Data Tables for FACES 2006: A Second Year in Head Start Report. ACF-OPRE Report
Author: Moiduddin, Emily
Date: 2010-12-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Family Life,Parent Participation,Academic Achievement,Program Effectiveness,Parent School Relationship,Kindergarten,Educational Environment,Family Characteristics,Student Characteristics,Demography,Participant Satisfaction,Achievement Gains,Individual Differences,Child Development,Family Environment,Statistical Data,Tables (Data),School Statistics,Annual Reports,Interviews,Parent Attitudes,Student Records,Achievement Rating,Preschool Evaluation

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children, their families, classrooms, and programs provide descriptive information on the population served; staff qualifications, credentials, beliefs, and opinions; classroom practices and quality measures; and child and family outcomes. FACES includes a battery of direct child assessments across multiple domains. It also comprises interviews with the child's parents, teachers, and program managers, as well as direct observations of classroom quality. FACES is a tool for measuring Head Start program performance at the national level. This recurring data collection provides the means to assess program performance both currently and over time. This set of tables is designed to accompany a research brief which profiles the second year in the program for 3-year-old Head Start children and families who were newly enrolled in fall 2006 (ACF 2010b) and are still attending in spring 2008. FACES selects two groups of first-time enrollees--those entering at age 4 and those entering at age 3--who are expected to attend Head Start for one or two years, respectively, prior to kindergarten entry. The 3-year-old group is of particular interest for several reasons: (1) as the Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) shows, 3-year-olds occupy a growing share of the total population served by Head Start, increasing from 24 percent in 1980 to 40 percent in 2007 (ACF 2010a); (2) they may differ in important characteristics from children who enter at age 4 in terms of developmental level and exposure to prior care experiences; and (3) they have the potential to continue in Head Start for two program years or to leave for another prekindergarten experience. Following an introduction to the study methodology and sample, the tables in the first section provide information on the children's characteristics, family demographics, and home life, including language background, educational environment of the home, family routines, and socioeconomic risk status. The authors also include information on parent involvement in Head Start and their level of satisfaction with their own and their children's Head Start experiences. In the next set of tables, the authors provide information on children's developmental progress over two years of Head Start, including whether these outcomes vary by gender, race/ethnicity, or risk status. It is important to note that changes in children's skills and development during their program experience reflect a range of influences in their lives, including child-level characteristics, such as maturation and health status, as well as community, program, classroom, peer, and family influences. (Contains 55 tables and 15 notes.) [For related report, &quot;A Second Year in Head Start: Characteristics and Outcomes of Children Who Entered the Program at Age Three. ACF-OPRE Report&quot;, see ED517208.]