GAO

United States General Accounting Office

Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee

on Oversight of Government

Management, Restructuring and the

District of Columbia, Committee on

Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate

September 2000 TITLE I PRESCHOOL

EDUCATION

More Children Served,

but Gauging Effect on

School Readiness

Difficult

GAO/HEHS-00-171

Page 1 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Letter 3

Appendix Appendix I: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 18

Table Table 1: Major Federal Programs Supporting Preschool Education 8

Figures Figure 1: Growth in the Number of Preschool Children Served

With Title I Funds 6

Figure 2: Estimated Percentage of Title I Funds Used by School

Districts to Support Preschool Education Services 9

Figure 3: Estimated Percentage of School Districts That Received

Title I Funds and Used Them to Serve Preschool Children 10

Figure 4: Estimated Percentage of Title I-Funded Preschool Children

Served by the Largest and Smaller School Districts 11

Figure 5: Comparison of the Race/Ethnicity of Children Served by the

Largest and Smaller School Districts 12

Figure 6: Comparison of the Types of Services Provided by the

Largest and Smaller School Districts 13

Abbreviations

ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act

HHS Department of Health and Human Services
Page 2 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding
Page 3 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Health, Education, and

Human Services Division

B-284749 Letr

September 20, 2000

The Honorable George V. Voinovich

Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of

Government Management, Restructuring

and the District of Columbia

Committee on Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Each year, about 4 million children enter our nation’s kindergartens, and

according to teachers, some lack the skills necessary to succeed in school.

Children from low-income families are most at risk of failing academically

because they are more likely to be exposed to drug abuse, violence, and

unhealthy living conditions. To help schools meet the needs of children

who are educationally and economically disadvantaged, funding through

title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) serves

students from birth to age 21.1 In fiscal year 1999, title I provided about $7.9

billion to serve about 12 million children. Historically, most children served

by title I have been in kindergarten through grade 12, but a growing number

of preschoolers are also being served.

Concerns over children’s school readiness have placed an increasing

emphasis on ensuring that children have the necessary skills to succeed in

school. In light of this and the current discussions regarding

reauthorization of title I, you asked us to determine (1) the extent to which

title I funds are used to support education and/or developmentally

appropriate activities for preschool children, aged birth to 5 years, and (2)

what is known about the effectiveness of title I-funded programs for

preschool children in preparing them for school.

To respond, we surveyed a stratified, nationally representative sample

drawn from the approximately 16,000 school districts nationwide. We sent

our survey questionnaire to school districts, which provided information

on the schools within the districts as well; thus, our estimates are based on

school and school district information. Specifically, we surveyed all of the

1

Throughout this report, title I refers only to title I, part A, of ESEA.
B-284749

Page 4 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

111 largest school districts—those with 40,000 or more students. These

school districts served about a quarter of all public school-aged children

nationwide. In addition, we randomly selected about 400 of the smaller

school districts—those with fewer than 40,000 students. Our overall

response rate was 95 percent, with 100-percent and 94-percent response

rates from the largest and smaller school districts, respectively. We

interviewed Department of Education officials and reviewed Education’s

most recent data on the number of preschool children served with title I

funds, by state. We also reviewed Education’s Strategic and Performance

Plans to obtain information on the agency’s efforts to evaluate title I’s

effectiveness in preparing children for school. We conducted our work

between February 2000 and July 2000 in accordance with generally

accepted government auditing standards.

Results in Brief During the 1999-2000 school year, an estimated 17 percent of the school

districts that received title I funds spent an estimated $407 million on

preschool services, making title I second only to Head Start in its level of

federal preschool education funding. The remaining 83 percent that did not

use their funds to support preschool education services cited, among other

things, a greater need to use title I funds for older children. School districts

used their funds to serve an estimated 313,000 preschool children—equal

to about 8 percent of the children who will eventually enter kindergarten.

Almost all of these children were between the ages of 3 and 5, and they

received a variety of services funded with title I as well as other federal,

state, and local funding. Children were served in every state, with Texas

serving the largest number of children.

Currently, Education lacks the information to measure title I’s effect on

children’s school readiness, but it may be able to structure its design of a

planned title I preschool study to collect such information. Recognizing

that isolating title I’s effect from the effect of other funding that supports

preschool children may be difficult, we are recommending that Education,

as part of its planned title I preschool study, explore the feasibility of

isolating and measuring title I’s effect on school readiness. In commenting

on our report, Education agreed with our recommendation.

