U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

**Third National**

**Even Start Evaluation**

**Follow-Up Findings From the Experimental Design Study**

December 2004

**Third National**

**Even Start Evaluation**

> **Follow-Up Findings From the Experimental Design Study**
>
> December 2004
>
> Anne E. Ricciuti
>
> Robert G. St.Pierre
>
> Wang Lee
>
> Amanda Parsad
>
> *Abt Associates Inc.*
>
> Tracy Rimdzius, Project Officer
>
> *Institute of Education Sciences*

U.S. Department of Education / Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE)

**U.S. Department of Education**

Rod Paige

*Secretary*

**Institute of Education Sciences**

Grover J. Whitehurst

*Director*

**National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance**

Phoebe Cottingham

*Commissioner*

**December 2004**

This report was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences under
Contract No. EA 97049001. Tracy Rimdzius served as the project officer.
The views expressed herein are those of the contractor.

This publication is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it
in whole or in part for educational purposes is granted.

**Suggested Citation**

Ricciuti, A.E., St.Pierre, R.G., Lee, W., Parsad, A. & Rimdzius, T.
*Third National Even Start Evaluation: Follow-Up Findings From the
Experimental Design Study*. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of
Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and
Regional Assistance. Washington, DC: 2004.

This report is only available on the Internet. It can be downloaded at
the Department's Web site:

<http://www.ed.gov/ies/ncee>

![](media/image1.png)

NCEE 2005-3002

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873581 .anchor}Acknowledgments

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This report presents analyses of follow-up data collected from families
that participated in the Experimental Design Study portion of the third
national Even Start evaluation. Many individuals have contributed to the
evaluation, and we would like to acknowledge their contributions.

The national evaluation would not have been possible without the efforts
of all local Even Start projects throughout the country. Each program
year from 1997-1998 through 2000-2001, in addition to the challenging
work of carrying out the Even Start model, projects collected and
reported data describing the nature of their program, the intensity of
the services they provided, the families they served, and the extent to
which these families participated. Even Start state coordinators also
provided support to projects and evaluation contractors that is
necessary for the success of the evaluation. Special thanks are extended
to the project directors and staff of the 18 Even Start projects that
participated in the Experimental Design Study.

This study benefited from the advice and comments of an Expert Work
Group. Members include: Eloise Appel, Appel Associates; W. Steven
Barnett, Rutgers University; Diane Givens, Webster-Groves School
District, Rock Hill, Missouri; Paul Johnson, State of Colorado; Jeanne
Paratore, Boston University; Douglas Powell, Purdue University; Flora
Rodriguez-Brown, University of Illinois-Chicago; Susan Smith, Drake
University; Catherine Snow, Harvard University; Patty Ball Thomas, State
of Florida; Jeff Tucker, National Center for Family Literacy; and Maris
Vinovskis, University of Michigan.

Staff from the U.S. Department of Education provided guidance and
support for the national evaluation. Special thanks are due to Tracy
Rimdzius, project officer for the national evaluation, and Ricky Takai
of the Institute of Education Sciences; Miriam Whitney, an Even Start
program attorney; Laurette Crum, Theresa Buckley and Lonna Jones of the
Budget Service; and Laura Lazo, Patricia McKee, and DonnaMarie Marlow of
the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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  Contents

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[**Acknowledgments iii**](#__RefHeading___Toc87873581)

[Tables and Figures vii](#__RefHeading___Toc87873583)

[Abbreviations ix](#__RefHeading___Toc87873584)

[Abstract xi](#__RefHeading___Toc87873585)

[Section 1: Background and Summary of Findings
1](#__RefHeading___Toc87873586)

[Summary of Findings 1](#summary-of-findings)

[Study Limitations 3](#study-limitations)

[Section 2: The Even Start Family Literacy Program
5](#__RefHeading___Toc87873589)

[The Family Literacy Movement 5](#the-family-literacy-movement)

[The Family Literacy Model 5](#the-family-literacy-model)

[The Even Start Family Literacy Program
7](#the-even-start-family-literacy-program)

[Section 3: Description of the Evaluation
11](#__RefHeading___Toc87873593)

[Implementation of the Evaluation 11](#implementation-of-the-evaluation)

[Measures Used in the EDS 15](#measures-used-in-the-eds)

[Instruction Received by Even Start and Control Families
16](#instruction-received-by-even-start-and-control-families)

[Section 4: Evaluation Findings 29](#__RefHeading___Toc87873597)

[Comparison of Follow-Up Data With Pretest Data Showed That Even Start
Children and Parents Gained the Same Amount, But Not More, Than Control
Children and Parents
29](#comparison-of-follow-up-data-with-pretest-data-showed-that-even-start-children-and-parents-gained-the-same-amount-but-not-more-than-control-children-and-parents)

[Even Start Children and Parents Made Gains Between Pretest and
Follow-Up
31](#even-start-children-and-parents-made-gains-between-pretest-and-follow-up)

[Even Start Children and Parents Still Scored Low Compared to National
Norms
32](#even-start-children-and-parents-still-scored-low-compared-to-national-norms)

[Does Amount of Participation Make a Difference?
32](#does-amount-of-participation-make-a-difference)

[Limitations and Conclusions 33](#limitations-and-conclusions)

[References 41](#__RefHeading___Toc87873603)

[Appendix A: Description of Outcome Measures
47](#__RefHeading___Toc87873604)

[Child Outcome Measures 49](#child-outcome-measures)

[Parent and Family Outcome Measures
52](#parent-and-family-outcome-measures)

**Appendix B: Graphical Displays of Pretest, Posttest, and Follow-up
Data 55**

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873583 .anchor}Tables and Figures

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Figure 2.1: Model of Even Start's Hypothesized Effects 9

Figure 3.1: Flow of Projects and Participants At Each Stage of the
Evaluation, Including Information on Analysis Sample for the Child PPVT
and Parent WJ-R 19

Table 3.1: Disposition of Sample for the Experimental Design Study 20

Table 3.2: Age of Even Start and Control Group Children at the Time of
Random Assignment in the EDS 20

Table 3.3: Pretest Statistics on Selected Variables for Even Start and
Control Families in the EDS 21

Table 3.4: Characteristics of Various Analytic Subsets of Families in
the EDS (Even Start and Control Families Combined) 22

Table 3.5: Statistical Power Analysis for the EDS Follow-Up 23

Table 3.6: Child Outcome Measures 24

Table 3.7: Parent and Family Outcome Measures 25

Table 3.8: Percent of Even Start and Control Group Families in the EDS,
by Type of Social and Educational Service Received Between Pretest,
Posttest, and Follow-Up (Based on Parent Report) 26

Table 3.9: Classroom Activities for Children at Least Age Three Who Were
in a Center-Based Preschool or Kindergarten Classroom at the Time of
Follow-Up Data Collection, by Even Start and Control Group Status 27

Figure 3.2: Percent of Even Start Families that Made it Through the
Period of Preparation and Were Enrolled for At Least "N" Months 28

Table 4.1: Summary of Even Start and Control Group Means, at Pre-test,
Post-test, and Follow-Up 34

Table 4.2: Summary of EDS Gains and Effect Sizes (Pretest vs. Follow-Up)
38

Table 4.3: Summary of Even Start Gains and Impacts (Pretest vs.
Follow-Up) 39

Table 4.4: Summary of Regressions Predicting Child Outcomes from Hours
of Participation and Family Background 40

Figure 4.1: Pretest and Posttest Standard Scores on the PPVT for Even
Start and Control Children in the EDS, and for Children in the Head
Start FACES Study 40

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873584 .anchor}Abbreviations

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ABE Adult Basic Education

ESL English as a Second Language

EDS Experimental Design Study

ESPIRS Even Start Performance Information Reporting System

GED General Education Development credential or diploma

FACES Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study

HS High School

JOBS Job Training for Basic Skills

LIFT Literacy Involves Families Together

PPVT Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

SSRS Social Skills Rating System

TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

WJ-R Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery (Revised)

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873585 .anchor}Abstract

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***Citation:*** Ricciuti, A.E., R.G. St.Pierre, W. Lee, A. Parsad & T.
Rimdzius. *Third National Even Start Evaluation: Follow-Up Findings From
the Experimental Design Study.* U.S. Department of Education, Institute
of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and
Regional Assistance. Washington, D.C., 2004.

***Background:*** The Even Start Family Literacy Program has provided
instructional services to low-income children and their parents since
1989. A previous randomized controlled trial in the early 1990s did not
show this program to have positive impacts.

***Purpose:*** To assess the effectiveness of Even Start in a group of
grantees around the country. An earlier report from this study presented
impact findings based on pretest and posttest data at the start and end
of a school year. No program impacts were found. The purpose of the
current report is to present impact analyses of follow-up data collected
one year after posttest data.

***Setting:*** 18 Even Start grantees in 14 states that operated in the
1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years.

***Subjects:*** 463 families eligible for and interested in
participating in Even Start family literacy services.

***Intervention:*** Even Start families were offered family literacy
services, defined as (1) interactive parent-child literacy activities,
(2) parenting education, (3) adult education, and (4) early childhood
education.

***Research Design:*** Randomized controlled field trial in which
families were randomly assigned either to Even Start (309 families) or a
control group (154 families).

***Control or Comparison Condition:*** Control families could
participate in any educational and social services to which they were
entitled, but they were not allowed to participate in Even Start for one
year.

***Data Collection and Analysis:*** Pretest data on child and adult
literacy skills were collected in the fall, posttest data were collected
in the spring/summer, and follow-up data were collected the next spring.
Measures included direct assessment of children (Peabody Picture
Vocabulary Test, Woodcock-Johnson Battery, Story & Print Concepts),
direct assessment of parents (Woodcock-Johnson Battery), teacher report
on children (Social Skills Rating System), parent reports on economic
and educational status, child literacy-related skills, home literacy
environment and activities, parent assessment of children (Vineland
Communication Domain), and school records. A longitudinal sample (data
at all three waves) of children and parents was created for each outcome
measure, and t-tests were conducted to assess differences in gains
between Even Start and control groups. The sample size for the analysis
of any given outcome depends on several factors including attrition, age
of the child, exclusion of families who were assessed in Spanish, and
the need for longitudinal data. For example, the PPVT analysis for
children was done with samples of 97 Even Start and 44 control children,
and the Woodcock-Johnson analysis for parents was done with samples of
149 Even Start and 65 control parents.

***Findings:*** As was the case at posttest, Even Start children and
parents made gains on a variety of literacy assessments and other
measures at follow-up, but they did not gain more than children and
parents in the control group. It had been hypothesized that follow-up
data might show positive effects because (1) Even Start families had the
opportunity to participate for a second school year, and (2) change in
some outcomes might require more time than others. However, the
follow-up data do not support either of these hypotheses.

***Conclusion:*** The underlying premise of Even Start as described by
the statute and implemented in the field was not supported by this
study.

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873586 .anchor}Section 1: Background and
  Summary of Findings

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The third national Even Start evaluation included two complementary
studies: (1) the Even Start Performance Information Reporting System
(ESPIRS) provided annual data on the universe of Even Start projects
from 1997-1998 through 2000-2001, and (2) the Experimental Design Study
(EDS) was an experimental study of Even Start's effectiveness in 18
projects, reflecting the way that projects were implemented during
1999-2000 and 2000-2001.

The major set of evaluation findings are contained in the
recently-released report by St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao, Creps, Swartz,
Lee, Parsad & Rimdzius (2003). The analysis for that report relied on a
comparison of pretest data collected at the beginning of the school year
with posttest data collected at the end of the same school year from
Even Start and control group families who participated in the EDS. The
present document updates the findings from the St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao,
et al (2003) report by comparing pretest data with follow-up data
collected about nine months after the posttest. The findings presented
in this document are consistent with and lead to the same conclusions as
findings contained in the earlier report.

### Summary of Findings

Eighteen Even Start projects and 463 families participated in the EDS
\-- 309 families were randomly assigned to participate in Even Start and
154 were assigned to a control group that could avail themselves of any
educational services to which they were entitled, but they could not
participate in Even Start. Pretest data on child and adult literacy
skills were collected in the fall, posttest data were collected in the
spring/summer, and follow-up data were collected in the following
spring.

Although analysis of pretest compared with posttest data did not show
that Even Start children and adults performed better than control group
children and adults (see St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao, et al, 2003), it was
hypothesized that follow-up data might show positive effects of Even
Start due to either, or both, of two factors. First, families that were
assigned to Even Start had the opportunity to participate in the program
for approximately one school year between pretesting and posttesting.
Collecting follow-up data nine months after posttesting gave those
families the opportunity to participate in Even Start for a second
school year, possibly leading to positive effects under the assumption
that a greater amount of exposure to Even Start would lead to larger
literacy gains and to statistically significant program impacts.

A second hypothesized reason that positive effects might show up in
follow-up data is that change in some outcome measures is more long-term
in nature than others, and impacts might be evident after two school
years, even if there were no impacts after one year. An example is
household income, which might not change until parents have increased
their literacy skills or education level and found a job, or acquired a
better job. Another example is child literacy levels, which are
hypothesized to change, in part, as a result of temporally prior changes
in parenting skills and parent literacy. It takes time for the latter to
occur, so it is possible that changes in child literacy that are not
apparent after one school year of Even Start might be seen after two
school years, due to changes that occur in parents.

The follow-up data do not support either of these hypotheses. Findings
from analyses of literacy gains based on a comparison of pretest data
with follow-up data (collected about 18 months after pretest) are almost
identical to the findings based on a comparison of pretest data with
posttest data (about nine months after pretest). In short, at follow-up,
while Even Start children and parents made gains on literacy assessments
and other measures, children and parents in the 18 Even Start programs
that participated in the EDS did not gain more than children and parents
in the control group.

We hypothesized that positive effects might be observed by the time of
the follow-up data collection if families assigned to Even Start
participated in instructional services for a substantially longer period
of time. However, data from the Even Start Performance Information
Reporting System (ESPIRS) show that Even Start EDS families participated
in instructional services for an average of about 8 months between
pretest and posttest data collection, and for an average of 10 months
between pretest and follow-up data collection. Thus, providing the
opportunity for an additional year of exposure to Even Start resulted in
little additional participation on the part of families (an average of
two additional months).

Another way in which we sought to understand participation in Even Start
was to ask parents about the instructional services in which they
participated during the prior year. At the posttest, significantly more
Even Start parents than control parents reported that their children
participated in early childhood education (72% vs. 32%), and that they
participated in adult education (59% vs. 29%) and in parenting education
(28% vs. 17%). By the follow-up assessment, more Even Start parents than
control parents reported that their children participated in early
childhood education (57% vs. 44%), and roughly equal percentages of Even
Start and control parents reported participating in adult education (40%
vs. 32%) and parenting education (17% vs. 20%). Although these data show
that significantly more Even Start families than control families
participated in instructional services, the participation rates for the
two groups are not large in an absolute sense and are not nearly as
different as might be expected, indicating both that Even Start families
did not participate fully in the program, and that control families were
able to find competing instructional services. Thus, in order for Even
Start families to perform better than control families on
literacy-related outcome measures, the instructional services in which
Even Start families participated would have to be much more effective
than the instructional services in which control group families
participated. This is unlikely since many Even Start projects build on
instructional services that already exist in the community -- the same
services in which control group parents and children may have been
participating.

Finally, it was hypothesized that positive effects on child literacy
might be observed in the follow-up data collection because of the
additional time that parents have to improve their parenting and
literacy skills. These improvements would then be hypothesized to
translate into changes in their interactions with their children, and
additional family resources. However, the data do not show significant
impacts of Even Start on parents' literacy skills or parenting
behaviors, so the subsequent lack of impacts on children is not
surprising.

### Study Limitations

The EDS used a random assignment design, the strongest approach for
estimating program impacts. However, projects volunteered for this study
instead of being randomly selected, so we cannot generalize to the Even
Start population on a strict statistical basis. EDS families are more
likely than the population of Even Start families to be Hispanic, and
EDS projects are more likely than the population of Even Start projects
to be in urban areas. Thus, findings from the EDS are most relevant to
urban projects that serve large numbers of Hispanic/ESL families.

In addition, to be included in the analysis for this study, children and
parents were required to have a complete set of data for a given outcome
variable (i.e., data at pretest, posttest, and follow-up) with all
direct assessments administered in English. This limits generalizability
to families that are relatively stable over a two-year period as well as
children and parents who were comfortable enough with English to be
assessed in that language.

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873589 .anchor}Section 2: The Even Start Family
  Literacy Program

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### The Family Literacy Movement

Through the mid-1900s, the nation's literacy problems were addressed by
a dual system of public and private sector efforts that included
remediation programs for adults in the form of adult education or
workplace literacy programs, and prevention programs for children in the
form of early childhood education efforts such as Head Start. The seeds
of a new approach were sown in the late 1970s and early 1980s when many
of the first family literacy programs were planned and implemented
(Smith, 1995).

Drawing on the experiences of existing early intervention and adult
literacy programs, family literacy programs are based on the beliefs
that children's early learning is greatly influenced by their parents,
that parents must develop and value their own literacy skills in order
to support their children's educational success, and that parents are
their children's first and best teachers. Family literacy programs seek
to improve the literacy development of young children not only by
providing early childhood education services directly to young children,
but also by helping parents become more literate themselves, by helping
parents understand more about how children learn, and by inculcating
good teaching habits in parents. In the late 1980s this new approach
emerged in full force as family literacy programs proliferated under a
range of sponsors including state governments (e.g., Kentucky's PACE
program), local school districts (e.g., the Marin, CA Library Family
Literacy Program), private organizations (e.g., the National Center for
Family Literacy), private corporations (e.g., Stride-Rite's
Intergenerational Day Care program), and universities (e.g., El Paso
State College's Family Intergenerational English Literacy Program). The
movement attained national status in 1989 when the federal government
instituted its family literacy centerpiece, the Even Start Family
Literacy Program.

