Head Start

The Head Start program has provided comprehensive services to millions of poor children and their families--services that in the program's early years participants probably would not have received. Little is known, however, about whether the program has achieved its goals. An extensive body of literature exists on Head Start, but only a small portion of it looks at the program's impact. Because of the studies' limitations, it is difficult to draw conclusions about the program's impact. The Department of Health and Human Services is (1) developing performance measures focusing on program outcomes, rather than just processes; (2) developing a national, longitudinal study of a representative sample of Head Start children and their families; and (3) launching a collaborative effort with the National Center for Education Statistics. Although these efforts are a step in the right direction, it is unclear whether they will meaningfully compare the outcomes achieved by Head Start participants and those achieved by non-Head Start children and their families.

GAO noted that: (1) the Head Start program has provided comprehensive services to millions of low-income children and their families; (2) little is known, however, about whether the program has achieved its goals; (3) although an extensive body of literature exists on Head Start, only a small part of that involves program impact research; (4) because of these research studies' individual and collective limitations, this body of research is insufficient for use in drawing conclusions about the impact of the national program; (5) HHS has the following initiatives it describes as impact assessments: (a) development of performance measures focusing on program outcomes, rather than just processes; (b) a national longitudinal study of a representative sample of Head Start children and their families; and (c) a collaborative effort with the National Center for Educational Statistics; (6) these efforts are headed in the right direction for Head Start to evaluate the impact of its program; and (7) it is unclear, however, whether these efforts will meaningfully compare the outcomes achieved by Head Start children and their families with those achieved by non-Head Start children and families, leaving unanswered questions about Head Start's impact.