Despite extensive research and investment, persistent disparities in educational achievement continue to be observed for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Public health experts emphasize the significance of early language experience and caregiver talk, also known as "language nutrition," in improving children's outcomes. A large…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention for enhancing the language development of young children enrolled in home visiting programs. The participants were 59 children (18-30 months old) enrolled in one of three types of home visiting programs. Children's language…

Program administrators and policy makers have placed a priority on expanding access to inclusive, center-based early care and education (ECE) for low-income children with special needs, a "doubly vulnerable" population characterized by academic and social-emotional achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Yet, no research has documented…

Parents' interactions with their children can have influential effects on children's language outcomes. Special supports may be needed however, when young children live in poverty and show developmental delays early in life. This study analyzed data for a subset of children enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS) programs and participating in a…

The federal Reading First grant project began with the 2003-2004 school year. Since then, many schools have entered the program to take on the challenge of improving their reading test scores. The Reading First model of instruction has been used to help promote school improvement efforts throughout the United States, so that students may reach the…

Research Findings: Recent research has validated the power of evidence-based preschool interventions to improve teaching quality and promote child school readiness when implemented in the context of research trials. However, very rarely are follow-up assessments conducted with teachers in order to evaluate the maintenance of improved teaching…

This study describes the results of an evaluation of the Individualized Learning Intervention, a mentoring program for early childhood educators. This mentoring program includes 3 components: Mentor Teacher Seminar, Mentor teachers supporting professional development of Protege teachers throughout the school year, and Mentor coordinator meetings…

The federal Early Head Start (EHS) program began in 1995, and a randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of 17 EHS programs. In all, 3,001 low-income families (35% African American, 24% Hispanic, and 37% White) with a pregnant women or an infant under the age of 12 months were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group (with…

This report documents the activities undertaken to evaluate the federally sponsored prekindergarten program for educationally disadvantaged preschoolers conducted by the Saginaw, Michigan school district. This program, funded by Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, was serving 502 children at the beginning of the 1993…

Early Head Start, a federal program begun in 1995 for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, was evaluated through a randomized trial of 3,001 families in 17 programs. Interviews with primary caregivers, child assessments, and observations of parent-child interactions were completed when children were 3 years old.…

Twenty-six Head Start preschool classrooms participated in a yearlong intervention designed to link the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework with authentic assessment practices. Teachers in intervention and pilot classrooms implemented an assessment approach that incorporated the use of a curriculum-based assessment tool, the development of…

The Westinghouse Learning Corporation and Ohio University carried out a study on the impact of Head Start for the Office of Economic Opportunity. The main inquiry of the study concerned the difference between Head Start first, second, and third graders and non-Head Start first, second, and third graders in intellectual and social-personal…

Seven priorities in bilingual education research are suggested: effectiveness of bilingual education programs; second language acquisition; acquisition and use of minority languages in the United States; cultural and other differences between students and school; readiness for instruction in the second language; student assessment and diagnosis;…

Twenty-two exemplary and innovative Projects to Advance Creativity in Education (PACE), funded by Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965, which serve the role of demonstrating the feasibility of innovations in a local context, are summarized in this evaluation booklet of Title III ESEA Idaho Projects for the 1970 through 1973 school…