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III. WHAT'S NEW IN FACES 2006
The study instruments and procedures for FACES 2006 have changed somewhat from those used in the 2003 cohort of FACES. These changes, particularly those related to measures of key constructs, have been carefully considered in order to balance the need to support comparisons to previous FACES cohorts with the need to update the measurement battery and to address emerging policy issues. The modifications primarily involve retaining a larger 3-year-old cohort, changes in measures used, and changes in the process of data collection.
A. LARGER 3-YEAR-OLD SAMPLE
The sample of 3-year-olds in FACES 2006 will be larger than in prior FACES cohorts. The initial sample size for the 3-year-olds was increased so the numbers of children who were sampled as 3- and 4-year-olds are comparable at the end of the study (that is, spring of kindergarten). By oversampling 3-year-olds, FACES 2006 compensates for the attrition that occurs in the extra year of followup for this cohort. Otherwise, the sample sizes of participating programs, classrooms, and children in FACES 2006 are comparable to those used in FACES 2003.
B. MEASURES CHANGES
For FACES 2006, we have carefully balanced the need for consistent measurement of outcomes, while allowing for improvements in instrumentation and techniques. In some instances, new versions of instruments are being used. For example, the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery – Third Edition (W-J III) replaces the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R), and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Fourth Edition (PPVT-IV) replaces the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Third Edition (PPVT-III). In other instances, measures have been dropped because they have not demonstrated relations with outcomes in previous cohorts, overlap with items from another instrument, are too time-consuming, or are no longer of major policy interest. For instance, the McCarthy Draw-a-Design task has been dropped because visual-spatial items from the W-J III spelling task are sufficient to report on fine motor skills. The Pearlin Mastery Scale and the Kaufman Functional Academic Skills Test (K-FAST) have also been dropped because neither has yielded unique information, and they are somewhat time-consuming.
Measures in FACES 2006 also have been updated in an effort to obtain more comprehensive information on children and their environments. For example, subtests from the Leiter Examiner Rating Scales have been substituted for the previous FACES assessor ratings of the child’s behavior during the assessment in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the child’s attention, self-regulation, and cooperation. The Instructional Support subscale of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) has been added to measure instructional climate. Measures also have been updated to support comparisons with the Head Start Impact Study and have been informed by the protocols developed for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) preschool wave, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and other National Center for Education Statistics school surveys.
C. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GATHERED ON CHILDREN
In an effort to address two major policy areas, children’s mathematics skills and childhood obesity, FACES 2006 has added items to gather additional information on children. In addition to the W-J III Applied Problems subtest, items from the ECLS-B mathematics assessment have been added to enhance the measurement of skills beyond number and operations to include geometry, patterns, and measurement.
Direct measurement of children’s height and weight has been added. Questions about the availability of outdoor play areas, time spent outdoors and in sedentary activities, presence of television in children’s bedrooms, and consumption of sweetened beverages and unhealthy snacks also have been added to the parent interview, as a means of measuring nutritional and activity practices in the home. FACES 2006 also has added questions to the teacher interview dealing with outdoor play and consumption of sweetened beverages, again to consider child nutrition and activity levels.
D. USE OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGY
FACES 2006 will use computer-assisted interviewing techniques to conduct the child assessments, the parent interviews, and the Head Start teacher interviews. In addition, it will offer Head Start teachers the option of completing the teacher-child ratings on the Web or on paper, and it will offer kindergarten teachers similar options for completing interviews and teacher-child ratings. For the direct child assessments, computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) will be used to facilitate the movement from one assessment to the other without the assessor’s having to calculate stopping or starting points and will ensure that all basal and ceiling rules are followed. These technological enhancements to FACES are intended to lessen the burden on respondents and improve the efficiency of data collection.
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