NHSA Update NHSA September 2006 Leadership Institute Arlington, Virginia Research And Assessment Update 2007 Ben Allen, Ph.D. NHSA Leadership Institute Washington, DC October 3, 2007

Recent Poverty Data

Number of Americans in Poverty According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 33 million Americans were in poverty in By 2006, 36.5 million Americans were in poverty.

Number of American Children under 6 Years of Age in Poverty According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4.2 million American children under 6 years of age were in poverty in By 2006, 4.8 million American children under 6 years of age were in poverty.

Despite What You May Have Heard Elsewhere, Head Start Is a Quality Program.

Head Start Is a Quality Program. Head Start quality has been observed to be consistently good over time (Family and Child Experiences Survey 2000). Head Start programs are rated as “good” using the ECERS-R (Head Start Impact Study 2005). Head Start’s quality, comprehensive services ensures that Head Start provides significant educational, health, economic, and law enforcement benefits.

Head Start Is a Quality Program (Continued) A meta-analysis of reliable studies revealed that Head Start children have increased  achievement test scores and  favorable long-term effects on grade repetition, special education, and high school graduation rates (Barnett 2002; Ludwig and Miller 2007).

Head Start Is a Quality Program (Continued) Head Start reduced mortality rates for children aged 5- to 9-years-old from causes that could have been affected by their participation in Head Start when they were 3- and 4-years-old (Ludwig and Miller 2007). Head Start benefits its children and society-at- large by reducing crime and its costs to crime victims (Fight Crime Invest In Kids 2004; Garces, Thomas, and Currie 2002).

Head Start Is a Quality Program (Continued) The preliminary results of a randomly selected longitudinal study of more than 600 Head Start graduates in San Bernardino County, California, showed that society receives nearly $9 in benefits for every $1 dollar invested in these Head Start children (Meier 2003). These benefits were projected and include increased earnings, employment, and family stability, and decreased welfare dependency, crime costs, grade repetition, and special education.

Head Start Impact Study The National Head Start Impact Study is a longitudinal research project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Head Start program. Congressional mandate Experimental random assignment research design

First-Year Findings of the Head Start Impact Study These findings reflect 6 to 9 months of Head Start. Statistically significant favorable findings were found in the following domains: 1)Cognitive 2)Social-Emotional 3)Health 4)Parenting practices

Impact Study’s Findings in the Context of Recent State-Funded Pre-K Findings National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) is funding evaluations of state-funded pre-k programs. Findings (effect sizes) from these evaluations are appearing in publications and the media. NIEER has been comparing these effect sizes with the Head Start Impact Study’s effect sizes and arguing that state-funded pre-k programs with high standards are more effective than Head Start is. NIEER’s argument is flawed.

Flaws in the NIEER Argument Creaming Different populations Comparison group inequality Dissimilar evaluation scopes Different evaluation designs For more detailed information, go to

Fade-Out Effect Myth: Gains to Head Start children “fade-out” (Westinghouse Learning Corporation and Ohio University 1969). Fact: Reliable studies have found resoundingly favorable long-term effects on grade repetition, special education, and graduation rates for Head Start children. Studies that pointed to a fade-out effect in achievement test scores, on the other hand, have been found to have methodological flaws that, when taken into account, show favorable achievement test scores (Barnett 2002). Another explanation for the fade-out effect is that Head Start children attend low quality primary schools after they attend Head Start (Lee and Loeb 1995).

National Reporting System (NRS) Developments Due to technical difficulties, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has cancelled the fall 2007 NRS assessment. ACF still plans to hold the spring 2008 NRS assessment.

NRS Developments (Continued) During the spring 2008, the NRS will use cognitive and socio-emotional development measures. The socio- emotional development rating form includes three scales:  Approaches to learning  Cooperative classroom behavior and relations with other children, and  Behavior problems

NRS Developments (Continued) If enacted into federal law, both the House and Senate Head Start Reauthorization bills would suspend implementation and would terminate further development and use of the NRS.

National Research Council’s Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Children 0 to 5 The U.S. Congress asked this committee to “review and provide guidance on appropriate outcomes and assessments for young children.” This committee held a public forum on July 6, and NHSA testified there. This committee will provide its report to the Office of Head Start by the late spring 2008.

The End