### The Family Literacy Model

##### 

Even Start, like most family literacy programs, offers instructional
services that include early childhood education, adult literacy
education, parenting education, and structured literacy interaction
between parents and their children. According to Sharon Darling,
President of the National Center for Family Literacy, the four-component
family literacy model is intended to:

> ...promote intergenerational learning as an effective means to break
> the cycle of poverty and undereducation. Family literacy provides
> self-sufficiency for multiple generations simultaneously. When parents
> and children work together, the parents have the opportunities to gain
> the skills to fulfill their roles as parents, workers and citizens.
> Children gain academic readiness and reading skills to be successful
> learners in our schools (Darling, 2000).

Recent legislation provided a definition of family literacy that is used
in all federal programs that offer family literacy services. While Even
Start is the premier federal family literacy program, family literacy
services are allowable in programs such as Head Start, Title I, Adult
Education and Reading First. Federal family literacy services are
defined as follows:

> Services provided to participants on a voluntary basis that are of
> sufficient intensity, in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration to
> make sustainable changes in a family, and that integrate all of the
> following activities: interactive literacy activities between parents
> and their children; training for parents regarding how to be the
> primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education
> of their children; parent literacy training that leads to economic
> self-sufficiency; and age-appropriate education to prepare children
> for success in school and life experiences. (Public Law 105-277).

One of the assumptions underlying the family literacy model is that a
child will benefit more from being in a family that participates in each
family literacy service (early childhood education, adult education,
parenting education and parent-child literacy activities), than from
simply participating in an early childhood program. A model of family
literacy theory described by St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao, et al (2003)
predicts that family literacy programs such as Even Start will produce
short-term positive effects on the literacy skills of children and
parents who participate intensively in early childhood education and
adult education services, as well as short-term positive effects on
parenting skills and the home literacy environment due both to
participation in parenting education and parent-child literacy
activities (Figure 2.1). Early effects on child literacy skills and on
parenting skills and household literacy resources, as well as enhanced
parent literacy skills and enhanced economic outcomes for the family
(e.g., improved parent education, better employment, increased household
income) all are hypothesized to lead to longer‑term positive effects on
the literacy skills of children in the family and continued enhancement
of economic outcomes.

What research about the instructional components of family literacy
programs supports these hypotheses? A large body of research attests to
the effectiveness of high-quality, intensive early childhood education
programs at producing significant short-term children's cognitive
benefits for children from low-income families (e.g., Barnett, 1995;
Karoly, Greenwood, Everingham, et al, 1998). Model early childhood
programs such as the Abecedarian project (Ramey & Campbell, 1988) and
the Perry Preschool Program (Schweinhart, Barnes & Weikart, 1993) have
produced short-term IQ gains of between 0.5 and 1.0 standard deviation
units.

Research evidence on the effectiveness of parenting education and adult
education is much less compelling. There is little doubt that parents
play a critical role in the cognitive development of their children. A
large descriptive research literature links levels of parent education
to levels of child achievement (National Research Council, 1998, 2000,
2001), and a number of studies have shown a positive relationship
between language-rich parent-child interactions and language development
of young children (Hart & Risley, 1995; National Research Council, 1998,
2000, 2001; Powell & D\'Angelo, 2000). However, no experimental evidence
has been found to support the hypothesis that parenting programs can
make large enhancements in parent literacy and parenting skills, and
most studies and reviews of research in this area have concluded that
parenting education, by itself, is not able to affect child outcomes
(Barnett, 1995; St.Pierre & Layzer, 1998; Wagner & Clayton, 1995;
Clarke-Stewart, 1988).

Adult basic and secondary education programs have high dropout rates and
low levels of intensity, making it difficult to see how they can be
expected to lead to positive effects on literacy outcomes (Moore &
Stavrianos, 1994), and most reviews of adult basic education programs
have concluded that while education and training programs have modest
positive effects on GED attainment, they have not been able to increase
adults\' literacy skills (Bos, Scrivener, Snipes & Hamilton, 2002;
Datta, 1992; Duffy, 1992; Mikulecky, 1992). A comprehensive review of
job training and search programs shows that these programs have small,
but real effects on employment, AFDC receipt, and income (Fischer &
Cordray, 1995). Still, welfare-to-work programs have not lifted
substantial numbers of adults out of poverty, and a well-respected
review of the impact of welfare-to-work programs concluded that, while
almost of the programs studied led to small gains in earnings, many
participants remained in poverty and on welfare (Gueron & Pauly, 1991).
In addition, the authors voiced concern that even mothers who obtain
jobs frequently leave or lose them, for reasons such as a lack of
transportation or child care and loss of health benefits for children.

Thus, previous research about family literacy instructional components
shows that high-quality, intensive early childhood education programs
can indeed produce short-term cognitive benefits for low-income
children. However, expectations about the effectiveness of parenting
education and adult education programs for parents should be modest at
best, with subsequent effects on their children being even more
unlikely, leading Ramey, Ramey, Gaines & Blair (1995) to question the
premise that adult-focused programs can ever have benefits for children.
Even assuming that it might be possible to significantly alter parent
literacy and parenting skills, research has not shown that these changes
will translate into improved literacy performance among children in a
timely manner (Ramey & Ramey, 1992).

In spite of the questions raised by this research evidence, the family
literacy model hypothesizes that the instructional services described
above will be more effective when integrated into a unified program,
that some synergy is expected from receiving the combination of
services, and that the integration of instructional services will lead
to enhanced outcomes both for children and their parents.

### The Even Start Family Literacy Program

As the Nation's largest and most visible family literacy program, Even
Start addresses the basic educational needs of low-income families
including parents and their children from birth through age seven by
providing a unified program of family literacy services, defined as
services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of
sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and that
integrate:

-   Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children
    (parent-child activities).

-   Training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for
    their children and full partners in the education of their children
    (parenting education).

-   Parent literacy training that leads to economic self sufficiency
    (adult education).

-   An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in
    school and life experiences (early childhood education).

Even Start's long-term purpose is to help break the cycle of poverty and
illiteracy for low-income families. Local Even Start projects are meant
to integrate the components of family literacy and build on services
that already exist in their communities. The program has grown steadily
over the past decade, both in terms of federal funding as well as the
number of projects that are supported with those funds. From a small
demonstration program in which \$14.8 million was used to fund 76
projects in 1989-1990, Even Start has grown ten-fold. In 2000-2001,
\$150 million in funding was distributed to 855 projects serving 32,000
families in all 50 states, and funding rose to \$250 million in
2001-2002 (the appropriation was approximately \$248 million in
2002-2003). Even Start has been reauthorized and amended several times,
most recently through the Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act
of 2000 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The third national
evaluation was designed before these reauthorizations, so this report's
findings reflect Even Start as it was implemented pre-reauthorization.

![](media/image1.wmf)

Note: In this figure, ECE stands for early childhood education; PE for
parenting education; P-C for parent-child joint activities; and AE for
adult education.

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  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873593 .anchor}Section 3: Description of the
  Evaluation

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### Implementation of the Evaluation

The original design for and resources allocated to the EDS called for an
experiment to be conducted in 15 to 20 Even Start projects. In practice,
the EDS was implemented in 18 projects which voluntarily agreed to
randomly assign incoming families to be in Even Start or a control
group, providing an experimental assessment of Even Start's impacts. A
summary of the numbers of projects and participants at each stage of the
evaluation is given in Figure 3.1.

**EDS Sample and Evaluation Design.** Projects were recruited during the
1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years to participate in the EDS. During
this time, all Even Start projects in the nation were screened for
eligibility. To pass the eligibility screen, projects had to minimally
meet Even Start's legislative requirements, be in operation for at least
two years, plan to operate through the length of the study, plan to
serve about 20 new families at the start of data collection, offer
instructional services of moderate or high intensity relative to all
Even Start projects, and be willing to participate in a random
assignment study. Projects also were recruited from urban and rural
areas, as well as projects that served varying proportions of ESL
participants. Over the two recruitment years, 115 out of a universe of
about 750 projects met the selection criteria. All 115 eligible projects
were contacted, materials were sent describing the study, telephone
calls were made to all 115 projects to discuss the study, and site
visits were made to many of the projects. In the end, 18 of these
projects (about 15% of the eligible projects) were willing to
participate in the study. The background characteristics of families in
the two cohorts of projects were similar, so data were combined across
all 18 projects for analytic purposes.

The fact that only 115 out of 750 projects met the selection criteria
for the EDS should not call the validity of the study into question. The
selection criteria outlined above were applied in order to obtain a
sample of projects that would be operating during the time of the study,
that were not brand-new projects, that offered a reasonable amount of
instructional service, and that could recruit a sufficient number of new
families. All of these are fair study requirements.

However, the fact that only 18 out of 115 eligible projects were willing
to participate in the EDS does make us worry about the generalizability
of the findings (see discussion below). Why was the rate of
participation of projects in the study so low? The key reason is that
participation in the evaluation was not mandated -- it was not a
condition for continued receipt of federal funding. The approach of
mandated participation in federal studies has been used in the recent
past and has been shown to be very effective, e.g., for the Head Start
Impact Study. In the absence of this sort of a mandate, the EDS had to
rely on incentives and the good will of project staff. Several
incentives were offered including a cash honorarium of \$1,500 for each
project, \$20 for each family at each wave of data collection, and \$15
for each teacher at each wave of data collection. Projects were offered
the opportunity to meet with each other at national meetings, letters of
commendation were written to local school boards, and discussions about
the importance of the research were held with project staff. Of course,
the main deterrent to participating in the EDS was the requirement that
projects allow research staff to randomly assign incoming families to be
in Even Start or a control group.

**Randomization of Families.** Each of the 18 EDS projects was asked to
recruit families as they normally do and to provide listings of eligible
families to Abt Associates staff who randomly assigned families either
to participate in Even Start (two-thirds of the families) or to be in a
control group (one-third of the families). Assignment to the control
group meant that the family could not participate in Even Start for one
year. A total of 463 families were randomly assigned in the EDS \-- 309
to Even Start and 154 to the control group (Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1),
maintaining the planned 2:1 ratio. This is an average of about 26
families per project.

Instead of restricting children in the EDS to, say, preschoolers,
children throughout the Even Start age range were included. Even though
the EDS provided some data on all children in the study, the sample for
analysis of literacy gains on direct assessments was limited to children
who were at least 2.5 years old at the time of pretesting since most
standardized literacy measures are not appropriate for children until
they reach this age. About one-third of the children in the EDS were
under 2.5 years of age at the time of pretest (Table 3.2). At the time
of the follow-up, only about 10% of children in the EDS were under 2.5
years. Parent-report measures of child literacy skills were available
for children of all ages.

**Comparability of Even Start and Control Groups.** Even Start and
control families were statistically equivalent at the time of
randomization and at the pretest (Table 3.3). Group equivalence at the
time of randomization is guaranteed, within known statistical bounds, by
proper implementation of random assignment and a sufficiently large
sample size. However, 10% of the families were lost between the time of
randomization and time of pretest. This attrition occurred equally in
the Even Start and control groups. An analysis of pretest data showed
that Even Start and control groups did not differ significantly on the
percent of families where Spanish was spoken at home, families where
English was spoken at home, Hispanic families, parents with a high
school diploma or a GED, single parent households, employed parents, and
households with annual income less than \$9,000.

**Generalizability of EDS Findings.** The EDS used a random assignment
design, the strongest approach for estimating program impacts. However,
projects volunteered for this study instead of being randomly selected,
so we cannot generalize to the Even Start population on a strict
statistical basis. The plan was to select EDS projects to include urban
and rural projects, projects that offer varying amounts of instruction,
and projects that serve high and low percentages of ESL families. Due to
the voluntary nature of the study, this plan could not be implemented
perfectly, and while the EDS projects do represent major kinds of
projects funded in Even Start, the data presented in Table 3.3 show that
EDS families are more likely than the population of Even Start families
to be Hispanic (75% vs. 46%). Further, 83% of EDS projects are in urban
areas compared with 55% of all Even Start projects. These data suggest
that findings from the EDS are most relevant to urban projects that
serve large numbers of Hispanic/ESL families.

Data comparing the mean pretest scores of EDS families with the
population of Even Start families on 18 parent-reported outcomes having
to do with child literacy skills and home literacy activities are shown
in St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao, et al (2003, Exhibit 6.1.41). For most
variables there is no difference between the two groups, and the data
support the contention that there are no important differences between
EDS families and the Even Start population in terms of parent reported
literacy skills and home literacy activities.

**Data Collection.** EDS data were collected at three time points. For
the 11 projects that began the EDS in the 1999-2000 program year,
pretest data were collected in fall 1999, posttest data in spring 2000,
and follow-up data in spring 2001. For the seven projects that began the
EDS in the 2000-2001 program year, pretest data were collected in fall
2000, posttest data in spring 2001, and follow-up data in spring 2002.
In many projects, families entered Even Start on a rolling basis, so the
pretest data collection was spread across several months (October
through January) as new families entered the program. There was an
average of 8.8 months between pretest and posttest, with a minimum of 5
months and maximum of 12 months. There was an average of 19.6 months
between pretest and follow-up, with a minimum of 16 months, and a
maximum of 24 months. Data collection from parents and children was done
by field staff members that were recruited by, trained by, and employed
by the research contractor. Field staff members had backgrounds in
interviewing and in working with children, although experience assessing
children and adults was not a prerequisite for employment.

**Data Collection Response Rates.** Response rates for the EDS data
collection were high compared with those achieved by many educational
studies: 90% at the pretest, 81% at the first posttest, and 76% at the
follow-up assessment (Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1). Response rates are
based on completed parent interviews, which generally correspond to the
number of adults for whom we have direct assessment data. As mentioned
above, the number of children for whom direct assessment data is
available is less than the number of parents with such data, since child
assessments could only be administered to children over 2.5 years of
age. Sample sizes for individual outcomes vary considerably due to (1)
response rates, as noted above, (2) children who were too young to be
tested, and (3) children/parents who were tested in Spanish.

We examined the comparability of the samples of families who were
randomized (n=463), those who were assessed at pretest and posttest
(n=364, reported on in St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao et al, 2003), and those
who were assessed at pretest, posttest, and follow-up (n=317, reported
on in the current document). For the sample that was randomized, but
never found at one of the assessment points, we have demographic
information that was obtained as part of the consent and study
enrollment process (Table 3.4). For the samples that were assessed at
one or more time-points, we have additional demographic data, in
addition to PPVT pretest scores. It can be seen that the three samples
are quite comparable with regard to demographics and pretest assessment
scores. Since the data presented in Table 3.3 show that the Even Start
and control groups were statistically equivalent at pretest, and the
data presented in Table 3.4 show that families in the longitudinal
analytic sample (Even Start and control group combined) have the same
characteristics as families in the sample at pretest, sample bias does
not appear to be a concern when interpreting the longitudinal results
presented in this report.

**Test Language.** Many Even Start projects serve a high percentage of
non-English speaking families and deciding which language to use for
literacy assessments posed difficult issues for this evaluation. We
selected literacy measures that were available in both English and
Spanish, e.g., the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the
Woodcock-Johnson. However, the English version of each measure was
administered whenever possible. This approach served two purposes.
First, assessing in English is consistent with Even Start's goal for
adults and children to become literate in English. Second, assessing in
English provides for the largest possible analytic sample of children
and adults tested in a common language. We compared pretest data for
adults and children tested in English with pretest data for the small
number of adults and children tested in Spanish. In spite of the claims
of publishers that English and Spanish test forms are "equivalent", we
found very large differences in the pretest scores of English
test-takers and Spanish test-takers, making us uneasy about combining
the two sets of data. Just as difficult was the fact that some children
and adults took the Spanish version of an assessment at one time
(pretest, posttest or follow-up) and the English version at another
time. We were uneasy about trying to conduct any analysis of change when
different test languages were used, and in the end we restricted
analyses of child and parent literacy outcomes to children and parents
who took the assessment in English at all three times (pretest,
posttest, follow-up). This restriction led us to exclude 59 children and
86 parents from the analysis of child and parent literacy outcomes,
representing 13% and 19%, respectively, of the total sample of 463
families. This limits the generalizability of findings to children and
parents who were comfortable enough with English to be assessed in that
language.

**Analysis Sample and Methods.** The bottom part of Figure 3.1 shows how
the analysis sample was constructed for two key outcome measures \-- the
PPVT, which was administered to children and the WJ-R, which was
administered to adults. Ninety-seven Even Start children and 44 control
group children had valid PPVT scores at all three time points and thus
formed the analysis sample for this outcome measure. Children were
excluded from the analysis of PPVT data for several reasons:

-   Thirty-two Even Start and 14 control children were in families that
    could not be found for the pretest data collection.

-   Eighty-seven Even Start and 43 control children were too young
    (under age 2.5) to be tested at pretest.

-   Forty Even Start and 19 control children took the PPVT in Spanish
    (the TVIP) at one or more time points.

