During President Biden's State of the Union address this Tuesday, he called for expanding access to preschool for American 3- and 4-year- olds. In doing so, he made a startling claim about the effectiveness of preschool programs, stating that "children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two- or four-year degree, no matter their background they came from." However, such dramatic evidence in favor of preschoolespecially the public "universal pre-k" programs Biden has consistently advocated for is spotty. This is particularly true when trying to give public preschool credit for positive outcomeslike college attendancethat occur over a decade later.
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