Study Details | Pathways to Work

101052-Study of Head Start

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it is a high-attrition randomized controlled trial that does not demonstrate that the intervention and comparison groups were sufficiently similar before the intervention.

Intervention: Head Start

Population and employment barriers:

Parenting (Parents)

Services provided:

Childcare and/or early education

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

In Fall 2002, families that applied to enroll their 3- or 4-year-olds in Head Start were informed that the program was using a lottery system to offer access to Head Start that year. The applicant children were then randomly assigned to either the intervention group with access to Head Start or control group with no Head Start access. A total of 4,667 children were randomized, with 2,783 assigned to the intervention group and 1,884 to the control group.

Time period of study:

Children and their families were enrolled in the study in Fall 2002 and followed through Spring 2006.

Pathways only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

The study targeted low-income mothers seeking to enroll their kids in Head Start. Nearly half were married (45 percent in the Head Start group, and 47 percent in the control group). About a third were either Black, Hispanic, or White. One in three mothers had a high school education (34 percent in the Head Start group, and 33 percent in the control group). Nearly half of the mothers had some employment at baseline (49 percent in the Head Start group, and 49 percent in the control group).

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	30%
White	33%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	38%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Parents

100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed

49%

Participant education

Had a high school diploma or GED	34%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	38%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Local Head Start providers.

Intervention services:

The intervention group includes mothers whose 3- or 4-year-old was offered access to Head Start in Fall of 2002.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

The control group includes mothers whose child was not offered access to Head Start but could access other childcare services or arrangements.

Study publications

Puma, Michael, Stephen Bell, Ronna Cook, Camilla Heid, Gary Shapiro, Pam Broene, Frank Jenkins, Philip Fletcher, Liz Quinn, Janet Friedman, Janet Ciarico, Monica Rohacek, Gina Adam, and Elizabeth Spier (2010). Head Start Impact Study: Final report. OPRE Report No. 2010-08. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. Available at: https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/hs_impact_study_final.pdf

Yeh, Catherine T. H., and Geoffrey T. Wodtke (2023). The effects of Head Start on low-income mothers, Socius 9: Article 23780231231192392. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231192392

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

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