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Head Start: Research Provides Little Information on Impact of Current Program

HEHS-97-59 Published: Apr 15, 1997. Publicly Released: Apr 15, 1997.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the impact of the current Head Start Program, focusing on what: (1) the studies conducted on current Head Start programs suggest about Head Start's impact; and (2) types of Head Start studies are planned by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services While GAO acknowledges the difficulties of conducting impact studies of programs such as Head Start, research could be done that would allow the Congress and HHS officials to know with more certainty whether the $4-billion federal investment in Head Start is making a difference. For this reason, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should include in HHS' research plan an assessment of the impact of regular Head Start programs.
Closed – Implemented
In fall 2000, HHS contracted with Westat Inc., in collaboration with several other research firms, to plan and perform a nationally representative, longitudinal impact evaluation of the Head Start program. After a pilot study conducted in the Spring of 2001, data collection will begin in fall 2002 with a final report due in December 2006.

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Topics

Aid for educationCompensatory educationCost effectiveness analysisDisadvantaged personsEducation program evaluationPreschool educationPreschoolersHead Start programsLow-income school preparation programsPerformance measurement