HHS incorporated many of the lessons learned from this study in the Early Head Start program. Impact Evaluations Are the Most Definitive Method for Determining a Program’s Effect on Its Participants

Many researchers consider impact evaluations to be the best method for determining a program’s effect on its participants because they isolate a program’s contribution from the effects of other factors that could have influenced participant outcomes. 1). 2). Impact Evalutions Are Being Used to Assess the Effectiveness of Early Education Programs

The two programs most focused on early childhood education—Head Start and Even Start—are currently being studied using impact evaluations with an experimental design. HHS is conducting impact studies of Head Start and Early Head Start, and Education is using an impact evaluation to study Even Start. Both of these programs are intended to improve children’s school readiness and educational and developmental outcomes, for example by encouraging enhanced literacy. The Head Start Study

The Head Start evaluation is a $28.3-million, nationally representative, longitudinal impact evaluation. It will cost about $21 million and take 6 years to complete. 3). Different Types of Studies Inform HHS and Education About Administered Programs

HHS and Education promote and sponsor many types of studies, other than impact evaluations, that can provide a wide variety of data valuable to program managers and policymakers. Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services for comment, and they did not provide comments.
Why GAO Did This Study

This report examines the use of impact evaluations to determine program effectiveness for early childhood programs. GAO (1) describes the value of conducting impact evaluations, (2) describes their current use in evaluating selected early childhood education and care programs and (3) discusses the value of other types of early childhood education and care studies the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education promote and sponsor.

What GAO Found

GAO found that many researchers consider impact evaluations to be the best method of determining the extent to which the program itself is causing participant outcomes. Two federal programs that focus on early childhood education--Head Start and Even Start--are now being studied using impact evaluations. Both of these programs are intended to improve children's school readiness and educational outcomes, including enhanced literacy. HHS is conducting two studies on its Head Start program, which will cost about $28.3 million, and Education will conduct a $21 million study on its Even Start program. Finally, HHS and Education promote and sponsor many types of research and evaluation studies. The value of a varied study agenda is that it provides agencies with answers to a broad range of questions about program operation and allows them to align research with the focus of the program.