The impact of significant family life events on child educational outcomes was examined for a sample of 204 families in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, whose children began kindergarten in 1992, 1993, or 1994. These children and families were part of the Head Start Transition Demonstration Project, a longitudinal study to assess benefits of services like those provided by Head Start to families and children during the first few years of public school. Families were interviewed, during which parent questionnaires--styled similarly to Sarason et al (1978) Life Event Scale--were completed. The most frequently occurring events were change in employment, death in the close family, gaining a new family member, and separation of the responding parent and her/his partner. Preliminary results included a significant negative relationship between the total number of life events a child experiences and his or her achievement scores. Children who experience more major life events achieve less in school. (Contains 10 references.) (BGC)