Background Growing out of the War on Poverty in 1965, title I is the single largest

federal investment for elementary and secondary education. Administered

by Education, its primary purpose is to help local education agencies and
B-284749

Page 5 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

schools improve the teaching and learning of children who are failing, or

are most at risk of failing, to meet challenging academic standards. In

support of that goal, title I targeted $7.9 billion, primarily to high-poverty

schools, in fiscal year 1999 and distributed these funds to local school

districts through state education agencies. The amount each school district

receives is determined by a complex formula that incorporates, among

other factors, the average per-pupil expenditure in the state, the number of

children in poverty, and previous allocations to the state and to the district.

According to Education, about 90 percent of all school districts receive title

I funds. School districts or local schools may choose to use some portion of

these funds to serve preschool children.

According to Education’s data, the number of preschool children served

with title I funds is growing (see fig. 1). Title I funding reached about

300,000 in school year 1997-98, the most recent year for which Education

had data. The period of rapid growth began around school year 1994-95.

This accelerated growth began about the time of the 1994 reauthorization

of title I, which expanded the focus of title I by increasing the number of

schools eligible to use their title I funds to improve the school as a whole,

rather than targeting specific eligible children. This change in eligibility

consequently increased the number of children of all ages that could be

served with title I funds. Prior to 1994, only schools with 75 percent or

more of their students living in poverty could use their funds to improve the

whole school. The 1994 reauthorization lowered the poverty eligibility

threshold to 50 percent.
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Page 6 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Figure 1: Growth in the Number of Preschool Children Served With Title I Funds

Note: Education did not collect these data for school years 1994-95 and 1995-96. School year 1998-99

data are not yet available from Education.

Source: Department of Education state performance reports for school years 1980-81 through 1996-

97.

In addition to title I, the federal government provides funding specifically

targeted for low-income preschool children through Education’s $135

million Even Start program and the Department of Health and Human

Service’s (HHS) $4.7 billion Head Start program, the largest preschool

education program. Although they are separate programs, ESEA requires

that recipients that serve preschool children with title I funds comply with

School Year

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

79-80

80-81

81-82

82-83

83-84

84-85

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

90-91

91-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

Preschool Students in Thousands
B-284749

Page 7 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Head Start’s performance standards, which prescribe, for example,

student/teacher ratios, classroom size, and staff qualifications. In addition,

children who have participated in a Head Start or an Even Start program at

any time in the two preceding years are automatically eligible for title Ifunded services. Title I funds can also be used to augment services

provided by Head Start, Even Start, and other early childhood development

programs. To illustrate, in cases where children are dually eligible for both

Head Start and title I, title I may be used to fund

• education services, with Head Start funding the support services, such

as food or medical services; and/or

• additional services for Head Start children, including extending the

number of days or hours children receive services.

This report is one in a recent series of GAO reports on early childhood

programs. Two reports examined what is known about the effectiveness of

selected early childhood programs in contributing to school readiness.2 A

third report discussed federal, state, and local early childhood programs

available to low-income families and the difficulties parents face in

acquiring such care.3 Our most recent report provided information on

federal programs that provide education and care to children under the age

of 5.4

Title I Is a Source of

Preschool Education

Funding for Some

School Districts

In school year 1999-2000, we estimate that school districts spent $407

million in title I funds to support preschool education services, making title

I second only to Head Start in terms of federal preschool education funding

in fiscal year 1999.5 These funds, in combination with other federal, state,

and local funding, supported a variety of services for an estimated 313,000

preschool children—equal to about 8 percent of the children who will

2

Early Childhood Programs: Characteristics Affect the Availability of School Readiness

Information (GAO/HEHS-00-38, Feb. 28, 2000) and Evaluations of Even Start Family

Literacy Program Effectiveness (GAO/HEHS-00-58R, Mar. 8, 2000).

3

Education and Care: Early Childhood Programs and Services for Low-Income Families

(GAO/HEHS-00-11, Nov. 15, 1999).

4

Early Education and Care: Overlap Indicates Need to Assess Crosscutting Programs

(GAO/HEHS-00-78, Apr. 28, 2000).

5

At the 95-percent confidence level, the total is $407 million plus or minus $182 million. The

estimate includes the amount schools within the school districts spent as well.
B-284749

Page 8 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

eventually enter kindergarten each year.6 These services include

educational and medical services and social services. However, because

services were funded with both title I and non-title I funds, it is difficult to

determine the extent to which title I supported specific services.

As shown below, title I represents the second largest source of federal

preschool education funding (table 1). Title I’s contribution to preschool

education was smaller than Head Start’s, but significantly larger than Even

Start’s in terms of the number of children served and funding level.

