The Myth of Pre-K

Adam Schaeffer of the Cato Institute tackles the mythical benefits of universal pre-K:

In truth, pre-K costs billions of dollars but returns little benefit. Supporters base their claims on reports that have been proven wrong; they make wild and ungrounded assumptions, elementary mistakes in calculations, and conflate the effects of preschool with other major interventions in the participants’ families that some programs have made.

When we look at actual universal pre-K programs in action in Quebec, Georgia, and Oklahoma, we see that pre-K costs far outweigh the benefits. Indeed, in Quebec researchers found that the program has had a negative effect on some students. And even the good effects fade out as the students move through grade school.

The government school lobby is trying to change the subject and grab some more money on top of the half a trillion dollars it already commands. Pre-K is no substitute for fixing our K-12 education system.