-   Fifty-three Even Start and 34 control children did not have a
    complete set of longitudinal data (pretest, posttest, follow-up).

Similar logic was followed to construct the analysis sample on the
Woodcock-Johnson of 149 Even Start adults and 65 control group adults.

Separate analyses were conducted for each of 41 separate outcome
variables. While a smaller set of composite variables could have been
derived using factor analytic techniques, we chose to present each
outcome separately so that readers have a clear understanding of the
meaning of each outcome. The analysis consisted of a comparison of Even
Start and control families pooled across all 18 of the projects
participating in the study. In other words, each family in the
evaluation was given equal weight in the analysis.

For continuous variables, differences in gains for treatment and control
groups were tested by conducting a t-test on the simple pre-post gain
score for each group. For dichotomous variables, a gain score was
created that could take on the values of 0 (no change), -1 (negative
change), or 1 (positive change). A McNemar test was then used to assess
the differences in gain between treatment and control groups. For data
collected through teacher ratings and school records, which were
collected only at post-test, we tested for treatment/control differences
with t-tests on the post-test scores.

Although the data for this study are nested within sites, analyses to
account for such nesting were not possible due to small sample sizes
within each site.[^1] Using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test as an
example, there was a total of 97 Even Start and 44 control children with
usable longitudinal data. Within-site samples ranged from 1 to 13 Even
Start children and from 1 to 6 control children. Using the
Woodcock-Johnson Letter-Word Identification test as an example for
adults, there were a total of 149 Even Start adults and 65 control
adults with usable longitudinal data. Within-site samples ranged from 2
to 14 Even Start adults and from 1 to 10 control adults. Finally, note
that the gain scores shown in the tables of results are simple pre-post
differences.

**Statistical Power.** A total of 463 families were randomly assigned in
the EDS -- 309 to Even Start and 154 to the control group. For several
reasons, the number of parents and children that enter into any given
analysis of Even Start's effectiveness is smaller than these totals:
some families could not be found at the time of pretesting, posttesting,
and follow-up testing; some children accepted into the study were too
young (under 2.5 years of age) to be pretested; and some parents and
children were assessed but had missing data on selected items. The
statistical power to detect effects in the EDS therefore varies across
measures. To understand statistical power it is helpful to have a shared
definition of an "effect" produced by a program such as Even start. As
an example, if Even Start had an effect of .50 standard deviations on
the PPVT it would mean that the average child in Even Start gained a
half standard deviation more than the average child in the control
group. This is equivalent to 7.5 standard score points, because the PPVT
standard deviation is 15.0 standard score points.

Table 3.5 shows statistical power for some of the key outcome measures.
It can be seen that at follow-up, the EDS still had high statistical
power to detect large and medium-sized effects, but poor power to detect
small effects. Statistical power is greater than .85 for effects of .50
standard deviation (sd) or larger, greater then .70 for effects of .40
sd, and .85 or greater for effects of .30 sd for parents. But
statistical power is less than .60 for effects of .30 sd for children,
and less than .50 for effects of .20 sd or smaller.

### Measures Used in the EDS

Tables 3.6 and 3.7 list the outcome measures administered to children
and parents, and Appendix A provides additional detail on each measure.
Child outcomes were measured by direct assessment of the child, parent
report on the child's skills, teacher report on the child's behaviors in
school, and a review of school records. The child measurement battery
partially overlaps both with the ESPIRS that was administered to all
Even Start families, and with measures for the Head Start FACES study.
Parent outcomes were measured through direct assessment of literacy
skills and parent self-report. Measurement of parent outcomes focused on
language skills as opposed to the functional literacy or general skills
that were measured in previous studies. Thus, the measurement battery is
aligned with Even Start's objectives.

### Instruction Received by Even Start and Control Families

Families that were assigned to Even Start participated in the program at
whatever levels of intensity and for whatever duration they desired.
Families assigned to the control group were not allowed to participate
in Even Start for one year. However, during that year they took part in
any other educational and social programs for which they qualified and
sought out. After the one-year period, control families were eligible to
enroll in Even Start, and some families in some EDS projects did so \--
25 control group families (from the total of 154) reported that they
participated in Even Start between the posttest and follow-up
measurement. These families were retained in the control group for all
of the analyses reported in this document. We conducted a separate set
of analyses excluding control families that reported participating in
Even Start after the one-year period, and the analysis results were
unchanged.

**Parent Report of Instructional Services Received.** The EDS parent
interview included questions about the kinds of educational and social
services in which families participated between pretest and posttest,
and between posttest and follow-up. If Even Start families were
participating fully in the program, and if parent report was a
completely reliable measure, then the parent interview data ought to
show us that very high percentages of Even Start families participate in
each instructional service. This is not the case, as is demonstrated in
Table 3.8 which shows the percentage of parents that reported
participating in each instructional service between pretest and
posttest, and between posttest and follow-up. Fewer Even Start families
reported that they participated in early childhood education (57% vs.
72%), parenting education (17% vs. 28%), and adult education (40% vs.
59%) at the follow-up than at the posttest. This is a reasonable trend,
given that Even Start families leave the program over time. However, the
absolute percentages are quite low, given that all Even Start families
are supposed to be participating in each of these instructional
services.

A greater percentage of control parents reported participating in early
childhood education (44% vs. 32%), parenting education (20% vs. 17%),
and adult education (32% vs. 29%) at the follow-up than at the posttest.
These increases make sense, since a small percentage of control parents
reported that they joined Even Start after the posttest. In addition,
more Even Start and control children participated in Head Start,
kindergarten, and primary school at the follow-up than at the posttest.
This is most likely a result of the increasing age of the children in
both the Even Start and control groups (average child age was 3.2 years
at pretest, 4.0 years at the posttest, and 4.9 years at the follow-up).

At the posttest, significantly more Even Start parents than control
parents reported that their children participated in early childhood
education (72% vs. 32%), and that they participated in adult education
(59% vs. 29%) and in parenting education (28% vs. 17%). By the
follow-up, significantly more Even Start parents than control parents
still reported that their children participated in early childhood
education (57% vs. 44%), and roughly equal percentages of Even Start and
control parents reported participating in adult education (40% vs. 32%)
and parenting education (17% vs. 20%).

Although the data reported above show that significantly more Even Start
families than control families participated in instructional services,
the participation rates for the two groups are not nearly as different
as might be expected, indicating both that Even Start families did not
participate fully in the program, and that control families were able to
find competing instructional services. Thus, in order for Even Start
families to perform better than control families on literacy-related
outcome measures, the instructional services in which Even Start
families participated would have to be much more effective than the
instructional services in which control group families participated.
This is unlikely since many Even Start projects build on instructional
services that already exist in the community -- the same services in
which control group parents and children may have been participating.

**Teacher Reports of Classroom Activities.** Teachers of Even Start and
control children who were in center-based preschool or kindergarten
settings were asked to report on the kinds of classroom activities that
were available to children on a daily or almost daily basis. As was the
case at the posttest (St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao et al, 2003), the
classrooms in which Even Start and control children participated were
very similar with regard to literacy-related activities (Table 3.9).
Almost all Even Start children in center-based classrooms had many
different kinds of literacy-related activities available to them on a
daily or almost daily basis including number concepts or counting (96%),
letters of the alphabet or words (92%), and reading stories (98%).
Almost the same percentages of children in control classrooms were
offered these literacy-related activities. At the follow-up, children in
Even Start classrooms were more likely than control children to work on
naming colors, and solving puzzles or working with geometric forms.
Thus, teacher reports show few differences between the classroom
experiences received by Even Start and control children.

**Length of Participation in Even Start.** As described by St.Pierre,
Ricciuti, Tao et al (2003), about one-third of the families that were
randomly assigned to Even Start never participated enough to make it
through Even Start's period of preparation (a time in which families can
try out the program without being officially enrolled) and hence be
included in the national ESPIRS data collection system. For the
remaining families, ESPIRS participation data showed that about 50% of
Even Start families in the EDS participated in instructional services
for 8 or fewer months between the pretest and posttest, while the other
50% participated for more than 8 months (out of a maximum of 12 months).
Follow-up participation data[^2] showed that when given the opportunity
to participate for up to 24 months, about half (48%) of the Even Start
families participated for 10 or fewer months and half (52%) participated
for more than 10 months (Figure 3.2). Thus, the additional available
year of instructional services resulted in only a couple of additional
months of participation for the average Even Start EDS family.

**Figure 3.1: Flow of Projects and Participants At Each Stage of the
Evaluation, Including Information on Analysis Sample for the Child PPVT
and Parent WJ-R**

+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| **[Table           |               |               |               |
| 3.1]{.smallcaps}** |               |               |               |
|                    |               |               |               |
| **[Disposition of  |               |               |               |
| Sample for the     |               |               |               |
| Experimental       |               |               |               |
| Design             |               |               |               |
| St                 |               |               |               |
| udy]{.smallcaps}** |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| **[Sample Group of | **[Even       | **[Control]{  | **[Total]{    |
| Famil              | Start]{       | .smallcaps}** | .smallcaps}** |
| ies]{.smallcaps}** | .smallcaps}** |               |               |
|                    |               | **[n of       | **[n of       |
|                    | **[n of       | Families]{    | Families]{    |
|                    | Families]{    | .smallcaps}** | .smallcaps}** |
|                    | .smallcaps}** |               |               |
|                    |               | **[(% of      | **[(% of      |
|                    | **[(% of      | those         | those         |
|                    | those         | Randomized)]{ | Randomized)]{ |
|                    | Randomized)]{ | .smallcaps}** | .smallcaps}** |
|                    | .smallcaps}** |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Total (18        |               |               |               |
| projects)**        |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Randomized         | 309 (100%)    | 154 (100%)    | 463 (100%)    |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 277 (90%)     | 140 (91%)     | 417 (90%)     |
| pretest            |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 246 (80%)     | 130 (84%)     | 376 (81%)     |
| posttest           |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 239 (77%)     | 115 (75%)     | 354 (76%)     |
| follow-up          |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| **First Cohort (11 |               |               |               |
| projects)**        |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Randomized         | 201 (100%)    | 100 (100%)    | 301 (100%)    |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 176 (88%)     | 88 (88%)      | 264 (88%)     |
| pretest            |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 150 (75%)     | 81 (81%)      | 231 (77%)     |
| posttest           |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 151 (75%)     | 73 (73%)      | 224 (74%)     |
| follow-up          |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| **Second Cohort (7 |               |               |               |
| projects)**        |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Randomized         | 108 (100%)    | 54 (100%)     | 162 (100%)    |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 101 (94%)     | 52 (96%)      | 153 (94%)     |
| pretest            |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 96 (89%)      | 49 (91%)      | 145 (90%)     |
| posttest           |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Assessed at        | 88 (81%)      | 42 (78%)      | 130 (80%)     |
| follow-up          |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Note: Percentages  |               |               |               |
| are calculated as  |               |               |               |
| number tested      |               |               |               |
| divided by number  |               |               |               |
| randomly assigned. |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+
| Table reads: In    |               |               |               |
| the EDS, a total   |               |               |               |
| of 463 families    |               |               |               |
| were randomly      |               |               |               |
| assigned to Even   |               |               |               |
| Start or the       |               |               |               |
| control group.     |               |               |               |
+--------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+

+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| **[Table   |             |             |             |             |
| 3.2]{.sm   |             |             |             |             |
| allcaps}** |             |             |             |             |
|            |             |             |             |             |
| **[Age of  |             |             |             |             |
| Even Start |             |             |             |             |
| and        |             |             |             |             |
| Control    |             |             |             |             |
| Group      |             |             |             |             |
| Chi        |             |             |             |             |
| ldren]{.sm |             |             |             |             |
| allcaps}** |             |             |             |             |
|            |             |             |             |             |
| **[at the  |             |             |             |             |
| Time of    |             |             |             |             |
| Random     |             |             |             |             |
| Assignment |             |             |             |             |
| in the     |             |             |             |             |
| EDS]{.sm   |             |             |             |             |
| allcaps}** |             |             |             |             |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| **[Child   | **[Even     |             | **[         |             |
| Age]{.sm   | Start]{.s   |             | Control]{.s |             |
| allcaps}** | mallcaps}** |             | mallcaps}** |             |
|            |             |             |             |             |
| **[(Y      |             |             |             |             |
| ears)]{.sm |             |             |             |             |
| allcaps}** |             |             |             |             |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
|            | **[N]{.s    | **[         | **[N]{.s    | **[         |
|            | mallcaps}** | Percent]{.s | mallcaps}** | Percent]{.s |
|            |             | mallcaps}** |             | mallcaps}** |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| \<1        | 47          | 15%         | 17          | 11%         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 1          | 22          | 7%          | 13          | 8%          |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 2          | 39          | 13%         | 24          | 16%         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 3          | 65          | 21%         | 30          | 20%         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 4          | 70          | 23%         | 34          | 22%         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 5          | 37          | 12%         | 22          | 14%         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 6          | 15          | 5%          | 8           | 5%          |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 7          | 11          | 3%          | 5           | 3%          |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 8          | 3           | 1%          | 1           | 1%          |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Total      | 309         | 100%        | 154         | 100%        |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Note:      |             |             |             |             |
| Children   |             |             |             |             |
| were       |             |             |             |             |
| assigned   |             |             |             |             |
| through    |             |             |             |             |
| the Even   |             |             |             |             |
| Start age  |             |             |             |             |
| range.     |             |             |             |             |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Table      |             |             |             |             |
| reads: In  |             |             |             |             |
| the EDS,   |             |             |             |             |
| 15% of     |             |             |             |             |
| Even Start |             |             |             |             |
| children   |             |             |             |             |
| were less  |             |             |             |             |
| than one   |             |             |             |             |
| year of    |             |             |             |             |
| age at the |             |             |             |             |
| time of    |             |             |             |             |
| random     |             |             |             |             |
| a          |             |             |             |             |
| ssignment. |             |             |             |             |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+

+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| #### Table 3.3         |          |          |           |          |
|                        |          |          |           |          |
| **[Pretest Statistics  |          |          |           |          |
| on Selected            |          |          |           |          |
| Va                     |          |          |           |          |
| riables]{.smallcaps}** |          |          |           |          |
|                        |          |          |           |          |
| **[for Even Start and  |          |          |           |          |
| Control Families in    |          |          |           |          |
| the EDS]{.smallcaps}** |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| **[V                   | **[Expe  |          |           | **[Even  |
| ariable]{.smallcaps}** | rimental |          |           | Star     |
|                        | Design   |          |           | t]{.smal |
|                        | Stud     |          |           | lcaps}** |
|                        | y]{.smal |          |           |          |
|                        | lcaps}** |          |           | **       |
|                        |          |          |           | [Nationa |
|                        |          |          |           | l]{.smal |
|                        |          |          |           | lcaps}** |
|                        |          |          |           |          |
|                        |          |          |           | **[S     |
|                        |          |          |           | tatistic |
|                        |          |          |           | s]{.smal |
|                        |          |          |           | lcaps}** |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
|                        | **[ED    | #### EDS | **[P-Va   |          |
|                        | S]{.smal |          | lue]{.sma |          |
|                        | lcaps}** | *        | llcaps}** |          |
|                        |          | *[Contro |           |          |
|                        | **[Even  | l]{.smal | **[(Even  |          |
|                        | Star     | lcaps}** | Start vs  |          |
|                        | t]{.smal |          | Contr     |          |
|                        | lcaps}** | **       | ol)]{.sma |          |
|                        |          | [Familie | llcaps}** |          |
|                        | **       | s]{.smal |           |          |
|                        | [Familie | lcaps}** |           |          |
|                        | s]{.smal |          |           |          |
|                        | lcaps}** | *        |           |          |
|                        |          | *[(n=154 |           |          |
|                        | *        | )]{.smal |           |          |
|                        | *[(n=309 | lcaps}** |           |          |
|                        | )]{.smal |          |           |          |
|                        | lcaps}** |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% Spanish spoken at   | 65%      | 65%      | .74       | 37%      |
| home                   |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% English spoken at   | 30%      | 29%      | .74       | 58%      |
| home                   |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% Hispanic or Latino  | 75%      | 75%      | .84       | 46%      |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% parents with HS     | 16%      | 19%      | .43       | 17%      |
| diploma or GED         |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% single parent       | 16%      | 23%      | .10       | 26%      |
| households             |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% employed            | 27%      | 23%      | .37       | 22%      |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| \% household income    | 25%      | 28%      | .29       | 39%      |
| \<\$9,000              |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| Note: National         |          |          |           |          |
| statistics are from    |          |          |           |          |
| the ESPIRS data        |          |          |           |          |
| collection.            |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| Table reads: In the    |          |          |           |          |
| EDS, 75% of the Even   |          |          |           |          |
| Start families         |          |          |           |          |
| identified themselves  |          |          |           |          |
| as Hispanic or Latino. |          |          |           |          |
+------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+

