"2002-2003 Head Start Impact Study"
The first installment of Head Start Impact Study, released in 2005, showed that children who had been through Head Start were better prepared for school compared to non-Head Start children. The most recent results, however, suggest that children’s gains from participating in Head Start do not last through the end of first grade.
The study measured the cognitive and social/emotional development, health status and behavior of approximately 5,000 low-income 3- and 4-year-olds who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that had access to a Head Start program. According to data collected a year later, the children in Head Start appeared better-prepared for school on several indicators of school readiness. But when measured again at the end of kindergarten and first grade, the Head Start children and the control group children were at the same level on many of the measures studied.
The results prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to announce plans to strengthen the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
