Universal Government Preschool: Nilla Wafer Wishes and Juice Box Dreams

By Vicki Alger • Thursday March 27, 2014

Earlier this month President Obama released his behemoth education budget, complete with $75 billion in mandatory funding over the next decade for universal government preschool programs.   This should come as no surprise. Obama has made universal preschool a cornerstone issue, and supporters in the press have been spilling lots of ink, largely because there’s scant evidence of long-term benefits.

Government preschool enthusiast Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times admits as much in a recent column, noting that “early education has always had an impact not through cognitive gains but through long-term improvements in life outcomes.”

Those of us not deluded by Nilla Wafer wishes and juice box dreams are probably wondering how a better life is possible without cognitive improvement…...To Read More….