+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **[Table               |              |              |              |
| 3.4]{.smallcaps}**     |              |              |              |
|                        |              |              |              |
| **[Characteristics of  |              |              |              |
| Various Analytic       |              |              |              |
| Subsets of Families in |              |              |              |
| the EDS]{.smallcaps}** |              |              |              |
|                        |              |              |              |
| **[(Even Start and     |              |              |              |
| Control Families       |              |              |              |
| Co                     |              |              |              |
| mbined)]{.smallcaps}** |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **                     | **[Sample    | **[Sample    | **[Sample    |
| [Family]{.smallcaps}** | R            | Assessed at  | Assessed at  |
|                        | andomized]{. | Pretest &    | Pretest,     |
| **[Charact             | smallcaps}** | Posttest]{.  | Posttest, &  |
| eristic]{.smallcaps}** |              | smallcaps}** | Follow-Up    |
|                        | *            |              | (N=317)]{.   |
|                        | *[(N=463)]{. | *            | smallcaps}** |
|                        | smallcaps}** | *[(N=364)]{. |              |
|                        |              | smallcaps}** |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Parent had High      | 20.3%        | 20.0%        | 19.7%        |
| School Diploma or GED  |              |              |              |
| at Enrollment**        |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Parent Received      | 59.4%        | 60.0%        | 61.0%        |
| Public Assistance at   |              |              |              |
| Enrollment**           |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Household Structure  |              |              |              |
| at Enrollment**        |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Single Parent w/ Child | 18.1%        | 18.8%        | 18.1%        |
| & No Other Adult       |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Couple w/ Child & No   | 51.3%        | 52.4%        | 52.6%        |
| Other Adult            |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Single Parent/Couple   | 26.0%        | 25.2%        | 25.5%        |
| w/ Child & Other Adult |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Other                  | 4.6%         | 3.6%         | 3.9%         |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Child Age at         | 3.3 years    | 3.3 years    | 3.3 years    |
| Enrollment (years)**   |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Child                |              |              |              |
| Race/Ethnicity**       |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Hispanic               | N/A          | 74.7%        | 75.4%        |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Not-Hispanic           | N/A          | 25.3%        | 24.6%        |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Language Spoken at   |              |              |              |
| Home at Pretest**      |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| English                | N/A          | 29.6%        | 29.5%        |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Spanish                | N/A          | 65.7%        | 66.7%        |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Both                   | N/A          | 4.7%         | 3.8%         |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Household Income at  |              |              |              |
| Pretest**              |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| \<\$9,000              | N/A          | 25.7%        | 25.2%        |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| \$9,000 - \$25,000     | N/A          | 66.0%        | 66.5%        |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| \>\$25,000             | N/A          | 8.3%         | 8.3%         |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **Parent Employed at   | N/A          | 24.8%        | 24.7%        |
| Pretest**              |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| **PPVT-III -- Child    | N/A          | 73.5 (mean)  | 73.4 (mean)  |
| Pretest Standard       |              |              |              |
| Score**                |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Note: The number of    |              |              |              |
| cases with child       |              |              |              |
| direct assessment data |              |              |              |
| is smaller than the    |              |              |              |
| number with parent     |              |              |              |
| interview data. There  |              |              |              |
| were 163 children with |              |              |              |
| pretest and posttest   |              |              |              |
| PPVT-III data, and 141 |              |              |              |
| children with pretest, |              |              |              |
| posttest, and          |              |              |              |
| follow-up PPVT-III     |              |              |              |
| data.                  |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| Table reads: 20.26% of |              |              |              |
| the families           |              |              |              |
| randomized in the EDS  |              |              |              |
| had a high school      |              |              |              |
| diploma at the time of |              |              |              |
| enrollment.            |              |              |              |
+------------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+

+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| **[   |           |           |           |           |             |
| Table |           |           |           |           |             |
| 3.5   |           |           |           |           |             |
| ]{.sm |           |           |           |           |             |
| allca |           |           |           |           |             |
| ps}** |           |           |           |           |             |
|       |           |           |           |           |             |
| **[S  |           |           |           |           |             |
| tatis |           |           |           |           |             |
| tical |           |           |           |           |             |
| Power |           |           |           |           |             |
| Ana   |           |           |           |           |             |
| lysis |           |           |           |           |             |
| for   |           |           |           |           |             |
| the   |           |           |           |           |             |
| EDS   |           |           |           |           |             |
| Foll  |           |           |           |           |             |
| ow-Up |           |           |           |           |             |
| ]{.sm |           |           |           |           |             |
| allca |           |           |           |           |             |
| ps}** |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| **[E  | **[P      | **[W      | **[Story  | **[W      | Parent      |
| ffect | PVT]{.sma | J-R]{.sma | &         | J-R]{.sma | Report      |
| ]{.sm | llcaps}** | llcaps}** | PC]{.sma  | llcaps}** |             |
| allca |           |           | llcaps}** |           | **[         |
| ps}** | **[(Chi   | **[(Chi   |           | **[(Adu   | (Child)]{.s |
|       | ld)]{.sma | ld)]{.sma | **[(Chi   | lt)]{.sma | mallcaps}** |
| **    | llcaps}** | llcaps}** | ld)]{.sma | llcaps}** |             |
| [Size |           |           | llcaps}** |           | **[(n=      |
| ]{.sm | **[(n=97/ | **[(n=96/ |           | *         | 207/91)]{.s |
| allca | 44)]{.sma | 45)]{.sma | *         | *[(n=149/ | mallcaps}** |
| ps}** | llcaps}** | llcaps}** | *[(n=123/ | 65)]{.sma |             |
|       |           |           | 55)]{.sma | llcaps}** |             |
|       |           |           | llcaps}** |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| .80sd | .99       | .99       | .99       | .99       | .99         |
|       |           |           |           |           |             |
| (l    |           |           |           |           |             |
| arge) |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| .50sd | .86       | .87       | .92       | .96       | .99         |
|       |           |           |           |           |             |
| (me   |           |           |           |           |             |
| dium) |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| .40sd | .71       | .71       | .79       | .85       | .94         |
|       |           |           |           |           |             |
| (me   |           |           |           |           |             |
| dium) |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| .30sd | .50       | .50       | .58       | .64       | .77         |
|       |           |           |           |           |             |
| (s    |           |           |           |           |             |
| mall) |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| .20sd | .29       | .29       | .34       | .38       | .48         |
|       |           |           |           |           |             |
| (s    |           |           |           |           |             |
| mall) |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| Note: |           |           |           |           |             |
| As    |           |           |           |           |             |
| sumes |           |           |           |           |             |
| one   |           |           |           |           |             |
| -tail |           |           |           |           |             |
| test  |           |           |           |           |             |
| (Even |           |           |           |           |             |
| Start |           |           |           |           |             |
| does  |           |           |           |           |             |
| b     |           |           |           |           |             |
| etter |           |           |           |           |             |
| than  |           |           |           |           |             |
| cont  |           |           |           |           |             |
| rol). |           |           |           |           |             |
| The   |           |           |           |           |             |
| s     |           |           |           |           |             |
| ample |           |           |           |           |             |
| sizes |           |           |           |           |             |
| rep   |           |           |           |           |             |
| orted |           |           |           |           |             |
| here  |           |           |           |           |             |
| have  |           |           |           |           |             |
| lo    |           |           |           |           |             |
| ngitu |           |           |           |           |             |
| dinal |           |           |           |           |             |
| data  |           |           |           |           |             |
| (pre  |           |           |           |           |             |
| test, |           |           |           |           |             |
| pos   |           |           |           |           |             |
| ttest |           |           |           |           |             |
| and   |           |           |           |           |             |
| follo |           |           |           |           |             |
| w-up) |           |           |           |           |             |
| for   |           |           |           |           |             |
| each  |           |           |           |           |             |
| mea   |           |           |           |           |             |
| sure. |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| Table |           |           |           |           |             |
| r     |           |           |           |           |             |
| eads: |           |           |           |           |             |
| If    |           |           |           |           |             |
| Even  |           |           |           |           |             |
| Start |           |           |           |           |             |
| chi   |           |           |           |           |             |
| ldren |           |           |           |           |             |
| gain  |           |           |           |           |             |
| .80   |           |           |           |           |             |
| sta   |           |           |           |           |             |
| ndard |           |           |           |           |             |
| devia |           |           |           |           |             |
| tions |           |           |           |           |             |
| more  |           |           |           |           |             |
| than  |           |           |           |           |             |
| co    |           |           |           |           |             |
| ntrol |           |           |           |           |             |
| chi   |           |           |           |           |             |
| ldren |           |           |           |           |             |
| on    |           |           |           |           |             |
| the   |           |           |           |           |             |
| PPVT  |           |           |           |           |             |
| be    |           |           |           |           |             |
| tween |           |           |           |           |             |
| pr    |           |           |           |           |             |
| etest |           |           |           |           |             |
| and   |           |           |           |           |             |
| follo |           |           |           |           |             |
| w-up, |           |           |           |           |             |
| then  |           |           |           |           |             |
| there |           |           |           |           |             |
| is a  |           |           |           |           |             |
| 99%   |           |           |           |           |             |
| c     |           |           |           |           |             |
| hance |           |           |           |           |             |
| that  |           |           |           |           |             |
| the   |           |           |           |           |             |
| EDS   |           |           |           |           |             |
| s     |           |           |           |           |             |
| ample |           |           |           |           |             |
| will  |           |           |           |           |             |
| allow |           |           |           |           |             |
| us to |           |           |           |           |             |
| con   |           |           |           |           |             |
| clude |           |           |           |           |             |
| that  |           |           |           |           |             |
| diffe |           |           |           |           |             |
| rence |           |           |           |           |             |
| is    |           |           |           |           |             |
| sta   |           |           |           |           |             |
| tisti |           |           |           |           |             |
| cally |           |           |           |           |             |
| si    |           |           |           |           |             |
| gnifi |           |           |           |           |             |
| cant. |           |           |           |           |             |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------+

+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| **[Table               |                |                            |
| 3.6]{.smallcaps}**     |                |                            |
|                        |                |                            |
| **[Child Outcome       |                |                            |
| M                      |                |                            |
| easures]{.smallcaps}** |                |                            |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| **[Outcome             | **[Child       | **[Analysis                |
| Measure]{.smallcaps}** | Age]           | Variable(s)]{.smallcaps}** |
|                        | {.smallcaps}** |                            |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Peabody Picture        | 2.5 years and  | Standard score (mean =     |
| Vocabulary Test        | older          | 100, sd = 15)              |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Woodcock-Johnson       | 2.5 years and  | W score (mean of 500 for   |
| (Revised)              | older          | 5^th^ graders)             |
|                        |                |                            |
| Letter-word            | 2.5 years and  | W score (mean of 500 for   |
| identification         | older          | 5^th^ graders)             |
|                        |                |                            |
| Dictation              | 2.5 years and  | W score (mean of 500 for   |
|                        | older          | 5^th^ graders)             |
| Applied problems       |                |                            |
|                        | 2.5 years and  | W score (mean of 500 for   |
| Incomplete words       | older          | 5^th^ graders)             |
|                        |                |                            |
| Sound blending         | 4.0 years and  | W score (mean of 500 for   |
|                        | older          | 5^th^ graders)             |
| Early development      |                |                            |
| skills                 | 2.5 years and  | W score (average of LWI,   |
|                        | older          | DIC, APP)                  |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Story & Print Concepts | 2.5 years and  | Total score, range is 0-11 |
|                        | older          |                            |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Social Skills Rating   | Preschool      | Standard score (mean =     |
| System                 |                | 100, sd = 15)              |
|                        | Preschool      |                            |
| Problem behaviors      |                | Standard score (mean =     |
|                        | Elementary     | 100, sd = 15)              |
| Social skills          |                |                            |
|                        | Elementary     | Standard score (mean =     |
| Problem behaviors      |                | 100, sd = 15)              |
|                        |                |                            |
| Social skills          |                | Standard score (mean =     |
|                        |                | 100, sd = 15)              |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Vineland Communication | 2.5 years and  | Standard score (mean =     |
| Domain                 | older          | 100, sd = 15)              |
|                        |                |                            |
| Teacher rating         | 2.5 years and  | Standard score (mean =     |
|                        | older          | 100, sd = 15)              |
| Parent rating          |                |                            |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Parent Report of Child | All children   | Values are 0-1 (no/yes)    |
| Literacy               |                |                            |
|                        | All children   | Values are 0-1 (no/yes)    |
| Child knows alphabet   |                |                            |
|                        | All children   | Values are 0-1 (no/yes)    |
| Child counts to 100 or |                |                            |
| more                   | 2.5 years and  | Values are 0-4 (high =     |
|                        | younger        | more reading)              |
| Child knows colors     |                |                            |
|                        | 2.6 years and  | Values are 0-9 (high =     |
| Extent to which child  | older          | more reading)              |
| reads                  |                |                            |
|                        | All children   | Values are 0-2 (high =     |
| Extent to which child  |                | better writing)            |
| reads                  | All children   |                            |
|                        |                | Values are 0-9 (high =     |
| Age appropriate        |                | better knowledge)          |
| writing skills         |                |                            |
|                        |                |                            |
| Child knows print      |                |                            |
| concepts               |                |                            |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| School Records         | Preschool      | \% days attended           |
|                        |                |                            |
| Attendance             | Preschool      | \% days absent             |
|                        |                |                            |
| Absences               | Preschool      | tardy any days (no/yes)    |
|                        |                |                            |
| Tardiness              | Preschool      | special ed referral or IEP |
|                        |                | (no/yes)                   |
| Special education      | Elementary     |                            |
|                        |                | \% days attended           |
| Attendance             | Elementary     |                            |
|                        |                | \% days absent             |
| Absences               | Elementary     |                            |
|                        |                | tardy any days (no/yes)    |
| Tardiness              | Elementary     |                            |
|                        |                | special ed referral or IEP |
| Special education      |                | (no/yes)                   |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+
| Table reads: The       |                |                            |
| Peabody Picture        |                |                            |
| Vocabulary Test was    |                |                            |
| administered to        |                |                            |
| children 2.5 years of  |                |                            |
| age and older.         |                |                            |
+------------------------+----------------+----------------------------+

+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| **[Table 3.7]{.smallcaps}**     |                                    |
|                                 |                                    |
| **[Parent and Family Outcome    |                                    |
| Measures]{.smallcaps}**         |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| **[Outcome                      | **[Analysis                        |
| Measure]{.smallcaps}**          | Variable(s)]{.smallcaps}**         |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Woodcock-Johnson (Revised)      | W score (mean of 500 for 5^th^     |
|                                 | graders)                           |
| Letter-word identification      |                                    |
|                                 | W score (mean of 500 for 5^th^     |
| Passage comprehension           | graders)                           |
|                                 |                                    |
| Word attack                     | W score (mean of 500 for 5^th^     |
|                                 | graders)                           |
| Reading vocabulary              |                                    |
|                                 | W score (mean of 500 for 5^th^     |
| Reading comprehension           | graders)                           |
|                                 |                                    |
| Reading skills                  | W score (average of PC, RV)        |
|                                 |                                    |
|                                 | W score (average of LWI, WA)       |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Economic Self-Sufficiency       | Values are 1-18 (years of          |
|                                 | education)                         |
| Parent years of education       |                                    |
| (ESPIRS items)                  | Values are 0-1 (no/yes to HS       |
|                                 | diploma or GED)                    |
| Parent GED (ESPIRS items)       |                                    |
|                                 | Values are 0-1 (no/yes to          |
| Parent employment (ESPIRS       | employed)                          |
| items)                          |                                    |
|                                 | Values are 1-8 (categorized        |
| Annual household income (ESPIRS | income)                            |
| items)                          |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Parent report of literacy at    | Values are 0-12 (high = more       |
| home                            | reading at home)                   |
|                                 |                                    |
| Variety of parent reading at    | Values are 0-11 (high = more       |
| home                            | writing at home)                   |
|                                 |                                    |
| Variety of parent writing at    |                                    |
| home                            |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Parent-child reading            | Values are 0-1 (no/yes)            |
|                                 |                                    |
| Read to child daily             | Values are 0-3 (high = more        |
|                                 | reading)                           |
| Amount of reading to/with child |                                    |
|                                 | Values are 0-5 (high = more        |
| Variety of reading to/with      | variety in reading)                |
| child                           |                                    |
|                                 | Values are 0-5 (high = better      |
| Quality of reading to/with      | reading practices)                 |
| child                           |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Literacy resources at home      | Values are 0-5 (high = more books) |
|                                 |                                    |
| Number of books child has       | Values are 0-16 (high = more       |
|                                 | non-print resources)               |
| Variety of non-print resources  |                                    |
| at home                         | Values are 0-5 (high = more print  |
|                                 | resources)                         |
| Variety of print resources at   |                                    |
| home                            |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Parent support of child's       | Values are 0-12 (high = more       |
| school                          | participation)                     |
|                                 |                                    |
| Parent participation in school  | Values are 0-14 (high = better     |
| activities                      | opinion)                           |
|                                 |                                    |
| Parent opinion about school     |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Notes: For this evaluation, raw |                                    |
| scores were converted to W      |                                    |
| scores, which are a             |                                    |
| transformation of the Rasch     |                                    |
| ability scale. W scores are     |                                    |
| equal-interval scores, centered |                                    |
| on a value of 500, which is the |                                    |
| approximate average performance |                                    |
| of beginning 5^th^ grade        |                                    |
| students.                       |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Table reads: The                |                                    |
| Woodcock-Johnson letter-word    |                                    |
| identification subtest was      |                                    |
| administered to parents; the    |                                    |
| analysis variable was a W       |                                    |
| score.                          |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+