Table 1: Major Federal Programs Supporting Preschool Education

a

Head Start program information is based on HHS fiscal year 1999 data.

b

Title I information is based on school year 1999-2000 estimates from our survey.

c

The preschool funding figure for the Even Start program is based on Education’s fiscal year 1999

data. This figure includes funds for early childhood education as well as adult literacy and basic

education and parenting education. The figure for the number of children is Education’s fiscal year

1999 estimate of the number of children served below the age of 5, although children through age 7

are also served with the funding.

An estimated 17 percent of all school districts that received title I funds

used a portion of these funds to serve preschool children in school year

1999-2000.7 Most of these school districts used less than 10 percent of their

total title I funds for preschool children (see fig. 2). The remaining 83

percent of the school districts that received title I funds chose not to use

title I funds for preschools, with most citing a greater need to use title I

funds for older children or the availability of other sources of funding for

preschool-aged children as their primary reason. The largest school

6

At the 95-percent confidence level, the total is 313,000 plus or minus 86,000 children.

Preschool program/funding

source Preschool funding

Number of children

served

Head Starta $4.7 billion 826,016

Title Ib $407 million 313,000

Even Startc $135 million 28,000

7

Because this and other percentage estimates resulting from our survey are based on

samples, each estimate is subject to sampling error. The sampling error for this estimate is 4

percentage points. This means that at the 95-percent confidence level, the percentage is

between 13 percent and 21 percent. All other percentage estimates resulting from our

survey have sampling errors of 13 percentage points or less.
B-284749

Page 9 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

districts were four times as likely as smaller school districts to serve

preschool children with title I funds (see fig. 3).

An estimated 313,000 preschool children were served with title I funds in

school year 1999-2000, and that number is expected to increase, according

to our survey responses. About one-third of the children served were in the

largest school districts (see fig. 4).

Figure 2: Estimated Percentage of Title I Funds Used by School Districts to Support Preschool Education Services

Source: GAO survey.

Percentage of School Districts

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

10 or Less 11-20 21-50 51-100

Largest School Districts

Smaller School Districts

Percentage of Funds Used

76

60

11

23

11 12

1

5
B-284749

Page 10 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Figure 3: Estimated Percentage of School Districts That Received Title I Funds and Used Them to Serve Preschool Children

Source: GAO survey.

Did Not Use for

Preschool Children

83%

Smaller School Districts

Used for

Preschool

Children

17%

Largest School Districts

Used for

Preschool

Children

68%

Did Not Use for

Preschool Children

32%
B-284749

Page 11 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Figure 4: Estimated Percentage of Title I-Funded Preschool Children Served by the

Largest and Smaller School Districts

Source: GAO survey.

Children were served in every state, according to Education.8 Five states—

Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Louisiana—accounted for 53 percent

of all the children served, with about a third of them located in Texas.9

Almost all preschool children served were between the ages of 3 and 5,

with less than 1 percent of them below the age of 3. Of the school districts

that served preschool children with title I funds, over 90 percent

established a minimum eligibility age of 3 or 4. District officials reported

adopting minimum age requirements for a variety of reasons, including the

more immediate need to serve children entering kindergarten, the lack of

adequate facilities for younger children, and the availability of other types

of programs for younger children.

8

The most recent data available are for school year 1997-98 from Department of Education

1997-98 State Performance Report.

9

The large concentration of children served in Texas may be because title I schools in Texas

frequently use title I funds to improve the whole school rather than targeting specific

eligible children.

Served by

Largest

School Districts

33%

Served by

Smaller

School Districts

67%
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Page 12 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Preschool children of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds were served,

with some differences between the largest and the smaller school districts

(see fig. 5).

Figure 5: Comparison of the Race/Ethnicity of Children Served by the Largest and Smaller School Districts

Note: Percentages are estimates based on those school districts that provided information on ethnicity.

In addition, the sampling errors for the smaller school districts are very large. Therefore, the

percentages provide only rough approximations of the actual percentages.

Source: GAO survey.

Children served with title I funds received a variety of services, as shown in

figure 6, but differences existed in the extent to which the largest and

smaller school districts provided these services. Education was the most

frequently provided service by both the largest and smaller school districts;

Percentage of School Districts

0

10

20

30

40

50

Black Hispanic White Asian Native American

Largest School Districts

Smaller School Districts

Race/Ethnicity of Children Served

45

21

39

37

11

35

3

1 1

5
B-284749

Page 13 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

however, the largest school districts were more likely to provide dental and

social services.

