Report Analysis: The Impact of Head Start

The authors raise serious questions about the sampling procedures used in the study, and present the results of a re-analysis which suggest that some full-year Head Start centers were effective, particularly those with black children in urban areas.

Abstract

The Westinghouse-Ohio national evaluation of Head Start evoked criticism from both social scientists and statisticians when it was issued last Spring. The authors present a history of Head Start and of the national evaluation. They raise serious questions about the sampling procedures used in the study, and they present the results of a re-analysis which suggest that some full-year Head Start centers were effective, particularly those with black children in urban areas. Policy implications discussed by the authors focus on the relationship between program evaluation and public policy.