) Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-K. The researchers also developed a cost model that was used to estimate per-child pre-K cost at the national, state, or local level for the focal pre-K systems already mentioned, as well as Universal Pre-K Boston and Oklahoma's Early Childhood Four-Year-Old Program. The findings from the study can be used by policymakers as they strive to continue making high-quality pre-K programs accessible for all families. [For the full report, see ED612701.]
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Public Education, Costs, Expenditure per Student, Data Collection, Models, State Aid, Educational Finance, Research Problems, Computation
RAND Corporation. P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. Tel: 877-584-8642; Tel: 310-451-7002; Fax: 412-802-4981; e-mail: order@rand.org; Web site: http://www.rand.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Authoring Institution: RAND Education and Labor; RAND Social and Economic Well-Being
Identifiers - Location: Michigan; Oregon; Tennessee; Massachusetts (Boston); Oklahoma; Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A