A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Even Start Evaluation

Patricia McKee
Tracy Rimdzius
U.S. Department of Education

The purpose of the Even Start program is to help break the cycle of intergenerational illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of the nation's low-income families. Even Start funds family-centered projects to help parents improve their literacy and parenting skills, and assist children in reaching their full potential as learners. At least one parent and child from each family must participate together in the Even Start program. Eligible families have an adult who is eligible for an adult basic education program under the Adult Education Act or within the state's compulsory school attendance age range, and a child between the ages of birth and seven.

The Even Start Program is undergoing extensive evaluation. The first four-year National Even Start Evaluation covered program years 1989-90 to 1992-93 and the final report was released in January of 1995. Two other evaluations are currently underway. The second national evaluation covers program years 1993-94 to 1996-97 and the interim report on year 1994-95 has been released; a report for 1995-96 is expected in winter 1998, and data on the 1996-97 year are being collected. The third national evaluation contract award process is underway. The evaluation will cover years 1997-97 to 2000-01.

In addition to these national evaluations, Policy Studies Associates has just been awarded a contract for an Observational Study of well implemented Even Start programs. The final report of this study is due to the Department of Education by May 2000. A report on Even Start programs serving infants and toddlers is due in Fall 1997. Finally, two small studies are underway: one is a study of how Even Start can provide continuity for families with young children in making transitions from home to preschool and preschool to school. The second study will synthesize research in Even Start and Family Literacy Programs. This project's purpose is to gather the information on what is known about family literacy and its results for participants, both short- and long-term. This project will examine all research pertaining to family literacy programs, including but not limited to Even Start studies sponsored by the Department. From this review, it will extract and synthesize findings from high-quality studies to report on the operations and impact of family literacy projects across various providers. This will also include a synthesis of high quality state and local Even Start evaluations.

Data for 1995-96 from the Second National Even Start Evaluation show that:

Population Served

• Approximately 31,500 families comprised of 36,400 parents and 47,800 children, participated.

• The average Even Start family has 5.5 members and over 80 percent of families had an annual income of under $15,000. About 42 percent had incomes under $6,000.

• At intake, the vast majority of Even Start parents had not completed high school nor earned a GED. The highest grade completed for 30 percent of the 1995-96 enrollees was between seventh and ninth grades. Counting the 2 percent of parents with no formal schooling, the percentage of new enrollees who have not progressed beyond the primary grades is 15 percent.

• Since the First National Even Start Evaluation, projects have improved their ability to retain families--approximately 60 percent of families continue participating in the second year of the program--and to provide intensive services.

Outcomes

• Children in both the First and the Second National Evaluation achieved significant gains on the PreSchool Inventory (PSI), a test of school readiness skills (one standard deviation in a 6-month period).

• Even Start children also made significant gains on the Preschool Language Scale-3(PLS-3), used to measure language development (one half a standard deviation in a 6 month period).

• Adults stay longer in Even Start than they do in adult only programs; hence, the outcomes are stronger.

• Adults made significant gains on the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) and the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE). Approximately 10 percent of the adults attained a GED certificate while participating in Even Start. Even Start families made modest but significant gains on the HOME Screening Questionnaire (HSQ) which measures the quality of cognitive stimulation and emotional support provided to the child by the family. While the evaluation does not include a control group, a control group of low-income families participating in a national evaluation of another federally-funded "two-generational, family support" program showed no change in HSQ scores over time. This suggests that the improvements seen among Even Start families are due to the Even Start program rather than other factors.

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