These short, web-based publications from the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs summarize the results and implications of recently published studies evaluating the effects of intervention programs and practices.

Understanding the Head Start Impact Study (2010)
The 2010 report of the Head Start Impact Study is an important follow-up evaluation of the only national investigation that attempts to answer the question: What are the program’s impacts, as measured at the end of first grade, for children who received Head Start services when they were 3 or 4 years of age? Overall, the study was sound scientifically, but there has been considerable debate over what its findings mean. Further analysis of the data will undoubtedly support additional conclusions, but this brief offers a research-based interpretation of the findings presented in the Impact Study itself.
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Can Professional Development for Teachers Enhance Language and Literacy Environments for Preschoolers? (2009)
Early childhood educators continue to seek ways to boost positive but modest child outcomes typically associated with Head Start program enrollment and to increase opportunities for low-income children in preparation for school entry. This study found that Head Start teachers who participated in the intensive Literacy Environment Enrichment Program (LEEP) intervention improved significantly in providing classroom supports for language and literacy development.
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Do State PreK Programs Improve Children’s Pre-Literacy and Math Learning? (2008)
States have high aspirations for the investments they are making in pre-K education. The findings from this study indicate that these hopes are largely justified, although the evidence does not yet explain why some programs are more successful than others.
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Do Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Affect Children’s Verbal Skills? (2008)
Racial and economic disparities in academic achievement continue to exist throughout our school systems. Findings from this study suggest that, for some groups of children (in particular, African Americans), moving out of disadvantaged neighborhoods may be one means of shrinking those gaps. In addition, it is possible that the negative effects of living in disadvantaged neighborhoods—as well as the positive effects of leaving them—may not show up until several years have passed.
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Do Nurse Home-Visiting Programs Have Lasting Benefits for Mothers and Children? (2008)
States are increasingly turning to nurse home-visiting programs to improve the well-being of disadvantaged children and families. The findings from this study provide additional support for the conclusion that intensive, high-quality nurse home-visiting can have beneficial effects on families and that it can improve children’s achievement in the most vulnerable families.
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Do Early Childhood Programs Have Lasting Effects on Children? (2008)
This study demonstrates that long-term cognitive and behavioral impacts from an infant-toddler program are possible. It illustrates that positive impacts of an early childhood education program for low-birthweight infants and toddlers can be sustained until young adulthood. The study also illustrates positive, long-term effects are possible when an infant-toddler intervention is implemented in multiple sites, an important finding given that it is sometimes difficult to successfully implement demonstration projects across multiple and diverse communities.
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