Head Start: A Good Investment for Children

It's great to see the current attention paid to early childhood programs. However, with so much conflicting information about Head Start in the news, we thought we would share with you our look at the latest research on the program. Here are the important findings:

1. Head Start narrowed the achievement gap between Head Start children and the general preschool population on key components of school readiness.
2. Those Head Start children with the greatest deficits benefited the most.
3. Head Start children showed gains in vocabulary knowledge, early writing skills, letter recognition, and knowledge of book and print conventions.
4. Head Start children demonstrated greater cooperative behavior during the school year, and this is a good predictor of behavior in kindergarten.
5. Head Start children showed overall gains in social and emotional development.
6. Higher teacher salaries led to better child outcomes.
7. The use of an integrated curriculum led to better child outcomes.
8. Head Start classrooms that used The Creative Curriculum® or High/Scope achieved higher scores on various rating scales than classrooms that used other curricula.

What the Experts Found:
Head Start Gets Children Ready for School

Head Start, a $7 billion a year program, serves 912,000 poor children at 18,865 centers in 50 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia. The most notable achievement of Head Start is that it narrows the achievement gap between Head Start children and the general preschool population on key components of school readiness. Head Start programs are doing more than ever; the achievement gap narrowed more in 2000, than it did in 1997.

How do we know this? Recently released findings from the Head Start FACES 2000 study found Head Start to be an effective intervention for high-risk children. FACES (Family and Child Experiences Survey) is a study that uses a national random sample of Head Start programs to measure child outcomes and program quality. The FACES study, which began in 1997, added a second cohort of children in 2000, and a third cohort is also planned. This study design allows researchers, policymakers, and program administrators to use longitudinal data about a nationally representative sample of Head Start participants to determine the long-term gains achieved through the program.

FACES data show that children enrolled in Head Start programs start the school year at an academic deficit compared to other children. This is to be expected. After all, that's why the Head Start program is so important. We know that poor children need a "head start." Through the course of the year, FACES data indicate gains toward school readiness among Head Start children, gains great enough to narrow the achievement gap between Head Start children and the general preschool population. Data also indicate that Head Start may benefit children with the greatest deficits the most.

Some critics of Head Start believe that the program should be responsible for completely closing the achievement gap between Head Start children and the general population of preschool-aged children. Some criticize the program as flawed because the achievement gap is only narrowed, not eliminated. None would argue against making further program improvements to better meet children's academic, physical, social, and emotional needs, but, as Ed Zigler has said, "The point of school readiness programs like Head Start and public Pre-Kindergartens is to narrow this gap. Expecting the achievement gap to be eliminated, however, is relying too much on the fairy godmother. Poor children simply have too much of an environmental handicap to be competitive with age-mates from homes characterized by good incomes and a multitude of advantages."

The Data on Early Literacy

With the increased focus today on literacy in preschool, it's useful to look at what the studies reveal about early literacy learning. FACES 2000 data show that the achievement gap in vocabulary knowledge and early writing skills narrowed further in 2000, than it did in 1997. In addition, FACES 2000 data also show that Head Start children in 2000, made gains as great or greater than Head Start children did in 1997, in vocabulary knowledge, early writing skills, letter recognition, and knowledge of book and print conventions.

The Data on Social/Emotional Development

There are positive findings on social and emotional development for the year 2000 that are similar to the original 1997 findings. FACES 2000 data also indicate that children demonstrated greater cooperative behaviors during the school year. At the same time, negative behaviors decreased over the school year. These positive behaviors were also found to be predictive of positive behaviors in kindergarten.

Teachers and Curriculum Are Keys to Quality

A greater percentage of new teachers entered Head Start in 2000, with advanced degrees, graduate degrees, degrees in Early Childhood Education or Child Development, and with affiliations with a professional organization than those who entered in 1997. The study also found that higher teacher salaries and the use of an integrated curriculum were related to better child outcomes. Head Start programs score better than most other child care centers and preschools on measures of classroom quality (child-adult ratio, teacher-child interactions, and classroom activities and materials). Finally, teacher attitudes were linked to classroom quality. Teachers who were more educated tended to have more positive attitudes and knowledge, which translated to higher levels of classroom quality.

Curricular choices were also found to affect program effectiveness. While a wide variety of curricula is used in Head Start programs, the majority of programs use The Creative Curriculum(r) or High/Scope. Classrooms that used The Creative Curriculum(r) and High/Scope had higher average ECERS-R Total, ECERS-R Language, and Quality Composite scores than classrooms using other curricula.

Effective Early Childhood Interventions Make a Difference

Some people have focused only on the nutritional and health achievements of Head Start, overlooking the great gains children made in cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. However, information points to the huge successes of Head Start. High quality programs make a difference in the lives of poor children, but short-term interventions don't last indefinitely, especially if children end up attending poor quality schools. Let's all work to continue to make a difference in the lives of the children and families we serve.

References:

Administration for Children and Families (May 2003). Head Start FACES 2000: A Whole-Child Perspective on Program Performance, Fourth Progress Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Zigler, E. (2003). Forty Years of Believing in Magic is Enough, Social Policy Report. Ann Arbor, MI:  Society for Research in Child Development.