Head Start FACES: Longitudinal Findings on Program Performance. Third ProgressReport

摘要

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) is an ongoing,national, longitudinal study of the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of Head Start children; the characteristics, well-being and accomplishments of families; the observed quality of Head Start classrooms; and the characteristics and opinions of Head Start teachers and other program staff. FACES involves a nationally stratified random sample of 3,200 children and families in 40 Head Start programs, who were studied at entry into the program in Fall 1997, assessed in the Spring at the completion of one or two years of Head Start, and followed-up in the Spring of the kindergarten and first grade years. Because Head Start is committed to regular, ongoing accountability measurement and program improvement, a new national cohort of FACES was launched in Fall 2000. The Fall 1997 and Spring 1998 waves of data collection in FACES provide important findings of change in children's development and school readiness, consistency of program quality, as well as information about family characteristics and families' accomplishments over the course of the year. The kindergarten follow-up reveals important information on Head Start graduates' performance in school. Through the full cooperation of the Head Start programs studied, FACES has been able to achieve high instrument completion rates, averaging at least an 80 percent response rate on all survey measures.