The Economic Benefits of Pre-Kindergarten

Pinpointing the potential economic value of pre-kindergarten education has become an increasingly vital piece to creating and implementing successful early education programs.  The publications below highlight the economic benefits of pre-kindergarten programs in terms of future achievement, social engagement, and productivity.  They also analyze some of the top funding sources available for the development of such programs nationwide to track the economic and individual impact of these investments.

An Economic Analysis of Investments in Early Childhood Education in Massachusetts (Strategies for Children) This report examines the economic impact of a proposed investment in a comprehensive preschooling program for all children in Massachusetts and indicate a clear economic motive for investment in early childhood education.

The Fiscal Impacts of Universal Pre-K: Case Study Analysis for Three States (Committee for Economic Development, Invest in Kids Working Group) This paper investigates the economic consequences of expanding pre-K provision so that it is unversally accessible to all children.  The fiscal benefits outwiegh the costs of such a program in each state.

The Cost Savings to Special Education from Preschooling in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Department of Education, Build Initiative) This report examines the potential cost-savings to special education budgets from additional investments in pre-schooling, and is the first such study in Pennsylvania.

An Economic Analysis of Four-Year-Old Kindergarten in Wisconsin: Returns to the Education System (Pre-K Now ) This paper considers the economic impact to the K-12 education system in the state of Wisconsin and in the district of Milwaukee from expanding provision of pre-kindergarten.

Preschool Programs and School Readiness: What is Next? (Invest in Kids Working Group) This PowerPoint presentation provides a statistical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of preschool.  It also provides details on an innovative federal policy proposal to move the preschool field forward and highlights the need for more studies providing high-quality evidence.

Many Happy Returns: Three Economic Models That Make the Case for School Readiness (State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network) This report provides a concise summary of two types of economic modeling that have been used to show economic returns on investments in early childhood programs, and describes the findings from seminal studies in each of these modeling areas.

The Economic Impact of the Child Care Industry in South Dakota (Kids Count and the University of South Dakota) This document includes statistical data that quantifies the direct and indirect economic impact of the child care industry in South Dakota in order to better integrate child-care planning into local, regional, and state economic development plans.

The Economic Benefits of High-Quality Early Childhood Programs: What Makes the Difference? (Families and Work Institute for the Committee for Economic Development, CED) This paper illustrates the knowledge already available to improve teaching practice, develop supportive public policy, and create state early childhood standards that are aligned with best practice.