With Congress pushing for reform of No Child Left Behind, Democrats have been calling for the expansion of federally-funded preschool programs. Some liberals are even advocating for an expensive universal preschool program. While this is unlikely to be approved at the federal level, it hasn’t stopped advocates from making their case at the state and local levels as well.

However, questions remain over how effective universal preschool would be. Studies have shown the program is effective at helping students in preschool, but that gains from the program are essentially gone by the third grade, or even the first grade. Others show that existing preschool programs are rife with fraud. For those that oppose universal preschool, there is plenty of evidence to make their case.