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FACES 2003 RESEARCH BRIEF: CHILDREN'S OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALITY IN HEAD START
The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) provides longitudinal data on a periodic basis on the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start as well as the characteristics of the Head Start programs that serve them. Each round of FACES is a study with a nationally representative sample of Head Start children and their families. Data collection for the first FACES cohort began in fall of 1997 and for the second cohort in fall of 2000. Data collection for the most recent FACES cohort began in the fall of 2003. This cohort includes a nationally representative sample of approximately 2,400 newly entering 3- and 4-year-old children and their families from 63 Head Start programs.
The FACES data provide information for the Head Start program on important aspects of outcomes, quality, and practices. This Research Brief summarizes key findings related to children’s outcomes and program quality from FACES 2003.
Academic Skills of Children in Head Start
Most children enter Head Start with below-average skills. As in the previous rounds of the survey, cognitive assessment data from FACES 2003 showed that most children entered Head Start with early academic skills that were below national norms on standardized measures of vocabulary, early math, early reading, and early writing. Whereas the mean standard score for all U.S. children is 100, with a standard deviation of 15, mean standard scores for children entering Head Start in fall 2003 were 85.6 for vocabulary, 88.4 for early math, 95.0 for early reading, and 86.5 for early writing.1 This is not surprising, in that most Head Start children come from families with relatively low parent education and income levels. However, there was considerable diversity in skill levels among the Head Start children in the study.
Head Start children showed significant gains in vocabulary, early math, and early writing skills during the Head Start program year. Head Start children showed significant gains during the 2003-04 program year in vocabulary (+2.9 standard score points), early math skills (+1.5 standard score points), and early writing skills (+.7 standard score points).2 A significant gain in early reading scores was found for 4-year-olds only.
Head Start children also showed small gains in other literacy-related areas, such as phonemic awareness and print concepts. Head Start children showed small raw score gains on measures of phonemic awareness (being able to hear sound components in a word), a story and print concepts task, and a design copying task. There are no national norms available for these tasks.
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Hispanic children in Head Start showed significant gains in vocabulary over the course of the Head Start year. In FACES 2003, 60 percent of Hispanic children had sufficient English skills to be assessed in English in both fall 2003 and spring 2004. By the spring, these children showed substantial gains in English vocabulary, which were larger than those shown by Black children and White children (Figure 1). Children who lacked sufficient English skills to be assessed in English and who primarily spoke Spanish at home were assessed in Spanish. These children showed significant gains in Spanish vocabulary from fall 2003 to spring 2004.
Cross-Cohort Comparisons of Children’s Gains in Early Literacy Skills
Over the past few years, the national Head Start program has been stressing the importance of early literacy skills, such as vocabulary and alphabet knowledge. Cross-cohort analyses were conducted to examine whether there have been improvements in the gains Head Start children make during the program year. Cross-cohort comparisons for early literacy skills are conducted only with data from Head Start children aged 4 and older because in previous cohorts, 3-year-old children were not assessed in all areas. Cross-cohort comparisons show that gains in letter identification and early reading during the Head Start year have increased across the three FACES cohorts. No similar increase in gains was found for vocabulary.
The average number of letters that Head Start children know by the end of the program year continues to increase. The average Head Start child age 4 and older now meets the Congressional goal of knowing at least 10 letters of the alphabet.3 Many research studies have shown that learning the letters of the alphabet is an important stepping stone on the path to becoming a proficient reader. The mean number of letters that 4-and 5-year-old children in Head Start could identify correctly has increased significantly since the 1997-98 program year, when the first FACES study was conducted (see Figure 2). The mean number of letters correctly identified by children of these ages at the end of the 1997-98 program year was 7.2. The number grew to 9.4 letters by the end of the 2000-01 program year, when the second round of FACES was carried out. It grew further, to 10.1 letters, by the end of the 2003-04 program year. The number of letters children could recognize at the start of the program year also increased significantly across FACES cohorts, from a mean of 3.3 in 1997 to a mean of 4.3 in both 2000 and 2003.
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The gap between the early reading skills of Head Start children (4 years and older) and national norms for all U.S. children of the same age narrowed significantly from fall 2003 to spring 2004 (+.7 standard score points) (see Figure 3). This gap had not narrowed significantly in FACES 1997 and FACES 2000.
Head Start children (4 years and older) in FACES 2003 showed significant gains in vocabulary knowledge from fall to spring (+3.1 standard score points). These gains were similar across the three FACES cohorts (see Figure 3).