+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **[Table                  |         |         |         |         |
| 3.8]{.smallcaps}**        |         |         |         |         |
|                           |         |         |         |         |
| **[Percent of Even Start  |         |         |         |         |
| and Control Group         |         |         |         |         |
| Families in the EDS, by   |         |         |         |         |
| Type of Social and        |         |         |         |         |
| Educational Service       |         |         |         |         |
| Received Between Pretest, |         |         |         |         |
| Posttest, and             |         |         |         |         |
| Follow-Up]{.smallcaps}**  |         |         |         |         |
|                           |         |         |         |         |
| **[(Based on Parent       |         |         |         |         |
| Report)]{.smallcaps}**    |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **[Service]{.smallcaps}** | #       |         | **[     |         |
|                           | ### Per |         | Percent |         |
|                           | cent of |         | of]     |         |
|                           |         |         | {.small |         |
|                           | ###     |         | caps}** |         |
|                           | # Even  |         |         |         |
|                           | Start F |         | **[     |         |
|                           | amilies |         | Control |         |
|                           |         |         | Fa      |         |
|                           | **[(    |         | milies] |         |
|                           | n=215)] |         | {.small |         |
|                           | {.small |         | caps}** |         |
|                           | caps}** |         |         |         |
|                           |         |         | **[(    |         |
|                           |         |         | n=102)] |         |
|                           |         |         | {.small |         |
|                           |         |         | caps}** |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|                           | ###     | ####    | ###     | ####    |
|                           | # Prete | Posttes | # Prete | Posttes |
|                           | st to P | t to Fo | st to P | t to Fo |
|                           | osttest | llow-Up | osttest | llow-Up |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 1\. Fed/state cash        | 24%     | 18%     | 21%     | 18%     |
| assist. (e.g., TANF)      |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2\. Employment training   | 4%      | 3%      | 5%      | 5%      |
| (e.g., JOBS)              |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 3\. Vocational education  | 3%      | 1%      | 3%      | 0%      |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 4\. Vocational            | 1%      | 0%      | 0%      | 0%      |
| rehabilitation            |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 5\. Parenting education   | 28%\*\* | 17%     | 17%     | 20%     |
| classes                   |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 6\. Beginning ABE (grades | 5%\*\*  | 4%      | 0%      | 1%      |
| 0-4)                      |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 7\. Intermediate ABE      | 1%      | 2%      | 0%      | 2%      |
| (grades 5-8)              |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 8\. Adult secondary educ  | 4%      | 5%      | 2%      | 3%      |
| (grades 9-12)             |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 9\. GED preparation       | 27%\*\* | 21%     | 16%     | 18%     |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 10\. English-as-a-second  | 40      | 28%     | 14%     | 21%     |
| language                  | %\*\*\* |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 11\. Even Start           | 55      | 33%\*\* | 14%     | 22%     |
|                           | %\*\*\* |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 12\. Head Start           | 8%      | 13%     | 5%      | 11%     |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 13\. Title I preschool    | 19%     | 13%     | 15%     | 13%     |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 14\. Early intervention   | 2%      | 4%      | 3%      | 3%      |
| special educ              |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 15\. Other preschool      | 7%      | 7%      | 5%      | 5%      |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 16\. Kindergarten         | 12%     | 24%     | 16%     | 27%     |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 17\. Primary school       | 5%      | 13%     | 5%      | 13%     |
| (grades 1-3)              |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Any adult education**   | **59%\  | **40%** | **29%** | **32%** |
|                           | *\*\*** |         |         |         |
| **(6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 |         |         |         |         |
| above)**                  |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Any early childhood     | **72%\  | **57    | **32%** | **44%** |
| education**               | *\*\*** | %\*\*** |         |         |
|                           |         |         |         |         |
| **(11 or 12 or 13 or 14   |         |         |         |         |
| or 15 above)**            |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Note: (1) Percentages are |         |         |         |         |
| based on parent report of |         |         |         |         |
| services received. (2)    |         |         |         |         |
| Average age of children   |         |         |         |         |
| was 3.2 years at pretest, |         |         |         |         |
| 4.0 years at posttest and |         |         |         |         |
| 4.9 years at follow-up.   |         |         |         |         |
| (3) \*\* ES/C difference, |         |         |         |         |
| p\<.05. \*\*\* ES/C       |         |         |         |         |
| difference, p\<.01. (4)   |         |         |         |         |
| While some control group  |         |         |         |         |
| parents reported that     |         |         |         |         |
| they participated in Even |         |         |         |         |
| Start between pretest and |         |         |         |         |
| posttest, no Even Start   |         |         |         |         |
| project submitted         |         |         |         |         |
| participation data on any |         |         |         |         |
| control family for that   |         |         |         |         |
| time period. Thus, there  |         |         |         |         |
| is no confirmation that   |         |         |         |         |
| any control group         |         |         |         |         |
| families actually         |         |         |         |         |
| participated in Even      |         |         |         |         |
| Start between pretest and |         |         |         |         |
| posttest.                 |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Table reads: In the EDS,  |         |         |         |         |
| 28% of Even Start parents |         |         |         |         |
| reported that they        |         |         |         |         |
| participated in parenting |         |         |         |         |
| education classes between |         |         |         |         |
| pretest and posttest.     |         |         |         |         |
+---------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+

+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| **[Table 3.9]{.smallcaps}**    |           |           |           |
|                                |           |           |           |
| **[Classroom Activities for    |           |           |           |
| Children at Least Age          |           |           |           |
| Three]{.smallcaps}**           |           |           |           |
|                                |           |           |           |
| **[Who Were in a Center-Based  |           |           |           |
| Preschool or Kindergarten      |           |           |           |
| Classroom at the Time of       |           |           |           |
| Follow-Up Data Collection, by  |           |           |           |
| Even Start and Control Group   |           |           |           |
| Status]{.smallcaps}**          |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| **[Classroom                   | *         |           |           |
| Activities]{.smallcaps}**      | *[Percent |           |           |
|                                | of        |           |           |
|                                | Children  |           |           |
|                                | For Whom  |           |           |
|                                | the       |           |           |
|                                | Activity  |           |           |
|                                | was       |           |           |
|                                | Offered   |           |           |
|                                | Daily or  |           |           |
|                                | Almost    |           |           |
|                                | Daily at  |           |           |
|                                | the       |           |           |
|                                | Follow-Up |           |           |
|                                | Me        |           |           |
|                                | asurement |           |           |
|                                | Po        |           |           |
|                                | int]{.sma |           |           |
|                                | llcaps}** |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|                                | **[Exp    |           | **[Head   |
|                                | erimental |           | St        |
|                                | Design    |           | art]{.sma |
|                                | St        |           | llcaps}** |
|                                | udy]{.sma |           |           |
|                                | llcaps}** |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|                                | **[Even   | **[Cont   |           |
|                                | Start     | rol]{.sma |           |
|                                | (n=1      | llcaps}** |           |
|                                | 12)]{.sma |           |           |
|                                | llcaps}** | **[(n=    |           |
|                                |           | 53)]{.sma |           |
|                                |           | llcaps}** |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Number concepts or counting    | 96%       | 92%       | 92%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Letters of the alphabet or     | 92%       | 94%       | 69%       |
| words                          |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Block building or other        | 78%       | 77%       | 97%       |
| construction work              |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Visual arts (drawing,          | 79%       | 89%       | 96%       |
| painting, play dough, etc)     |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Reading stories                | 98%       | 100%      | 96%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Free play including dress up,  | 71%       | 74%       | 96%       |
| make believe, etc              |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Performing arts (music,        | 67%       | 77%       | 92%       |
| movement, dance, etc)          |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Solving puzzles, playing with  | 77%\*     | 64%       | 95%       |
| geometric forms                |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Naming colors                  | 87%\*     | 75%       | 89%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Outdoor physical activities    | 71%       | 81%       | 93%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Indoor physical activities     | 46%       | 49%       | 90%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Health, hygiene or nutrition   | 57%       | 53%       | 93%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Science or nature              | 47%       | 36%       | 83%       |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Computer time                  | 38%       | 42%       | NA        |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Trips to local library         | 3%        | 0%        | NA        |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Note: EDS data are based on    |           |           |           |
| follow-up teacher reports for  |           |           |           |
| preschool children in the 18   |           |           |           |
| EDS projects. Head Start data  |           |           |           |
| are from U.S. Department of    |           |           |           |
| Health and Human Services      |           |           |           |
| (2001b, p18). NA = data not    |           |           |           |
| reported for Head Start. ES/C  |           |           |           |
| difference: \* p\<.10, \*\*    |           |           |           |
| p\<.05, \*\*\* p\<.001.        |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Table reads: In the EDS, 96%   |           |           |           |
| of Even Start children in      |           |           |           |
| center-based classrooms were   |           |           |           |
| exposed to number concepts or  |           |           |           |
| counting on a daily or almost  |           |           |           |
| daily basis at the follow-up   |           |           |           |
| measurement point.             |           |           |           |
+--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

![](media/image2.wmf)

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873597 .anchor}Section 4: Evaluation Findings

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

This section presents findings about the effectiveness of Even Start at
enhancing child and parent literacy skills, based on a comparison of
pretest data with follow-up data collected about 18 months later from
families in the 18 EDS projects. Tables 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 summarize the
analytic results. In addition, Appendix B to this report contains
graphical displays of Even Start and control group means for all outcome
measures at pretest, posttest and follow-up.

### Comparison of Follow-Up Data With Pretest Data Showed That Even Start Children and Parents Gained the Same Amount, But Not More, Than Control Children and Parents

Similar to the findings documented in St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao, et al
(2003), data collected from Even Start families in the EDS at follow-up
showed that children and parents made gains on many different literacy
measures. However, follow-up data collected from control group families
showed that they performed as well as Even Start children and their
parents. Follow-up data showed that children and parents in the control
group made the same kinds of gains on literacy assessments, on parent
reports of child literacy, on parent-child reading, on literacy
resources at home, on family economic self sufficiency, and so on, that
were seen for Even Start families. Thus, the Even Start projects
included in this evaluation did not have any discernable impact on the
language and literacy skills of children and parents that participated
in the study.

As with the pretest-posttest analyses of EDS data reported by St.Pierre,
Ricciuti, Tao, et al (2003), Even Start vs. control group follow-up
differences were analyzed for almost 50 different outcome measures, and
so we expected to observe some significant differences simply by chance.
Four significant differences were found when comparing follow-up data to
pretest data. These differences are not on the same measures for which
we found significant differences in the pretest-posttest analyses.
Further, three of the four significant differences would disappear if a
less liberal significance criterion had been used (we used p\<.10 for
this study, to be sure that we identified all possible Even Start
impacts). Because of the large number of outcomes assessed, because of
inconsistency over time in the outcomes on which significant differences
were found, and because of the liberal significance level used for these
analyses (p\<.10), we do not assign much meaning to the few significant
differences that were observed, both when comparing pretest to posttest
data and when comparing pretest to follow-up data.

**Measures on Which Even Start and the Control Group Were No
Different.** No significant difference between the pretest and follow-up
scores of Even Start and control group participants was found on 44 of
the 48 outcome measures used in this evaluation. These include all 13
direct child outcomes (PPVT, WJR-Letter Word Identification,
WJR-Dictation, WJR-Applied Problems, WJR-Incomplete Words, WJR-Sound
Blending, WJR-Early Development Cluster, Story & Print Concepts,
SSRS-Social Skills in Preschool, SSRS-Social Skills in Elementary
School, SSRS-Problem Behaviors in Preschool, SSRS-Problem Behaviors in
Elementary School, Vineland Communication Domain), the eight outcomes
derived from school records (percent days attended in preschool, percent
days absent in preschool, percent children ever tardy in preschool,
percent children in special education in preschool, percent days
attended in elementary school, percent days absent in elementary school,
percent children ever tardy in elementary school, percent children in
special education in elementary school), five of seven parent reports of
child literacy (percent of children who know the alphabet, percent of
children who know colors, percent of children who can count to 100,
extent to which children under 2 years, 6 months read, extent to which
child knows print concepts), seven of nine direct parent outcomes
(WJR-Letter Word ID, WJR-Passage Comprehension, WJR-Reading Vocabulary,
WJR-Reading Comprehension, WJR-Basic Reading Skills, percent of employed
parents, annual household income), both parent reports of parent
literacy at home (variety of parent reading, variety of parent writing),
the four parent reports of parent-child reading (percent of parents who
read to child daily, amount of reading to child, variety of reading to
child, quality of reading to child), the three parent reports of
literacy resources at home (number of books child has, variety of
non-print resources, variety of print resources), and the two parent
reports of parent support of the child's school (parent participation in
school and parent opinion about school).

**Measures on Which Even Start Did Better Than The Control Group.**
Comparing pretest data to follow-up data, there were two parent-report
measures on which Even Start children gained more than control children.
Parents of Even Start children reported larger gains than parents of
control children on the extent to which their children read and on the
extent to which their children exhibited age-appropriate writing
activities than did parents of control children. The scale measuring
extent to which children read has values from 0 to 9. The value of the
scale increases by 1 if the child pretends to read, reads for enjoyment,
has memorized a book, has a favorite book, can follow written
directions, can describe something learned through reading, rereads
sentences, reads or pretends to read to someone else, or recognizes own
first name in writing/print. The scale measuring age-appropriate writing
skills has values from 0 to 2. The value of this scale increases by 1 if
the child pretends to write or writes some letters of the alphabet.

The Even Start vs. control group differences on these two variables were
deemed statistically significant only by using a liberal significance
criterion (p\<.10) and did not translate into educationally large
differences. At follow-up, Even Start children scored 6.07 on the
parent-report scale measuring extent of reading, while control group
children scored 6.10 (scale ranges from 0 to 9, sd = 2.22). At
follow-up, Even Start children scored 1.53 on the parent-report measure
of age-appropriate writing activities, while control group children
scored 1.48 (scale ranges from 0-2, sd = 0.66).

At the follow-up, there were two measures on which Even Start parents
gained more than control parents: the Woodcock-Johnson Word Attack
subscale and attainment of a GED. On the Word Attack subscale, Even
Start adults gained an average of 6.38 points between pretest and
follow-up, while control adults gained an average of 2.50 points, which
corresponds to an effect size of about .29 standard deviations (p\<.10).
Word Attack measures a parent's skill in applying phonic and structural
analysis skills to the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words. The
parent reads aloud letter combinations that are linguistically logical
but that form nonsense words or low-frequency words in English. In
addition, more Even Start than control group adults attained a GED
between pretest and follow-up (9.9% vs. 2.5%, respectively, of those who
reported not having a high school diploma or GED at pretest).[^3] This
is the only finding that is statistically significant at a traditional
level (p\<.05), and is consistent with previous Even Start research
showing that the program has a positive effect on GED attainment
(St.Pierre, Swartz, Gamse, Murray, Deck & Nickel, 1995).

**Changes in Findings From the Pre-Post Analyses.** When assessing the
evaluation findings based on analyses of pretest vs. follow-up data we
see that the only significant effect observed in analyses of pretest vs.
posttest data (St.Pierre, Ricciuti, Tao, et al, 2003) is not replicated
in the follow-up results. At the first posttest (in elementary school
but not in preschool), Even Start children were rated (using the Social
Skills Rating System) by their teachers as exhibiting significantly
fewer problem behaviors than control group children. At the follow-up,
this difference was no longer significant. It is difficult to interpret
changes in teacher ratings from the first posttest to the follow-up
since children were in different classrooms and were probably rated by
different teachers. Further, additional children became old enough to
enter preschool, and to have the opportunity to be rated.

### Even Start Children and Parents Made Gains Between Pretest and Follow-Up

As was seen by comparing pretest to posttest outcomes, Even Start
children and parents improved their literacy levels between the pretest
and follow-up measurements (Table 4.3). On standardized direct
assessments (PPVT, Woodcock-Johnson subtests), children gained between
0.50 and almost 2.0 standard deviations between pretest and the
follow-up, depending on the measure. Parent reports of children's
literacy skills also showed an increasing level of skill between pretest
and follow-up, in areas such as knowing the alphabet, knowledge of
colors, counting ability, extent to which children engage in reading and
writing activities, and understand print concepts. Parents also gained
over time in their literacy skills, showing significant gains on each of
the Woodcock Johnson subtests, and in the variety of the kinds of items
they read and write. In addition, more parents attained a GED by the
follow-up. Parents' reports of the quality of their reading activities
with their children improved, as did the number and variety of resources
parents report providing to their children, and their reported
participation in activities at their children's schools.

With the exceptions noted in the section above, these gains were not
greater than those shown by control group children and parents. Hence,
in spite of the gains made by children and adults, Even Start did not
have a significant impact on these language and literacy skills.

Of interest is the fact that between pretest and posttest, the average
Even Start child and the average control group child gained about 4.0
standard score points on the PPVT. This is comparable to the average
gain of 4.2 standard score points on the PPVT for children who spent a
year in Head Start, as reported by Zill, Resnick & O'Donnell (2001) who
analyzed data from the Head Start FACES study (Figure 4.1). This
suggests that the observed gains are probably due to some combination of
normal development and the effect of being in Even Start, being in Head
Start, or, for the control group, being in a mix of preschool
interventions.

### Even Start Children and Parents Still Scored Low Compared to National Norms

At follow-up, Even Start children and parents scored low relative to
national norms. Children scored on average at the 9^th^ percentile on
the PPVT-III, at the 25^th^ percentile on the WJR Letter-Word
Identification, at the 27^th^ percentile on the WJR Applied Problems
subscale, at the 16^th^ percentile on the WJR Dictation subscale, at the
12^th^ percentile on the WJR Incomplete Words subscale, at the 10^th^
percentile on the WJR Sound Blending subscale, and at the 16^th^
percentile on the WJR Early Development Skills scale. Adults also scored
low at follow-up, relative to national norms. They scored on average at
the 5^th^ percentile on WJR Letter-Word Identification, at the 1^st^
percentile on WJR Passage Comprehension and Reading Comprehension, at
the 9^th^ percentile for WJR Basic Reading Skills, at the 1^st^
percentile for WJR Reading Vocabulary, and at the 16^th^ percentile for
WJR Word Attack.

