This article describes the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, at Teachers College, Columbia University. Launched last year by a pair of economists, the center specializes in calculating and comparing the long- and short-term costs--and probable payoffs--of different educational strategies that promise to improve students' lives. Studies conducted by the center so far have examined the costs and benefits of preschool and dropout-prevention programs, the payoffs from state-specific investments in education in Minnesota and California, and the public savings that might result nationwide from strategies that bring the high school graduation rate for black males up to that of white males. The center's funding, for the most part, comes from organizations that hire it to conduct analyses. Funders so far have included private philanthropists, state governments, and nonprofit advocacy groups, such as Growth and Justice, a St. Paul, Minnesota, think tank that is arguing for a more progressive tax system in that state. The New York City-based College Board, which sponsors the Advanced Placement program, is another client.