Rand's Preschool Cost Benefits Study Blatantly Incorrect

Two economics professors from San Jose State University analyzed a Rand Corporation preschool cost study and concluded that Rand's claim of benefits amounting to $2.62 for each dollar California taxpayers contributed were based on selective data and unverified assumptions that skewed results. Consequently, Rand "overestimates the upsides and dramatically underestimates the downsides" of universal preschool as well as California's Proposition 82 that supports government-run preschool.

Using Rand data and methodology, the professors said "it is easy to demonstrate that universal preschool generates losses of 25 to 30 cents for every dollar spent."

San Jose State University economics professor Christopher Cardiff and assistant economics professor Edward Stringham coauthored the analysis of the Rand study. Cardiff's and Stringham's findings were published May 2006 in Is Universal Preschool Beneficial?...

In their analysis they "found the Rand study fails to pass even the basic benchmarks of what can be considered a reasonable economic analysis." They further noted, "If the RAND study was submitted in our San Jose State University classrooms, it would get an 'F'. "

Link to lengthy entire article: http://www.reason.org/ps345_universalpreschool.pdf