Head Start is leading the way in accountability for program outcomes and services. As the nation's premier early childhood education program, Head Start serves more than 950,000 young children and their families each year.

To enhance its accountability efforts, Head Start launched the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) in 1997. 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 program staff.

A sample of 3,200 children and families in 40 Head Start programs, who are representative of the national Head Start population, 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 their 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 FACES study provides answers to some of the most pressing questions concerning Head Start children, their families, and the programs themselves. Findings from the first FACES study show that although students begin the Head Start program at a great disadvantage compared to non-poor children, Head Start narrows the gaps between disadvantaged students and all other children and their families in numerous ways.

Does Head Start enhance children's development and school readiness?

• Head Start narrows the gap between disadvantaged children and all children in vocabulary and writing skills during the program year.
• The children who score lowest on cognitive measures at the beginning of the Head Start year show greater gains than those who score higher at the beginning.
• Language-minority children show gains in school readiness skills and in their knowledge of English by the end of the Head Start year.
• Head Start graduates show gains in social skills, including improvements in peer interaction and complex play.
• Although children in the FACES 1997 study did not show growth in letter recognition or book and print concepts, children studied in 2000-2001 did progress during the program year.
• Children leaving Head Start are "ready to learn." In kindergarten, Head Start graduates made substantial gains in word knowledge, letter recognition, math skills, and writing skills relative to national norms.

Does Head Start strengthen families as the primary nurturers of their children?

• Most parents were active in their Head Start program.
• Across all households, family activities with Head Start children increased slightly over the year.
• The majority of Head Start parents reported reading to their children at least three to five times a week.
• Head Start parents reported important accomplishments during the Head Start year, such as slightly increased income and employment and decreased welfare dependence.
• Fathers appeared to play an important and positive role in the lives of children. When fathers were more supportive of the mothers in raising their children, children showed more positive social behavior and less problem behavior.

Does Head Start provide children with high quality child development services?

• Observed quality in Head Start classrooms continues to be consistently good in both the 1997 and 2000 studies.
• Class size and child:adult ratios exceeded the requirements of the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation standards.
• Most Head Start teachers have good teaching qualifications, although not as good as teachers in public schools.
• The observed quality of Head Start classrooms was linked to child outcomes (e.g., the better the teacher-child language interaction, the higher children's vocabulary scores).

What have we learned and how is Head Start addressing these issues?

Evidence from the FACES study has highlighted areas of Head Start program quality and staff development that need improvement. The following initiatives have been designed to address these needs.
• Head Start has launched a Family Literacy Initiative to support programs in implementing best practices in literacy development for children and families.
• Head Start is working to ensure that a majority of teachers obtain associate's or bachelor's degrees in early childhood education over the next few years. Funding has been earmarked for collaboration with higher education faculty and for teacher training and increased staff compensations.
• Head Start conducted a National Leadership Institute in December 2000, focusing on educational services in language development, literacy, mathematics, science, and social-emotional development.
• Head Start is requiring every local program to build an outcomes-based system to assess child development and learning and to use this information to individualize curriculum and teaching and to guide continuous program improvement.

The FACES study is conducted by Westat, Xtria, Inc. and the CDM Group Inc. and directed by the Child Outcomes Research and Evaluation team in the ACF Office. The full report is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs. Article reprinted from the Head Start Bulletin, Issue No. 74/2002, p. 38-39.