The Even Start--Padres y Progreso program was a nationally funded program in Houston (Texas) designed to prepare young children to enter school not only by offering early childhood education, but also assisting their families with adult literacy/English as a second language, parenting skills training, and employment skills training. The program began in 1991-92, and by 1993-94, 71 families were participating. For the 1992-93 school year, demographic and testing data and literacy measures from 50 parents and their children were used to evaluate the program. As there was no national evaluation in 1993-94, alternate tests were used for adults and students. The 1994-95 evaluation used adults' scores on the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment from previous years and other program data. After four years of program implementation in the Tijerina Elementary School, participating adults made strides in language acquisition, literacy, and life and job skills. Children of participating families who enrolled in Tijerina Elementary School performed higher on the Pre-Language Assessment Scales on entering school than did a comparison group of students. (Contains 6 tables and 23 references.) (SLD)