Figure 6: Comparison of the Types of Services Provided by the Largest and Smaller School Districts

Source: GAO survey.

It is difficult to determine the importance of title I funds in providing a

specific service. Our survey results showed that title I funds often

constituted a small portion of school districts’ total preschool budget and

that school districts combined title I funds with other funds. For example,

one school district reported that it supported services with eight different

sources of funding, with the largest share of funds coming from the state.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Dental

Social Service

Medical

Meals

Education

Percentage of School Districts

Smaller School Districts

Largest School Districts

98

97

48

65

25

44

22

60

5

25
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Page 14 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Education Lacks

Information on Title I’s

Effect on School

Readiness

Currently, Education lacks the information it needs to measure title I’s

effect on children’s school readiness, but it is in the early stages of

designing a study to collect information on title I-funded programs for

preschool children. Because the design is in the formative stage, Education

may be able to structure it to collect information on title I’s effect on school

readiness by comparing children who receive title I-funded services with

those who do not. Isolating and measuring title I’s effect from that of other

funding effects may be difficult; thus, it may be necessary to explore the

feasibility of such an evaluation first.

Design of Education’s

Planned Preschool Study

Under Way

Education currently does not have information that could be used to

determine title I’s effect on school readiness, that is, evaluations that

compare children who receive title I-funded services with those who do

not. Education has conducted studies of title I services for school-aged

children, which is where most of its $7.9 billion funding has historically

been allocated; however, it has not conducted recent studies of title I

services for preschool children. Recently, the Office of Management and

Budget approved funding for the design of a study that will collect

information on preschool children’s progress in language development,

reading readiness, and mathematical concepts. As work on designing the

study has not yet commenced, Education officials reported that they are

exploring various possibilities for the final study design. Other major

programs, such as Head Start and Even Start, are in the process of

conducting or are planning evaluations that compare children who receive

their services with those who do not.

Funding Characteristics

May Make Determining

Title I’s Effect Challenging

Because a preschool program may use title I as part of multiple funding

sources, it may be difficult to determine what part of a program’s effect on

school readiness can be attributed to title I. For example, in some

preschool programs, title I may provide funds for educational services that

are part of a Head Start program, and Head Start may, in turn, use other

funds to provide nutritional services. Even if the program—as a recipient of

title I funds—increased school readiness, it would be difficult to know if

the effect resulted from the educational services supported by title I funds,

the nutritional services supported by other funds, or a combination of all

the services the program offered. Education has previously acknowledged

that these kinds of difficulties have impeded its efforts to isolate title I’s

effect for older children.
B-284749

Page 15 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Conclusions With increased attention on the importance of early childhood education,

federal policymakers want to know whether the federal investment in early

childhood education programs is effective in preparing children for school.

Title I funds represent a significant and growing federal investment in

preschool education, but its effect on children’s school readiness is not

known. Given previous difficulties in evaluating the effect of title I funding

on older children, questions remain about whether title I’s effect on school

readiness can be isolated. However, Education has an opportunity to

evaluate the feasibility of isolating and measuring this effect in designing its

preschool study.

Recommendations Given the large federal investment in title I and the current attention on the

importance of early childhood education programs, we recommend that

the Secretary of Education determine if it is feasible to isolate and measure

title I’s effect as part of Education’s planned preschool study. If feasible, the

Secretary should ensure that the final study design is structured to isolate

and measure title I’s effect.

Agency Comments In commenting on the report, Education agreed with our recommendation

that it conduct a feasibility study to determine whether title I’s effect on

school readiness can be isolated. Education also provided technical

comments, which we incorporated in the report where appropriate.

We are sending copies of this report to the Honorable Richard W. Riley,

Secretary of Education, relevant congressional committees, and other

interested parties.
B-284749

Page 16 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Please contact me on (202) 512-7215 if you or your staff have any questions

about this report. Other GAO contacts and staff acknowledgments are

listed in appendix I.

Sincerely yours,

Marnie S. Shaul

Associate Director, Education, Workforce,

and Income Security Issues
Page 17 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding
Page 18 GAO/HEHS-00-171 Title I Funding

Appendix I

GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments ApApenednxidexiIs

GAO Contacts Diana Pietrowiak, (202) 512-6239

Sherri Doughty, (202) 512-7273

Staff

Acknowledgments

In addition to those named above, Mary Crenshaw, Harriet Ganson, Jay

Smale, and Shannon Lightner made key contributions to this report.

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