ACYF Administration on Children, Youth and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families
	1. Log No. ACYF-IM-HS-98-19	2. Issuance Date: 11/24/98
	3. Originating Office: Head Start Bureau
	4. Key Word: Performance Measures, Research

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

TO: Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies

SUBJECT: Head Start Program Performance Measures Second Progress Report

INFORMATION: The attached report, the Second Progress Report on Head Start's Program Performance Measures Initiative, includes exciting findings from a national study of Head Start programs which was launched in Spring, 1997. As the nation's premier early childhood education program, Head Start is leading the way in developing and reporting on its accountability for comprehensive services to more than 800,000 children and their families each year.

From initial planning in 1995, Head Start has made dramatic progress toward the development of an outcome-oriented accountability system. This approach combines the best attributes of scientific research with program-level reporting and monitoring and is based on a consensus-driven set of criteria for program accountability. Most of the outcome data are being collected from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs, classrooms, teachers, parents and children examining the quality and effects of Head Start.

The early findings from FACES, outlined in this report, are encouraging: First, the quality of the average Head Start classroom is good, with no programs scoring below the minimal quality range. Next, Head Start children demonstrate many of the skills and abilities indicative of readiness to learn in kindergarten. Perhaps most importantly, the higher the observed quality of the Head Start program, the better children performed on school readiness tasks. Finally, Head Start parents were both involved in and satisfied with the program, even when faced with major challenges to program participation.

The Spring 1997 field test of FACES on a national probability sample of 2,400 children and families in 40 programs examined classroom quality using observations and interviews with teachers and administrators. FACES measured the abilities of Head Start children using direct child assessment, observation, and both parent and teacher reports. These measures, often with nationally normed comparison data available, tapped abilities in emergent literacy, numeracy, and language skills; general cognitive skills, gross and fine motor skills; attitudes towards learning; social behavior and emotional well-being; and physical health. In addition, parents were interviewed about their life experiences and involvement and satisfaction with Head Start. Research has consistently linked aspects of program quality such as child:adult ratio, group size, responsiveness of teacher-child interaction and richness of learning environments to improved child outcomes. For the first time using a national sample, FACES is testing the same linkages in Head Start.

FACES is continuing with Fall 1997, Spring 1998, Spring 1999, and Spring 2000 data collections on a nationally representative sample of 3,200 children and families in the same 40 programs.

This phase of the study will examine children and parents at the start of the Head Start year, through exit from the program (whether one or two years of participation), and again at the end of the kindergarten year.

Head Start Performance Measures Progress Reports are available on the Head Start Bureau web page: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/. Reports can also be requested by fax (703-683-5769) or e-mail (dons@headstartinfo.org).

/S/
Helen H. Taylor
Associate Commissioner
Head Start Bureau