AN EFFORT WAS MADE TO ESTABLISH A BASIS FOR EVALUATING THE PRIVATE AND SOCIAL COSTS AND RETURNS ACCRUING FROM INVESTMENT IN RURAL TECHNICAL SCHOOLS. A SERIES OF STATISTICAL FORMULAS WAS DEVELOPED AND TESTED ON QUESTIONNAIRE DATA SUPPLIED BY 359 GRADUATES AND TRAINEES OF THE WINONA AREA TECHNICAL SCHOOL IN MINNESOTA. THE NINE PROGRAM AREAS OF MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING ACT (MDTA) INSTRUCTION WERE AUTO MECHANICS, AUTO BODY REPAIR, INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, HIGHWAY TECHNICIAN, MACHINE TOOL AND DIE MAKING, WELDING, GENERAL OFFICE CLERK, PRACTICAL NURSING, AND STENOGRAPHY. SYSTEMATIC DOWNWARD BIAS WAS INTRODUCED INTO EACH VARIABLE IN ORDER TO KEEP FORMULAS CONSERVATIVE. PRIVATE COST INCLUDED STUDENT DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS. ANNUAL PRIVATE RETURN WAS CALCULATED UPON THE BASIS OF PRE- AND POST-TRAINING ANNUAL INCOMES. SOCIAL COSTS WERE BASED UPON EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES, CAPITAL SPENT, AND MDTA SUBSIDIES TO STUDENTS. SOCIAL RETURNS WERE BASED UPON GROSS EARNING DIFFERENTIALS. FINDINGS LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THERE WERE WIDE VARIATIONS IN PRIVATE GAINS. THE ZERO-OR-LESS GAINS WERE OFFSET BY THE INTANGIBLE SATISFACTION EXPRESSED BY TRAINEES. MEDIAN PRIVATE GAIN RATES WERE HIGHER OR EQUAL TO AVERAGE RATES EXPECTED OF OTHER INVESTMENTS. MEDIAN SOCIAL GAIN RATES WERE LOWER THAN OTHER SOCIAL INVESTMENTS. ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF THE GRADUATES WERE REMAINING IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. (JM)