### Does Amount of Participation Make a Difference?

The EDS is a randomized experiment, and if we examine gains for
subgroups that participate a lot or a little, we lose the advantages
offered by randomization and open up the findings to competing
interpretations. Although cautious about the potential pitfalls of this
approach, the previous report from this evaluation (St.Pierre et al,
2003) included analyses of the relationship between amount of
participation and outcomes for Even Start children and parents based on
pretest and posttest outcome data. Findings from those previous analyses
are summarized below (these analyses were not replicated with the
follow-up data).

One analysis eliminated all Even Start children whose parents reported
that they did not receive early childhood services, as well as all
control group children whose parents reported that they did receive
early childhood services. The data showed that segmenting the sample in
this fashion did not change the evaluation findings.

A second analysis investigated the relationship between child and parent
literacy outcomes and a host of variables including monthly hours of
child participation in early childhood education, monthly hours of
parent participation in adult education and parenting education, and
family background factors. We found (1) no relationship between the
amount that parents participated in adult education and their scores on
literacy outcomes; (2) children who participated more intensively in
early childhood education scored higher on literacy outcomes; (3)
parents who participated more intensively in parenting education had
children who score higher on literacy outcomes; and (4) more intensive
participation in adult education is associated with lower scores on some
child outcomes. It is important to remember that amount of participation
was not manipulated experimentally, and so factors other than
participation in Even Start may be responsible for the observed
relationships.

### Limitations and Conclusions

The EDS used a random assignment design, the strongest approach for
estimating program impacts. However, projects volunteered for this study
instead of being randomly selected, so we cannot generalize to the Even
Start population on a strict statistical basis. EDS families are more
likely than the population of Even Start families to be Hispanic, and
EDS projects are more likely than the population of Even Start projects
to be in urban areas. Thus, findings from the EDS are most relevant to
urban projects that serve large numbers of Hispanic/ESL families. In
addition, to be included in the analysis for this study children and
parents were required to have a complete set of data for a given outcome
variable (i.e., data at pretest, posttest, and follow-up) with all
direct assessments administered in English. This limits generalizability
to families that are relatively stable over a two-year period as well as
children and parents who were comfortable enough with English to be
assessed in that language.

As was the case at posttest, Even Start children and parents made gains
on a variety of literacy assessments and other measures at follow-up,
but they did not gain more than children and parents in the control
group. It had been hypothesized that follow-up data might show positive
effects because (1) Even Start families had the opportunity to
participate for a second school year, and (2) change in some outcomes
might require more time than others. However, the follow-up data do not
support either of these hypotheses.

Several reasons have been advanced for the lack of documented
effectiveness of Even Start family literacy projects (St.Pierre, et al,
2003). Some of these include that instructional services may not be
sufficiently intensive, the quality of instructional services may be
insufficient, and that families do not participate enough.

  ---------------------- -------------- ------------- ------------- -- -- --------------- --------------- --------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -- --------------- -- -- --------------- --------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ----
  **Table 4.1: Summary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  of Even Start and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Control Group Means at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  Pre-test, Post-test,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  and Follow-up**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

  **Outcome Measure**    **Mean                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                         Values**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                         **Pretest**                                      **Post-test**                                                                                **Follow-up**                                                                                   

                         **Even Start** **Control**                       **Even Start**                                  **Control**                                  **Even Start**                                        **Control**                               

  **Child Outcomes**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  Peabody Picture        72.89          74.48                             77.21                                           76.77                                        80.69                                                 82.22                                     
  Vocabulary Test                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

  WJR: Letter-Word       359.13         359.60                            368.00                                          369.42                                       392.68                                                397.47                                    
  Identification                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  WJR: Dictation         327.67         342.36                            352.06                                          363.61                                       391.41                                                403.50                                    

  WJR: Applied Problems  389.81         391.07                            407.55                                          417.26                                       430.43                                                436.51                                    

  WJR: Incomplete Words  439.65         444.60                            450.24                                          461.09                                       458.80                                                459.29                                    

  WJR: Sound Blending    443.82         450.88                            456.55                                          461.84                                       456.86                                                458.20                                    

  WJR: Early Development 357.70         362.80                            374.87                                          382.75                                       402.18                                                412.50                                    

  Story & Print Concepts 4.57           4.71                              5.29                                            5.67                                         7.53                                                  7.96                                      

  SSRS: Soc              NA             NA                                99.89                                           96.74                                        101.13                                                97.97                                     
  Skills-Preschool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  SSRS: Soc Skills-      NA             NA                                102.74                                          100.90                                       102.66                                                103.39                                    
  Elementary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  SSRS: Problem          NA             NA                                97.57                                           97.53                                        100.77                                                97.38                                     
  Behavior-Preschool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  SSRS: Problem          NA             NA                                95.72                                           101.00                                       98.77                                                 97.90                                     
  Behavior-Elementary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Vineland Communication NA             NA                                90.57                                           89.95                                        91.19                                                 94.51                                     
  Domain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  **Child School Record                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Outcomes --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  Preschool**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  Percent Days Attended  NA             NA                                65.82                                           68.73                                        75.80                                                 79.84                                     
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Percent Days Absent    NA             NA                                10.43                                           9.15                                         10.77                                                 8.7                                       
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Child Ever Tardy (%)   NA             NA                                10.20                                           6.25                                         10.00                                                 7.14                                      

  Child in Special Ed    NA             NA                                7.22                                            7.14                                         17.39                                                 14.81                                     
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  **Child School Record                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Outcomes --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  Elementary**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

  Percent Days Attended  NA             NA                                92.49                                           95.40                                        92.64                                                 94.34                                     
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Percent Days Absent    NA             NA                                5.89                                            4.58                                         4.83                                                  4.48                                      
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Child Ever Tardy (%)   NA             NA                                17.39                                           25.99                                        27.78                                                 33.33                                     

  Child in Special Ed    NA             NA                                12.19                                           5.88                                         9.84                                                  14.71                                     
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Child Literacy**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Child Knows            8.21           6.59                              13.04                                           17.58                                        27.54                                                 30.77                                     
  Alphabet(%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  Child Counts to 100    4.90           8.06                              11.19                                           20.97                                        30.77                                                 46.77                                     
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Child Knows Colors (%) 42.55          51.61                             60.99                                           64.52                                        81.56                                                 83.87                                     

  Extent Child Reads     0.22           0.89                              1.48                                            1.67                                         2.09                                                  2.22                                      
  (child age \<2,6 yrs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Extent Child Reads     4.76           5.30                              5.34                                            5.56                                         6.07                                                  6.10                                      
  (child age \>2,6 yrs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Age-Appropriate        1.07           1.61                              1.30                                            1.42                                         1.53                                                  1.48                                      
  Writing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  Child Knows Print      3.07           3.18                              3.71                                            3.18                                         4.44                                                  4.91                                      
  Concepts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

  **Parent Outcomes**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  WJR: Letter-Word ID    496.40         498.69                            501.10                                          503.65                                       503.93                                                503.46                                    

  WJR: Passage           475.66         481.72                            479.30                                          485.47                                       481.59                                                488.22                                    
  Comprehension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  WJR: Word Attack       488.48         491.18                            493.11                                          494.44                                       494.86                                                493.68                                    

  WJR: Reading           482.27         488.82                            485.48                                          491.90                                       489.01                                                496.28                                    
  Vocabulary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  WJR: Reading           478.88         485.65                            482.29                                          489.25                                       485.15                                                492.63                                    
  Comprehension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  WJR: Basic Reading     492.46         496.37                            497.09                                          500.74                                       499.37                                                500.24                                    
  Skills                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Parent GED Attainment  8.51           9.09                              12.23                                           9.09                                         17.55                                                 11.36                                     
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Parent Employment (%)  26.05          21.78                             32.56                                           33.66                                        30.23                                                 30.69                                     

  Annual Household       5.03           4.88                              5.10                                            5.03                                         5.39                                                  5.20                                      
  Income                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent Literacy at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Home**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Variety of Parent      7.17           6.90                              7.31                                            7.48                                         7.62                                                  7.68                                      
  Reading                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  Variety of Parent      3.27           3.14                              4.13                                            3.63                                         4.61                                                  4.06                                      
  Writing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent-Child Reading**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Parent Reads Child     29.44          28.71                             26.64                                           20.79                                        27.57                                                 23.76                                     
  Daily (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Amount of Reading to   0.57           0.53                              0.57                                            0.44                                         0.55                                                  0.51                                      
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Variety of Reading to  1.67           1.83                              1.77                                            1.95                                         1.78                                                  1.90                                      
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Quality of Reading to  2.79           2.80                              3.26                                            3.44                                         3.65                                                  3.52                                      
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Literacy Resources at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Home**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Number of Books Child  2.07           2.16                              2.42                                            2.47                                         2.65                                                  2.68                                      
  Has                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Variety of Non-Print   9.14           9.15                              10.07                                           10.01                                        10.29                                                 10.29                                     
  Resources                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Variety of Print       2.70           2.97                              3.00                                            3.04                                         3.00                                                  3.15                                      
  Resources                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent Support of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Child's School**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Parent Participation   2.81           2.95                              4.60                                            4.35                                         4.46                                                  4.15                                      
  in School                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Parent Opinion About   12.48          12.50                             12.62                                           12.42                                        13.05                                                 12.17                                     
  School                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Note: See notes at end                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  of table.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  **Table 4.1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  (continued): Summary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  of Even Start and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Control Group Standard                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  Deviations at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
  Pre-test, Post-test,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  and Follow-up**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

  **Outcome Measure**    **Standard                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                         Deviations**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                         **Pretest**                                                                      **Post-test**                                                                                      **Follow-up**                                             

                         **Even Start**               **Control**                                         **Even Start**                              **Control**                                            **Even Start**                              **Control**   

  **Child Outcomes**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  Peabody Picture        15.61                        17.14                                               16.83                                       15.88                                                  15.26                                       15.83         
  Vocabulary Test                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

  WJR: Letter-Word       27.25                        28.72                                               35.63                                       31.32                                                  38.15                                       40.50         
  Identification                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  WJR: Dictation         66.01                        58.26                                               58.63                                       58.72                                                  50.73                                       43.71         

  WJR: Applied Problems  33.39                        39.61                                               32.12                                       31.97                                                  27.15                                       35.01         

  WJR: Incomplete Words  21.57                        22.69                                               21.90                                       20.45                                                  21.49                                       22.41         

  WJR: Sound Blending    19.65                        22.16                                               19.01                                       18.72                                                  19.10                                       14.54         

  WJR: Early Development 36.14                        35.20                                               36.20                                       34.83                                                  33.46                                       35.41         

  Story & Print Concepts 3.22                         3.40                                                3.73                                        3.68                                                   3.23                                        3.14          

  SSRS: Soc              NA                           NA                                                  16.85                                       16.34                                                  18.30                                       16.39         
  Skills-Preschool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  SSRS: Soc Skills-      NA                           NA                                                  14.00                                       14.70                                                  14.25                                       15.07         
  Elementary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  SSRS: Problem          NA                           NA                                                  13.75                                       12.08                                                  15.03                                       13.72         
  Behavior-Preschool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  SSRS: Problem          NA                           NA                                                  10.07                                       13.47                                                  14.08                                       13.45         
  Behavior-Elementary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Vineland Communication NA                           NA                                                  15.08                                       17.71                                                  18.06                                       19.08         
  Domain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  **Child School Record                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Outcomes --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  Preschool**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  Percent Days Attended  NA                           NA                                                  21.00                                       25.00                                                  17.10                                       17.20         
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Percent Days Absent    NA                           NA                                                  11.00                                       7.00                                                   8.90                                        8.40          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Child Ever Tardy (%)   NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            

  Child in Special Ed    NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  **Child School Record                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Outcomes --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  Elementary**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

  Percent Days Attended  NA                           NA                                                  8.65                                        6.36                                                   11.90                                       7.80          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Percent Days Absent    NA                           NA                                                  5.03                                        4.81                                                   4.50                                        3.90          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Child Ever Tardy (%)   NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            

  Child in Special Ed    NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Child Literacy**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Child Knows            NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            
  Alphabet(%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  Child Counts to 100    NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Child Knows Colors (%) NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            

  Extent Child Reads     0.42                         1.36                                                1.24                                        1.41                                                   1.20                                        1.09          
  (child age \<2,6 yrs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Extent Child Reads     2.27                         2.11                                                2.23                                        2.09                                                   2.12                                        2.15          
  (child age \>2,6 yrs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Age-Appropriate        0.66                         0.66                                                0.66                                        0.61                                                   0.59                                        0.56          
  Writing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  Child Knows Print      1.98                         1.72                                                1.84                                        1.89                                                   2.10                                        2.21          
  Concepts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

  **Parent Outcomes**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  WJR: Letter-Word ID    32.32                        32.31                                               33.00                                       34.26                                                  31.89                                       33.79         

  WJR: Passage           33.78                        31.45                                               34.40                                       30.28                                                  30.72                                       27.96         
  Comprehension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  WJR: Word Attack       20.74                        16.83                                               21.46                                       18.13                                                  22.61                                       18.27         

  WJR: Reading           28.60                        25.87                                               28.46                                       22.78                                                  26.19                                       22.11         
  Vocabulary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  WJR: Reading           30.45                        27.69                                               30.81                                       25.12                                                  27.52                                       23.96         
  Comprehension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  WJR: Basic Reading     25.13                        21.03                                               25.79                                       21.28                                                  26.11                                       21.76         
  Skills                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Parent GED Attainment  NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Parent Employment (%)  NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            

  Annual Household       2.02                         2.10                                                2.13                                        2.23                                                   2.05                                        2.13          
  Income                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent Literacy at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Home**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Variety of Parent      2.70                         3.01                                                2.75                                        2.75                                                   2.59                                        2.55          
  Reading                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  Variety of Parent      2.32                         2.81                                                2.45                                        2.51                                                   2.55                                        2.64          
  Writing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent-Child Reading**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Parent Reads Child     NA                           NA                                                  NA                                          NA                                                     NA                                          NA            
  Daily (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Amount of Reading to   0.79                         0.74                                                0.77                                        0.71                                                   0.73                                        0.73          
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Variety of Reading to  1.38                         1.52                                                1.46                                        1.59                                                   1.50                                        1.66          
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Quality of Reading to  1.65                         1.72                                                1.58                                        1.46                                                   1.36                                        1.40          
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Literacy Resources at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Home**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Number of Books Child  1.13                         1.25                                                1.09                                        1.15                                                   1.17                                        1.19          
  Has                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Variety of Non-Print   3.10                         3.25                                                3.31                                        3.07                                                   2.84                                        3.16          
  Resources                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Variety of Print       1.23                         1.37                                                1.21                                        1.22                                                   1.24                                        1.42          
  Resources                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent Support of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Child's School**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Parent Participation   2.02                         2.85                                                2.44                                        3.00                                                   2.72                                        3.27          
  in School                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Parent Opinion About   2.07                         1.88                                                1.83                                        1.56                                                   1.85                                        3.41          
  School                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Note: See notes at end                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  of table.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  **Table 4.1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  (continued): Summary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  of Even Start and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Control Group Sample                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  Size at Pre-test,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Post-test, and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
  Follow-up**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  **Outcome Measure**    **Sample                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                         Size**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                         **Pretest**                                                      **Post-test**                                                                                      **Follow-up**                                                             

                         **Even Start**               **Control**                         **Even Start**                                **Control**                                          **Even Start**                                **Control**                 

  **Child Outcomes**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  Peabody Picture        97                           44                                  97                                            44                                                   97                                            44                          
  Vocabulary Test                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

  WJR: Letter-Word       96                           45                                  96                                            45                                                   96                                            45                          
  Identification                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  WJR: Dictation         88                           44                                  88                                            44                                                   88                                            44                          

  WJR: Applied Problems  89                           43                                  89                                            43                                                   89                                            43                          

  WJR: Incomplete Words  89                           45                                  89                                            45                                                   89                                            45                          

  WJR: Sound Blending    44                           25                                  44                                            25                                                   44                                            25                          

  WJR: Early Development 89                           44                                  89                                            44                                                   89                                            44                          

  Story & Print Concepts 122                          55                                  122                                           55                                                   122                                           55                          

  SSRS: Soc              NA                           NA                                  88                                            19                                                   71                                            29                          
  Skills-Preschool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  SSRS: Soc Skills-      NA                           NA                                  39                                            20                                                   73                                            41                          
  Elementary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  SSRS: Problem          NA                           NA                                  89                                            19                                                   71                                            29                          
  Behavior-Preschool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  SSRS: Problem          NA                           NA                                  39                                            20                                                   73                                            41                          
  Behavior-Elementary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Vineland Communication NA                           NA                                  129                                           38                                                   147                                           70                          
  Domain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  **Child School Record                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Outcomes --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  Preschool**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  Percent Days Attended  NA                           NA                                  83                                            22                                                   65                                            26                          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Percent Days Absent    NA                           NA                                  75                                            25                                                   62                                            22                          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Child Ever Tardy (%)   NA                           NA                                  49                                            16                                                   30                                            14                          

