Does Head Start Do Any Lasting Good?
44 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2011 Last revised: 10 Mar 2023
Date Written: September 2011
Abstract
Head Start is a federal early childhood intervention designed to reduce disparities in preschool outcomes. The first randomized experimental study of Head Start, the National Head Start Impact Study (NHSIS), found impacts on academic outcomes of .15 to .3 standard deviations measured at the end of the program year, although the estimated impacts were no longer significant when measured at the end of kindergarten or first grade. Assessments that Head Start is ineffective based on the NHSIS results are in our view premature, given our currently limited understanding of how and why early childhood education improves long-term life chances. Many of the specific changes to Head Start that have been proposed could potentially wind up doing more harm than good.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior
By James J. Heckman, Jora Stixrud, ...
-
The Technology of Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman
-
The Technology of Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman
-
Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
By Lex Borghans, Angela Duckworth, ...
-
The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
By Lex Borghans, Angela Duckworth, ...