Historical Changes in Head Start Children’s Entry Skills, Program Quality, and Development

• In Event: Early Care and Education Access, Quality, Spending, and Worker Turnover: Implications for Child Development

Abstract

Introduction
Recent research has called into question whether Head Start–and preschool programs in general–are producing smaller effects in the current time compared with earlier versions of preschool programs operating prior to the 2000s (Whitaker et al., 2026). One explanation is that both the children entering programs and the programs themselves have changed over time. Children may be entering preschool with higher baseline academic achievement levels, which is resulting in differential gains at the end of the program year, and programs may be changing in the instructional content or mode (Markowitz & Ansari, 2020). Understanding how children’s entry skills, program quality, and children’s developmental growth have changed over time is critical for interpreting program effectiveness and informing current early care and education (ECE) policy. 

Research Questions
Our research questions are:
1. To what extent has Head Start children’s academic and social-emotional growth throughout preschool changed over time?
2. Are there differential gains based on children’s demographic characteristics and characteristics of Head Start programs, including classroom quality? 

Methods
We used data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), which provides nationally representative data on a sample of Head Start programs, centers, classrooms, and 3- and 4-year old children. We included all available waves collected between 1997 and 2019 (i.e., seven cohorts). To ensure comparability across cohorts, our analytic sample was limited to children in their first year of Head Start enrollment. Due to COVID-related disruptions, spring outcome data were unavailable for the 2019 wave. 
Children’s academic skills were assessed using standardized measures (e.g., PPVT, Woodcock-Johnson), and teachers reported on children’s social-emotional development (e.g., SSRS). Parents reported on demographic characteristics, including race, ethnicity, and home language. Classroom quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). We conducted descriptive analyses examining trends over time in children’s entry-level academic and social-emotional skills, classroom quality, and child characteristics. By the time of the conference, we will estimate regression models to examine whether children’s academic and social-emotional growth from fall to spring varied across cohorts and whether growth differed by child characteristics and classroom quality. 

Results
In regard to children’s entry level academic and social emotional skills, results suggest that skills remained relatively stable over time on standardized measures, with some growth although changes in measure versions makes this difficult to determine. For example, mean scores on the PPVT ranged between 81.26 (Fall 1997) and 89.34 (Fall 2014). However, we found great variability in children’s academic and social-emotional skills by subgroup, with children who were White consistently scoring higher on the PPVT (M = 90.65) across all waves of data than children who were Black (M = 82.51) or Hispanic (M = 75.75).  

Implications
Our study provides a historical, descriptive examination of changes in Head Start children’s entry-level academic and social-emotional skills over time. Results indicate stable average entry skills alongside persistent variability across child subgroups. Ongoing analyses will examine trends in preschool growth and the role of classroom quality, informing policy discussions about equitable program effectiveness.

Author

• Cara L Kelly, University of Oklahoma
  Presenting Author