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Social Skills of Children in Head Start
Head Start children showed growth in their social skills during the Head Start year. In FACES 2003, Head Start children (all ages combined) showed significant fall-spring gains on a measure of social skills/cooperative classroom behavior, similar to gains observed in the FACES 1997 and 2000 cohorts. Significant fall-spring declines in withdrawn behavior rated by classroom teachers were observed in the previous two FACES cohorts. However, teacher-rated hyperactive behaviors did not show significant declines during the Head Start program year in FACES 2003, although significant declines in teacher-rated hyperactive behavior had been observed in both FACES 1997 and FACES 2000.
Program Quality and Teacher Qualifications in Head Start
FACES 2003 data showed that quality in Head Start continues to be good. According to observer ratings using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised version (ECERS-R), which assesses the classroom’s learning materials, activities, and interactions, the mean Head Start classroom score was 4.81 on a scale of 1 (inadequate) to 7 (excellent). Not only is the average ECERS-R score of Head Start classrooms higher than those of other center-based preschools, the distribution of quality in Head Start is higher than that found in many private or public-school preschool settings, with virtually no Head Start classrooms receiving scores indicating inadequate quality, and 28.4 percent of classrooms receiving scores in the high quality range.
FACES 2003 found higher teacher educational credentials that in previous FACES cohorts. Consistent with Head Start’s efforts to increase the education level of its teachers, a larger proportion of teachers in FACES 2003 had an Associate’s degree or higher (72.1%) than in FACES 2000 (56.8%). The percentage of teachers with a Bachelor’s degree in FACES 2003 was 37.8 percent.
Head Start Children and Families
Head Start serves a diverse group of children. In fall 2003, 4-year-old children made up 49.2 percent of the newly entering children in Head Start, while 45.7 percent of the newly entering children were 3 years of age, and 5.1 percent were 5 years old. Almost all of the children (96.5%) were born in the United States. The children primarily fell into three racial/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic White (30.1%), non-Hispanic Black(30.8%), and Hispanic (30.7%). In spring 2004, Head Start teachers reported that 12 percent of Head Start children had diagnosed disabilities with IEPs (Individualized Education Program or Plan) or IFSPs (Individual Family Service Plan).
Approximately one third of Head Start children are English language learners (ELL). The percentage of children whose parents reported speaking to the child primarily in a non-English language at home showed a gradual increase from 28.3 percent in fall 2000 and 32.6 percent in fall 2003. The largest group of ELL children was Hispanic (85.9% of ELL).
A majority of mothers of Head Start children are in their twenties, single, in the workforce, and hold a high school diploma. Mothers of Head Start children had an average age of 28.1 years. Approximately 40 percent of mothers were currently married, 41 percent were never married, and 18 percent were separated or divorced. Thirty-five percent of mothers reported being employed full-time, while 18 percent were working on a part-time basis. In FACES 2003, more than two thirds of mothers (68%) had a high school diploma or its equivalent, compared to 65 percent in FACES 2000, and 73 percent in FACES 1997. Only 4 percent had a college degree or higher, which is similar to FACES 2000 and FACES 1997.
A majority of fathers of Head Start children are single, employed full-time, and hold a high school diploma. The average age of fathers of Head Start children was 31.0 years. Less than one half of the fathers (42%) were currently married, one third (34%) reported never being married and 16.6 percent were separated or divorced. A majority of the fathers (72%) worked full-time, and 8 percent worked part-time. In FACES 2003, 69 percent of fathers had a high school diploma or equivalent, compared to 64 percent in FACES 2000 and 56 percent in FACES 1997. Only 3 percent had a college degree or higher in FACES 2003, which is similar to FACES 2000 and FACES 1997.
The majority of fathers do not reside with their children enrolled in Head Start. More than one half (53.6%) of the fathers did not live in the household with their Head Start children, and nearly one third of the non-household fathers (31.9%) saw their children fewer than 5 days during the previous year. These figures are very similar to FACES 2000, where 52.2 percent of the fathers did not live in the household and 35.7 percent of non-household fathers saw their children fewer than 5 times a year.
Head Start families have low incomes. FACES 2003 data showed that the median annual household income of Head Start families was $13,200. Also, 60 percent of the families received WIC (special supplemental food program for Women, Infants, and Children), 53 percent received food stamps, and 19 percent received TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).
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