  Child in Special Ed    NA                           NA                                  97                                            28                                                   69                                            27                          
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  **Child School Record                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Outcomes --                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  Elementary**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

  Percent Days Attended  NA                           NA                                  39                                            15                                                   70                                            36                          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Percent Days Absent    NA                           NA                                  39                                            17                                                   71                                            37                          
  (mean)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Child Ever Tardy (%)   NA                           NA                                  28                                            8                                                    36                                            24                          

  Child in Special Ed    NA                           NA                                  41                                            17                                                   61                                            34                          
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Child Literacy**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Child Knows            207                          91                                  207                                           91                                                   207                                           91                          
  Alphabet(%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

  Child Counts to 100    143                          62                                  143                                           62                                                   143                                           62                          
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Child Knows Colors (%) 141                          62                                  141                                           62                                                   141                                           62                          

  Extent Child Reads     23                           9                                   23                                            9                                                    23                                            9                           
  (child age \<2,6 yrs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Extent Child Reads     143                          63                                  143                                           63                                                   143                                           63                          
  (child age \>2,6 yrs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Age-Appropriate        210                          93                                  210                                           93                                                   210                                           93                          
  Writing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  Child Knows Print      38                           11                                  38                                            11                                                   38                                            11                          
  Concepts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

  **Parent Outcomes**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  WJR: Letter-Word ID    149                          65                                  149                                           65                                                   149                                           65                          

  WJR: Passage           145                          60                                  145                                           60                                                   145                                           60                          
  Comprehension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  WJR: Word Attack       149                          62                                  149                                           62                                                   149                                           62                          

  WJR: Reading           147                          61                                  147                                           61                                                   147                                           61                          
  Vocabulary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  WJR: Reading           145                          60                                  145                                           60                                                   145                                           60                          
  Comprehension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  WJR: Basic Reading     149                          62                                  149                                           62                                                   149                                           62                          
  Skills                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Parent GED Attainment  172                          80                                  172                                           80                                                   172                                           80                          
  (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Parent Employment (%)  215                          101                                 215                                           101                                                  215                                           101                         

  Annual Household       157                          69                                  157                                           69                                                   157                                           69                          
  Income                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent Literacy at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Home**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Variety of Parent      215                          102                                 215                                           102                                                  215                                           102                         
  Reading                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  Variety of Parent      215                          102                                 215                                           102                                                  215                                           120                         
  Writing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent-Child Reading**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Parent Reads Child     214                          101                                 214                                           101                                                  214                                           101                         
  Daily (%)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Amount of Reading to   215                          102                                 215                                           102                                                  215                                           102                         
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Variety of Reading to  215                          102                                 215                                           102                                                  215                                           102                         
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Quality of Reading to  211                          101                                 211                                           101                                                  211                                           101                         
  Child                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Literacy Resources at                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  Home**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Number of Books Child  214                          101                                 214                                           101                                                  214                                           101                         
  Has                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Variety of Non-Print   214                          100                                 214                                           100                                                  214                                           100                         
  Resources                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Variety of Print       215                          102                                 215                                           102                                                  215                                           102                         
  Resources                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  **Parent Report of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  Parent Support of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  Child's School**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

  Parent Participation   70                           20                                  70                                            20                                                   70                                            20                          
  in School                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  Parent Opinion About   21                           12                                  21                                            12                                                   21                                            12                          
  School                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  Note: See notes at end                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  of table.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
  ---------------------- -------------- ------------- ------------- -- -- --------------- --------------- --------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -- --------------- -- -- --------------- --------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ----

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Table 4.1: Summary of Even Start and Control Group Means, Standard  |
| Deviations, and Sample Size at Pre-test, Post-test, and Follow-up**   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Table reads: Even Start children averaged 72.89 points on the PPVT at |
| pretest.                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Note: NA = not applicable; these measures were not administered at    |
| pretest. Sample sizes vary across measures for a variety of reasons   |
| including the following:                                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   WJR Sound Blending started at child age 4.0; Vineland started at  |
|     child age 3.0. N's on parent reports also vary depending on the   |
|     age of the child.                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Story and Print Concepts and Vineland were translated into        |
|     Spanish; data were combined with data from English speakers.      |
|                                                                       |
| -   SSRS and Child School Record Outcomes for elementary school       |
|     children have n's that increase over time as children age into    |
|     elementary school. N's for these measures decrease over time for  |
|     preschoolers.                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Child Ever Tardy for preschoolers comes from school records and   |
|     some schools do not maintain that data element.                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| ####  Table 4.   |         |         |         |         |         |
| 2: Summary of ED |         |         |         |         |         |
| S Gains and Effe |         |         |         |         |         |
| ct Sizes (Pretes |         |         |         |         |         |
| t vs. Follow-Up) |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **[Measur        | **[Gain |         | **[Diff | **[Std  | **[     |
| e]{.smallcaps}** | (Fo     |         | in      | Dev     | Effect] |
|                  | llow-Up |         | Gain]   | of]     | {.small |
|                  | --      |         | {.small | {.small | caps}** |
|                  | Pr      |         | caps}** | caps}** |         |
|                  | etest)] |         |         |         | *       |
|                  | {.small |         | **[     | **[M    | *[Size] |
|                  | caps}** |         | (ES-C)] | easure] | {.small |
|                  |         |         | {.small | {.small | caps}** |
|                  |         |         | caps}** | caps}** |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|                  | **[Even | **[C    |         |         |         |
|                  | Start]  | ontrol] |         |         |         |
|                  | {.small | {.small |         |         |         |
|                  | caps}** | caps}** |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Child          |         |         |         |         |         |
| Outcomes**       |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| PPVT             | 7.80    | 7.75    | 0.05    | 15.0    | .00     |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Letter-Word | 33.55   | 37.87   | -4.31   | 24.2    | -.18    |
| ID               |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Dictation   | 63.74   | 61.14   | 2.60    | 33.5    | .08     |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Applied     | 40.62   | 45.44   | -4.82   | 21.3    | -.23    |
| Problems         |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Incomplete  | 19.15   | 14.69   | 4.46    | 18.9    | .24     |
| Words            |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Sound       | 13.05   | 7.32    | 5.73    | 17.2    | .33     |
| Blending         |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Early       | 44.48   | 49.70   | -5.22   | 22.5    | -.23    |
| Development      |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Story & Print    | 2.96    | 3.25    | -0.29   | 3.2     | -.09    |
| Concepts         |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| SSRS: Soc Skills | NA      | NA      | 3.16    | 15.0    | .21     |
| -- Preschool     |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| SSRS: Soc Skills | NA      | NA      | -0.73   | 15.0    | -.05    |
| -- Elementary    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| SSRS: Prob Beh   | NA      | NA      | 3.39    | 15.0    | .23     |
| -- Preschool     |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| SSRS: Prob Beh   | NA      | NA      | 0.87    | 15.0    | .06     |
| -- Elementary    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Vineland         | NA      | NA      | -3.32   | 15.0    | -.22    |
| Communication    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **School Record  |         |         |         |         |         |
| Outcomes --      |         |         |         |         |         |
| Preschool**      |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Percent Days     | NA      | NA      | -4.04   | 17.08   | -.24    |
| Attended (mean)  |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Percent Days     | NA      | NA      | 2.07    | 8.88    | .23     |
| Absent (mean)    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child Ever Tardy | NA      | NA      | 2.86    | NA      | 1.44    |
| (%)              |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child in Special | NA      | NA      | 2.58    | NA      | 1.21    |
| Education (%)    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **School Record  |         |         |         |         |         |
| Outcomes --      |         |         |         |         |         |
| Elementary**     |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Percent Days     | NA      | NA      | -1.70   | 11.92   | -.14    |
| Attended (mean)  |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Percent Days     | NA      | NA      | 0.35    | 4.48    | .08     |
| Absent (mean)    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child Ever Tardy | NA      | NA      | -5.55   | NA      | -.77    |
| (%)              |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child in Special | NA      | NA      | -4.87   | NA      | -.63    |
| Education (%)    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Parent Report  |         |         |         |         |         |
| of Child         |         |         |         |         |         |
| Literacy**       |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child Knows      | 19.32   | 24.17   | -4.85   | NA      | -.80    |
| Alphabet (%)     |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child Counts to  | 25.87   | 38.71   | -12.84  | NA      | -.51    |
| 100 (%)          |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child Knows      | 39.01   | 32.26   | 6.75    | NA      | .99     |
| Colors (%)       |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Extent Child     | 1.87    | 1.33    | 0.54    | 1.10    | .49     |
| Reads (\<2,6     |         |         |         |         |         |
| yrs)             |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Extent Child     | 1.31    | 0.79    | 0.52    | 2.22    | **      |
| Reads (\>2,6     |         |         |         |         | .23\*** |
| yrs)             |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Age-Appropriate  | 0.46    | 0.32    | 0.13    | 0.66    | **      |
| Writing          |         |         |         |         | .20\*** |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Child Knows      | 1.37    | 1.73    | -0.36   | 1.93    | -.19    |
| Print Concepts   |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Parent         |         |         |         |         |         |
| Outcomes**       |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Letter-Word | 7.52    | 4.77    | 2.75    | 21.4    | .13     |
| ID               |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Passage     | 5.92    | 6.50    | -0.58   | 16.1    | -.04    |
| Comprehension    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Word Attack | 6.38    | 2.50    | 3.88    | 13.5    | **      |
|                  |         |         |         |         | .29\*** |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Reading     | 6.74    | 7.46    | -0.72   | 16.3    | -.04    |
| Vocabulary       |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Reading     | 6.28    | 6.98    | -0.71   | 14.9    | -.05    |
| Comprehension    |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| WJR: Basic       | 6.91    | 3.87    | 3.04    | 15.0    | .20     |
| Reading Skills   |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Parent GED       | 9.88    | 2.50    | 7.38    | NA      | **4.2   |
| Attainment (%)   |         |         |         |         | 8\*\*** |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Parent           | 4.18    | 8.91    | -4.73   | NA      | 1.06    |
| Employment (%)   |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Annual Household | 0.36    | 0.32    | 0.04    | 2.05    | .02     |
| Income           |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Parent Report  |         |         |         |         |         |
| of Parent        |         |         |         |         |         |
| Literacy at      |         |         |         |         |         |
| Home**           |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Variety of       | 0.45    | 0.77    | -0.33   | 2.73    | -.12    |
| Parent Reading   |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Variety of       | 1.33    | 0.91    | 0.42    | 2.33    | .18     |
| Parent Writing   |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Parent Report  |         |         |         |         |         |
| of Parent-Child  |         |         |         |         |         |
| Reading**        |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Parent Reads     | -1.87   | -4.95   | 3.08    | NA      | 1.23    |
| Child Daily (%)  |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Amount of        | -0.02   | -0.02   | 0.00    | 0.80    | .00     |
| Reading to Child |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Variety of       | 0.11    | 0.07    | 0.04    | 1.39    | .03     |
| Reading to Child |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Quality of       | 0.87    | 0.72    | 0.14    | 1.63    | .09     |
| Reading to Child |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Parent Report  |         |         |         |         |         |
| of Literacy      |         |         |         |         |         |
| Resources at     |         |         |         |         |         |
| Home**           |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Number of Books  | 0.58    | 0.52    | 0.05    | 1.16    | .04     |
| Child Has        |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Variety of       | 1.15    | 1.14    | 0.01    | 3.11    | .00     |
| Non-Print        |         |         |         |         |         |
| Resources        |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Variety of Print | 0.29    | 0.18    | 0.12    | 1.22    | .10     |
| Resources        |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| **Parent Report  |         |         |         |         |         |
| of Parent        |         |         |         |         |         |
| Support of       |         |         |         |         |         |
| Child's School** |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Parent           | 1.64    | 1.20    | 0.44    | 1.94    | .23     |
| Participation in |         |         |         |         |         |
| School           |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Parent Opinion   | 0.57    | -0.33   | 0.90    | 2.81    | .32     |
| About School     |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Note: NA = not   |         |         |         |         |         |
| administered at  |         |         |         |         |         |
| pretest; effect  |         |         |         |         |         |
| calculated by    |         |         |         |         |         |
| comparing        |         |         |         |         |         |
| follow-up means. |         |         |         |         |         |
| Effect for       |         |         |         |         |         |
| continuous       |         |         |         |         |         |
| variables        |         |         |         |         |         |
| calculated as    |         |         |         |         |         |
| (ES-C)/(sd).     |         |         |         |         |         |
| WJ-R sd is for   |         |         |         |         |         |
| children age 4,  |         |         |         |         |         |
| adults age       |         |         |         |         |         |
| 30-39, from      |         |         |         |         |         |
| Examiner's       |         |         |         |         |         |
| Manual. PPVT,    |         |         |         |         |         |
| SSRS, Vineland   |         |         |         |         |         |
| sd is 15 (norm), |         |         |         |         |         |
| for other        |         |         |         |         |         |
| measures sd is   |         |         |         |         |         |
| from pretest.    |         |         |         |         |         |
| Binary variable  |         |         |         |         |         |
| effect sizes are |         |         |         |         |         |
| odds ratios. For |         |         |         |         |         |
| binary outcomes  |         |         |         |         |         |
| measured over    |         |         |         |         |         |
| time, effect     |         |         |         |         |         |
| size is adjusted |         |         |         |         |         |
| odds ratio,      |         |         |         |         |         |
| controlling for  |         |         |         |         |         |
| pretest. \*      |         |         |         |         |         |
| p\<.10, \*\*     |         |         |         |         |         |
| p\<.05, \*\*\*   |         |         |         |         |         |
| p\<.01.          |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Table reads:     |         |         |         |         |         |
| Even Start       |         |         |         |         |         |
| children gained  |         |         |         |         |         |
| an average of    |         |         |         |         |         |
| 7.80 scale score |         |         |         |         |         |
| points on the    |         |         |         |         |         |
| PPVT between     |         |         |         |         |         |
| pretest and      |         |         |         |         |         |
| follow-up.       |         |         |         |         |         |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **[Table 4.3:       |                       |                       |
| Summary of Even     |                       |                       |
| Start Gains and     |                       |                       |
| Impacts (Pretest    |                       |                       |
| vs.                 |                       |                       |
| Follow              |                       |                       |
| -Up)]{.smallcaps}** |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **[Outcome          | **[Significant Even   | **[Significant Even   |
| Mea                 | Start                 | Start                 |
| sure]{.smallcaps}** | Gain?]{.smallcaps}**  | I                     |
|                     |                       | mpact?]{.smallcaps}** |
|                     | **[(Even Start gain   |                       |
|                     | significantly greater | **[(Even Start gain   |
|                     | than                  | signif greater than   |
|                     | zero)]{.smallcaps}**  | control group         |
|                     |                       | gain)]{.smallcaps}**  |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Child Outcomes**  |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| PPVT                | p\<.001 (.52 sd)      | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Letter-Word ID | P\<.001 (1.39 sd)     | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Dictation      | P\<.001 (1.90 sd)     | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Applied        | P\<.001 (1.91 sd)     | No significant impact |
| Problems            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Incomplete     | p\<.001 (1.01 sd)     | No significant impact |
| Words               |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Sound Blending | p\<.001 (.76 sd)      | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Early          | p\<.001 (1.98 sd)     | No significant impact |
| Development         |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Story & Print       | p\<.01 (.92 sd)       | No significant impact |
| Concepts            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| SSRS: Soc Skills -- | NA                    | No significant impact |
| Preschool           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| SSRS: Soc Skills -- | NA                    | No significant impact |
| Elementary          |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| SSRS: Problem       | NA                    | No significant impact |
| Behavior --         |                       |                       |
| Preschool           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| SSRS: Problem       | NA                    | No significant impact |
| Behavior -          |                       |                       |
| Elementary          |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Vineland            | NA                    | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **School Record     |                       |                       |
| Outcomes --         |                       |                       |
| Preschool**         |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Percent Days        | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| Attended (mean)     |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Percent Days Absent | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| (mean)              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child Ever Tardy    | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| (%)                 |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child in Special    | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| Education (%)       |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **School Record     |                       |                       |
| Outcomes --         |                       |                       |
| Elementary**        |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Percent Days        | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| Attended (mean)     |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Percent Days Absent | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| (mean)              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child Ever Tardy    | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| (%)                 |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child in Special    | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| Education (%)       |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Parent Report of  |                       |                       |
| Child Literacy**    |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child Knows         | p\<.001 (19.3%)       | No significant impact |
| Alphabet (%)        |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child Counts to 100 | p\<.001 (25.9%)       | No significant impact |
| (%)                 |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child Knows Colors  | p\<..001 (39.0%)      | No significant impact |
| (%)                 |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Extent Child Reads  | p\<.001 (1.70 sd)     | No significant impact |
| (\<2,6 yrs)         |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Extent Child Reads  | p\<.001 (.59 sd)      | **ES\>C, p\<.10, .23  |
| (\>2,6 yrs)         |                       | sd**                  |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Age-Appropriate     | p\<.001 (.70 sd)      | **ES\>C, p\<.10, .20  |
| Writing             |                       | sd**                  |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Child Knows Print   | p\<.001 (.71 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Concepts            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Parent Outcomes** |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Letter-Word ID | p\<.001 (.35 sd)      | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Passage        | p\<.001 (.37 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Comprehension       |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Word Attack    | p\<.001 (.47 sd)      | **ES\>C, p\<.10, .29  |
|                     |                       | sd**                  |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Reading        | p\<.001 (.41 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Vocabulary          |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Reading        | p\<.001 (.42 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Comprehension       |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| WJR: Basic Reading  | p\<.001 (.46 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Skills              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Parent GED          | p\<.001 (9.88%)       | **ES\>C, p\<.05,      |
| Attainment          |                       | 7.38%**               |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Parent Employment   | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Annual Household    | p\<.05 (.18 sd)       | No significant impact |
| Income              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Parent Report of  |                       |                       |
| Parent Literacy at  |                       |                       |
| Home**              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Variety of Parent   | p\<.05 (.16 sd)       | No significant impact |
| Reading             |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Variety of Parent   | p\<.001 (.57 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Writing             |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Parent Report of  |                       |                       |
| Parent-Child        |                       |                       |
| Reading**           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Parent Reads to     | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| Child Daily (%)     |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Amount of Reading   | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| to Child            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Variety of Reading  | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| to Child            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Quality of Reading  | p\<.001 (.53 sd)      | No significant impact |
| to Child            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Parent Report of  |                       |                       |
| Literacy Resources  |                       |                       |
| at Home**           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Number of Books     | p\<.001 (.50 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Child Has           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Variety of          | p\<.001 (.37 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Non-Print Resources |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Variety of Print    | p\<.01 (.24 sd)       | No significant impact |
| Resources           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Parent Report of  |                       |                       |
| Parent Support of   |                       |                       |
| Child's School**    |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Parent              | p\<.001 (.85 sd)      | No significant impact |
| Participation in    |                       |                       |
| School              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Parent Opinion      | No significant gain   | No significant impact |
| About School        |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Note: NA = measure  |                       |                       |
| not administered at |                       |                       |
| pretest; impact     |                       |                       |
| calculated by       |                       |                       |
| comparing means at  |                       |                       |
| follow-up.          |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Table reads: Even   |                       |                       |
| Start children      |                       |                       |
| gained a            |                       |                       |
| significant amount  |                       |                       |
| on the PPVT, but    |                       |                       |
| not more than       |                       |                       |
| control children.   |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

