Current research seeks to determine if today's pre-K programs provide strong returns on investment similar to the returns from the classic 1960's High/Scope Perry Preschool Program and 1970's North Carolina Abecedarian Project. These were known for the positive academic effects that children experienced as they moved through school. Policy-makers now look to newer studies by these researchers for guidance in making decisions. New evidence from large-scale early-learning programs in Boston, Chicago, New Jersey and Texas, as well as from federally funded Head Start, is positive. The nuanced nature of the findings in these studies makes them very instructive for identifying specific elements of pre-K programs that make the most difference. Evidence from state programs in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia is also instructive. This annotated bibliography provides a sampling of current studies on key policy topics with nationwide applicability. The resources are organized into the following four topics: (1) Balancing access and quality on a limited budget; (2) Cost-benefit and effect size analyses of pre-K programs; (3) Catch up vs. fade out: Do pre-K's positive effects persist through K-12?; and (4) Evaluations of pre-K programs in SREB states.