According to a new study from the Rand Corporation, California would have a more productive, profitable workforce if the state made preschool available to all four-year-olds.

The study, The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California, estimates that the state would realize $2.62 in benefits for every dollar invested in preschool education and suggests that the $1.7 billion annual cost of such a program would be offset over the long-term by reductions in the amount of remedial education provided by the state, better grade-promotion rates among K-12 students, less youth and adult crime, and a more productive state workforce.

"This is truly groundbreaking research and will have a powerful impact on California's economy," said Lewis Platt, chairman of the Boeing Co. and a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which funded the study as part of its Preschool for All Initiative. "Our economy today requires our students to emerge from school prepared to work in a dynamic environment. Part of meeting the challenge is making sure our children have all the tools they need to succeed, and a universal preschool program makes that happen."

To read or download the complete report (238 pages, PDF), visit: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG349.pdf