About the study…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), launched in Spring 1997, is an integral part of Head Start’s system of Program Performance Measures, an outcome-oriented accountability system. FACES collects data annually on a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs, classrooms, teachers, parents, and children examining the quality and effects of Head Start. The Spring 1997 field test collected data on 2,400 children and their families; the sample in later data collections was increased to 3,200 children and families in 40 programs.

Information presented in this publication is based on data collected in Spring 1997, Fall 1997, and Spring 1998 through the following instruments:

• The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS)—which consists of 37 scales measuring a wide variety of quality-related processes occurring in the classroom. Items are rated on a 7-point scale, with the following anchors: (1) inadequate, (3) minimal, (5) good, and (7) excellent.
  
• The Arnett Scale of Caregiver Behavior (Arnett) — which rates teacher behavior toward children in the class.
  
• The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition (PPVT) — which measures children’s word knowledge. The mean for children of all income groups is 100, with a standard deviation of 15.
  
• Selected scales from the Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised
  (WJ-R), including the Letter-Word Identification, Applied Problems, and Dictation Tasks, which assess children’s prereading skills, early counting and arithmetic skills, and prewriting skills. The mean for children of all income groups is 100, with a standard deviation of 15.
  
• Social Skills Scale - A summary index based on 12 items with 24 possible points related to children’s cooperative behavior and social skills.
  
• Child Observation Rating (COR) - Social relations scale of 1 to 5 in which teachers rate children’s relation to peers and social problem solving.
  

  Findings from the study are organized into three sections:

  (1)	Classroom Quality
  (2)	Benefits to Children
  (3)	Benefits to Families