An Anaylsis of Pretest and Post Test Scores of Head Start African American, Hispanic American and European American Students Engaged in an Intensive Emergent Literacy Program.

The Texas Education Agency awarded twenty competitive grants to Head Start programs in the state. The focus of the grants was on emergent literacy and pre-reading skills. Teachers, mentors, and administrators underwent intensive training. To investigate whether children emerged from the grant programs ready to enter school reading, an outside program evaluation was conducted by each grantee. As part of the evaluation, pretest and posttest scores for African American, Hispanic American, and European American students were analyzed to determine if significant differences existed between groups targeted using grant materials, mentoring, and prereading strategies, and those of a control group. Subjects were 174 Head Start participants, assessed in October and again in May using a battery of assessment instruments that included the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Expressive Vocabulary Test, and Developing Skills Checklist. Spanish-speaking children completed Spanish versions of these instruments. Findings indicated that Hispanic American students scored higher on the majority of the tests administered. The scores of the African Americans were higher than the European Americans. The European Americans did perform better than the other groups on the math portion of the DSC. The data must be viewed in light of the fact that the groups were not the same size. (HTH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. AN ANALYSIS OF PRETEST AND POST TEST SCORES OF HEAD START AFRICAN AMERICAN, HISPANIC AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ENGAGED IN AN INTENSIVE EMERGENT LITERACY PROGRAM THOMAS L. BAUMGARTEN QUINELLA MINIX TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY HOUSTON, TEXAS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION X CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY (em tot BEST COPY AVAILABLE exeyey* TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 2 An Analysis of Pretest and Posttest Scores of Head Start African American, Hispanic American, and European American Students Engaged in an Intensive Emergent Literacy Program Abstract This paper focuses on an analysis of pretest and posttest scores of Head Start students assessed during the school year 20002001. The analysis will describe significant differences in student achievement of African American, Hispanic American, and European American students. The data results from a program evaluation of one of the twenty programs awarded a Texas Head Start Educational Component Grant. The grant emphasized emergent literacy. The pretests were administered in October 2000. The posttests were administered in May 2001. The battery of tests included the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Expressive Vocabulary Test, and the Developing Skills Checklist. For students who primary language is not English, the assessment instruments included the La Lista, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary TestSpanish, and Expressive Vocabulary Test-Spanish.This paper focuses on an analysis of pretest and posttest scores of Head Start students assessed during the school year 20002001. The analysis will describe significant differences in student achievement of African American, Hispanic American, and European American students. The data results from a program evaluation of one of the twenty programs awarded a Texas Head Start Educational Component Grant. The grant emphasized emergent literacy. The pretests were administered in October 2000. The posttests were administered in May 2001. The battery of tests included the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Expressive Vocabulary Test, and the Developing Skills Checklist. For students who primary language is not English, the assessment instruments included the La Lista, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary TestSpanish, and Expressive Vocabulary Test-Spanish. Introduction The Texas Education Agency awarded twenty competitive grants to Head Start Programs in the state. The services provided by the program started at the beginning of the 2000 school year. Intensive training for teachers, mentors, and administrators was