Head Start Children Go to Kindergarten. ACF/OPRE Report

摘要

This report is the fourth in a series that uses data from the FACES 2006 cohort to describe the population of 3- and 4-year-olds who entered Head Start for the first time in fall 2006, their families, and their classrooms. Guided by the FACES conceptual framework, earlier reports documented the diversity in the Head Start population in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the skills that children have when they first enter the program, and the gains in these skills over one or two years of program participation. The Beginning Head Start report highlighted some of the demographic changes that have occurred in the Head Start population with increasing numbers of 3-year-olds being served, growing Hispanic/Latino enrollments, and 27 percent of children entering Head Start with home languages other than English. In fall 2006, children entered Head Start with language, literacy, and math skills that were lower than their same-age peers. These children attended Head Start classrooms that were likely to have an experienced teacher who had at least an associate's (AA) degree.