#####  

![](media/image3.wmf)

Figure reads: Even Start children in the EDS had an average score of 73
on the PPVT at pretest.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873603 .anchor}References

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+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **[Appendix A]{.smallcaps}**                                          |
|                                                                       |
| **[Description of Outcome Measures]{.smallcaps}**                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  []{#__RefHeading___Toc87873604 .anchor}Appendix A: Description of
  Outcome Measures

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

### Child Outcome Measures

**Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.** The PPVT-III (Dunn & Dunn, 1997)
measures listening comprehension for spoken words and is a good short
test of general verbal ability. The word knowledge assessed by the PPVT
is called \"receptive vocabulary,\" to differentiate it from the more
active vocabulary skills required to formally define a word or use it
appropriately in a sentence. The PPVT was administered to all children
in the EDS who were 2.5 years of age and older, unless the child's
parent objected and insisted that the TVIP (Spanish version of the PPVT)
be administered. The PPVT assesses children\'s knowledge of the meaning
of words by asking them to say or indicate by pointing which of four
pictures best shows the meaning of a word that is said aloud by the
examiner. A series of words is presented, ranging from easy to difficult
for children of a given age, each accompanied by a plate consisting of
four line drawings. The test is suitable for ages from 2.5 years through
adulthood and has recently established age norms based on a national
sample of 2,725 children and adults tested at 240 sites across the
nation.

The PPVT-III was extensively revised from earlier versions.
Administration procedures were modified to permit easier testing and
more accurate scoring. New drawings were added and dated illustrations
dropped to achieve better gender and ethnic balance. Test items that
showed statistical bias by race or ethnicity, gender, or region were
deleted from the item pool prior to standardization. Research by critics
of earlier versions of the PPVT shows no racial or economic bias
(Washington & Craig, 1999).

**Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (Revised).** The most
recent edition of the WJ-R (Woodcock & Mather, 1989, 1990) at the time
of the EDS data collection is a carefully constructed, newly-normed,
individually-administered test battery that is designed to assess the
intellectual and academic development of individuals from preschool
through adulthood. Each of the 41 WJ-R subtests requires about 5 minutes
to complete, is designed to be administered separately or in combination
with other subtests, and has an internal consistency reliability of .90
or higher. In the EDS, four subtests of the WJ-R were administered to
children who were older than 2.5 but less than 4.0 years of age. These
include three subtests used in the Head Start FACES study: the
Letter-Word Identification, Dictation and Applied Problems subtests
which constitute the "Early Development -- Skills" cluster, according to
the test developers, and thus provide a quick screening of broad
achievement. In addition, the Incomplete Words subtest was administered
to provide information on phonemic awareness. Eight subtests were
administered to children who were 4.0 years of age and older. These
include the four subtests used for younger children, as well as four
subtests which focus on reading skills (Sound Blending, Word Attack,
Passage Comprehension, and Reading Vocabulary).

-   *Letter-Word Identification:* The first five Letter-Word
    Identification items involve symbolic learning, or the ability to
    match a rebus (pictographic representation of a word) with an actual
    picture of the object. The remaining items measure reading
    identification skills in identifying isolated letters and words that
    appear in large type.

-   *Dictation:* The first six items in this subtest measure prewriting
    skills such as drawing lines and copying letters. The remaining
    items measure the child's skill in providing written responses when
    asked to write specific capital or lower-case letters of the
    alphabet. Later parts of the subtest ask for writing of specific
    words and phrases, punctuation, and capitalization.

-   *Applied Problems:* This subtest measures skill in analyzing and
    solving practical problems in mathematics. In order to solve the
    problems, the child must recognize the procedure to be followed and
    then perform relatively simple counting or addition or subtraction
    operations. Because many of the problems include extraneous stimuli
    or information, the child must also decide which data to include in
    the count or calculation.

-   *Incomplete Words:* This is a tape-recorded test that measures
    auditory closure. After hearing a recorded word that has one or more
    phonemes missing, the subject identifies the complete word. This
    test primarily measures auditory processing.

-   *Sound Blending:* This test measures the ability to integrate and
    then say whole words after hearing parts (syllables and/or phonemes)
    of the words. An audiotape is used to present word parts in their
    proper order. The test measures auditory processing.

-   *Word Attack:* This measures the subject's skill in applying phonic
    and structural analysis skills to the pronunciation of unfamiliar
    printed words. The subject reads aloud letter combinations that are
    linguistically logical but that form nonsense words or low-frequency
    words in English (or Spanish).

-   *Passage Comprehension:* The first four items in this subtest are
    presented in a multiple-choice format requiring the subject to point
    to the picture represented by a phrase. The remaining items measure
    skill in reading a short passage and identifying a missing key word.
    The task requires the child to state a word that would be
    appropriate in the context of the passage. The child exercises a
    variety of comprehension and vocabulary skills.

-   *Reading Vocabulary:* This subtest measures skill in reading words
    that supply appropriate meanings. In Part A: Synonyms, the subject
    must state a word similar in meaning to the word presented. In Part
    B: Antonyms, the subject must state a word that is opposite in
    meaning to the word presented. Only one-word responses are
    acceptable.

**Story & Print Concepts.** The Story & Print Concepts task is an
adaptation of earlier prereading assessment procedures developed by
Teale (1986) and Mason (1992). Administered to children in the EDS who
were 2.5 years of age and older, the child is handed a children's
storybook upside down and backwards. The assessor notes whether the
child turns it around to put the book upright with the front cover on
top. Then the child is asked to identify where the name of the book is
written and where the material to be read begins, and in what direction
the reading proceeds. The assessor reads the story to the child and asks
basic questions about both the content of the story and the mechanics of
reading. Research has found that children who experience frequent story
reading by their parents or teachers are more likely to be able to
answer such questions.

**Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales \-- Communication Domain** (Sparrow,
Bella & Cicchetti, 1984). The Vineland is a comprehensive set of rating
scales designed for use by teachers and parents. The Vineland has
national norms. The Communication Domain from the Classroom Edition of
the Vineland was used in the EDS. It takes about 10 minutes to
administer and consists of 63 items that provide an assessment of
literacy functioning in three areas \-- expressive, receptive, and
written skills. Because teachers need time to become familiar with the
children in their classroom, the Vineland was completed only as a
posttest measure at the end of the school year. Teachers completed the
Vineland for all Even Start and control group children who were 3.0
years of age and older and in a formal preschool or school-based
setting.

**Parent Report of Child Literacy.** The ESPIRS and the EDS parent
interview contain items designed to obtain parent ratings of their
child's literacy performance. Available in English and Spanish, these
items are based on literacy competencies identified in recent research
on reading by the National Research Council (Snow, Burns & Griffin,
1998), the NAEYC (1998), and the NICHD (Lyon, 1999). The items were used
to construct the following variables for Even Start and control
children:

-   *Child knows alphabet (age 2 years, 7 months and older):* Has value
    of 1 if parent reports that child knows all alphabet letters or can
    say/sing the entire alphabet; has value of 0 otherwise.

-   *Child counts to 100 or more (age 2 years, 7 months and older):* Has
    value of 1 if parent reports that child can count to 100 or more;
    has value of 0 otherwise.

-   *Child knows colors (age 2 years, 7 months and older):* Has value of
    1 if parent reports that child knows colors red, yellow, blue, green
    by name; has value of 0 otherwise.

-   *Extent to which child reads (age less than 2 years, 6 months):* Has
    values from 0-4. Value increases by 1 if child pretends to read, has
    memorized book, pretends to read to someone else, has favorite book.

-   *Extent to which child reads (age 2 years, 7 months and older):* Has
    values from 0-9. Value increases by 1 if child pretends to read,
    reads for enjoyment, has memorized book, has favorite book, can
    follow written directions, can describe something learned through
    reading, rereads sentences, reads/pretends to read to someone else,
    recognizes own first name in writing/print.

-   *Age-appropriate writing skills (all children):* Has values from
    0-2. Value increases by 1 if child pretends to write, writes some
    letters of the alphabet.

-   *Child knowledge of print concepts (age 2 years, 7 months -- 4
    years, 11 months):* Has values from 0-9. Value increases by 1 if
    child shows front of book, page where you start, where to start on
    page, a picture, a word, last letter in a word, a number, a period,
    a question mark.

**Social Skills Rating System (SSRS).** The SSRS (Gresham & Elliot,
1990), available in English, is designed for teachers to use in rating
child competencies and behaviors. Because teachers should not complete
these scales until they have spent a substantial amount of time with a
child, we used the SSRS scales only as a posttest. As with the Vineland
scales, we collected the SSRS for all Even Start and control group
children who were 3.0 years of age and older and in a formal preschool
or school-based setting. The SSRS has been widely used and nationally
normed. Standard scores and percentile ranks are available for each
scale.

-   *Problem behaviors:* This scale consists of 18 items (10 for the
    preschool version) that ask the teacher to rate the child on a
    three-point scale (never, sometimes, very often). The items measure
    internalizing behaviors (acting sad or lonely), externalizing
    behaviors (acting out) and hyperactivity (not in the preschool
    version).

-   *Social skills:* This scale consists of 30 items that ask the
    teacher to rate the child on a three-point scale (never, sometimes,
    very often). The items measure cooperation, assertion and
    self-control.

**School Records.** For Even Start and control group children, we asked
schools for access to student records in order to obtain information on
attendance, absences, tardiness, and placement in special education.
This information was collected at posttest and follow-up.

### Parent and Family Outcome Measures

The EDS measured parent outcomes through direct assessment of literacy
and parent self-report.

**Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery \-- Revised.** The WJ-R
(Woodcock & Mather, 1989,1990) was described earlier under measures for
children. The WJ-R is appropriate for assessing the academic development
of individuals into adulthood. In the EDS parent assessment, we used
four subtests that measure reading achievement: Letter-Word
Identification, Word Attack, Passage Comprehension, and Reading
Vocabulary. Each of these subtests was described earlier.

**Parent Report of Literacy at Home.** The ESPIRS records parent report
of literacy skills including reading and writing done at home. We
included these items in the parent interview that was administered to
parents of all children in the EDS (both in Even Start and in the
control group). The following variables were constructed:

-   *Variety of parent reading at home:* Has values from 0-12. Value
    increases by 1 if parent reads letters/bills, advertisements, street
    signs, books, newspapers, food labels, coupons, notes from
    teacher/school, magazines, TV Guide, instructions, religious
    materials.

-   *Variety of parent writing at home:* Has values from 0-11. Value
    increases by 1 if parent writes appointments on calendar, grocery
    lists, notes/memos, forms/applications, letters, checks/money
    orders, greeting cards, crosswords, journal/diary, recipes,
    stories/poems.

**Parent Report of Parent-Child Reading.** Four variables were
constructed to assess various aspects of parent-child reading including
whether the parent reads to the child daily, the amount of reading that
the parent does with the child, the variety of reading that is done with
the child, and the quality of the reading that is done with the child:

-   *Reads to child daily (all children):* Has value 1 if parent reads
    to the child each day; has value of 0 otherwise.

-   *Amount of reading to/with child (all children):* Has values from
    0-3. Value increases by 1 if parent reads to child every day,
    someone else reads to child every day, parent tells story to child
    every day.

-   *Variety of reading to/with child (all children):* Has values from
    0-5. Value increases by 1 if parent reads the following to/with
    child: newspapers, magazines, store catalogs, funnies or comic
    books, TV listings.

-   *Quality of reading to/with child (all children):* Has values from
    0-5. Value increases by 1 if, when reading to child, parent
    stops/asks what is in a picture, stops/points out letters,
    stops/asks what happens next, reads same story over and over, asks
    child to read.

**Parent Report of Literacy Resources at Home.** Three variables were
constructed to assess the literacy resources available at home: the
number of books that the child has, the variety of non-print resources
in the home, and the variety of print resources in the home.

-   *Number of books that child has (all children):* Has values from
    0-5. 0 = no books, 1 = 1 or 2 books, 2 = 3 to 10 books, 3 = 11 to 25
    books, 4 = 26 to 50 books, 5 = 51+ books.

-   *Variety of non-print resources at home (all children):* Has values
    from 0-16. Value increases by 1 if the following are available at
    home: rattle/squeak toys, pull toys, crayons and paper, scissors,
    blocks, scotch tape, tinkertoys, puzzles/paint/magic markers,
    picture catalogs, yarn/thread/cloth, clay/playdough, make-believe
    toys, plants in pot or garden, pens/pencils, typewriter/computer.

-   *Variety of print resources at home (all children):* Has values from
    0-5. Value increases by 1 if the following are available at home:
    books, magazines, newspapers, TV Guide, comic books.

**Parent Report of Support of Child's School.** Two variables were
constructed to assess the parent's support of school: the extent to
which parents participate in school activities and parent opinion about
school.

-   *Parent participation in school activities (age 2 years, 7 months
    and older):* Has values from 0-12. Value increases by 1 if parent
    has conference with a teacher, observes classroom activities,
    attends school event, attends after-school program, meets with PTA,
    attends parent advisory committee meeting, helps with fundraising
    activities, volunteers in school office or library, volunteers in
    child's classroom, volunteers for school trips, works as paid
    employee, serves on preschool committee.

-   *Parent opinion about school (age 5 years, 0 months and older):* Has
    values from 0-14. Value increases by 1 if parent agrees with the
    following: school places priority on learning, school assigns
    worthwhile homework, child is challenged at school, child is treated
    fairly at school, school standards are realistic, child is respected
    by teacher, parent is respected by teacher, parent would select this
    school, child gets needed help at school, school is a safe place, it
    is important for parents to participate in school, parents have a
    say in school policy, parents support school policy, school
    maintains discipline.

**Parent Report of Economic Self-Sufficiency.** The parent interview
includes parent self-report of years of parent education and annual
household income.

-   *Parent education:* Number of years of education.

-   *Parent GED attainment:* Does parent have a GED or high school
    diploma? Has value 1 if parent has GED or high school diploma, has
    value of 0 otherwise.

-   *Parent employment:* Was parent employed? Has value 1 if parent was
    employed, has value of 0 otherwise.

-   *Annual household income:* Has values from 1-8. 1 = under \$3,000, 2
    = \$3,000 -- \$5,999, 3 = %6,000 - \$8,999, 4 = \$9,000 - \$11,999,
    5 = \$12,000 - \$14,999, 6 = \$15,000 - \$19,999, 7 = \$20,000 -
    \$25,000, 8 = more than \$25,000.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **[Appendix B]{.smallcaps}**                                          |
|                                                                       |
| **[Graphical Displays of Pretest, Posttest,\                          |
| and Follow-up Data]{.smallcaps}**                                     |
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[^1]: When possible, nesting should be taken into account in the
    analysis of nested designs. Here, we have a nested design but a
    nested analysis was not conducted due to small within-site sample
    sizes. When nesting is not taken into account, as in the present
    case, treatment effects may be overestimated.

[^2]: ESPIRS data collection ceased after the 2000-2001 program year,
    and so ESPIRS participation data beyond the posttest was available
    only for families in the group of 11 EDS projects that began the
    study in the 1999-2000 program year.

[^3]: For this analysis, cases were deleted when the reported GED status
    was impossible (i.e., if the parent reported having a GED at pretest
    but not at posttest). This represented 12.8% of controls and 12.2%
    of Even Start parents.