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Designation Renewal System

Data on Improving Quality in Head Start Programs

One of the hallmarks of the Head Start program is the application of research to give our children the absolute very best in high quality and effective early childhood education. These new studies provide evidence that, since the last reauthorization, quality in Head Start classrooms has increased across the country.

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Early Implementation of the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS)

This report discusses an independent evaluation, commissioned by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). It was designed to learn about the implementation of DRS, including whether the conditions that put grants into competition provided a meaningful distinction in program quality between grantees that were required to compete and those that were not.
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DRS by the Numbers (2011–2016)

Learn more about DRS. This report provides extensive data, including characteristics of the programs required to compete and the competition outcomes across all four cohorts of DRS implementation. Learn more about past findings by grant size, geography, and grant type, including Tribal grants.
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Report on Head Start Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) Data

This report summarizes key information from CLASS Pre-K® monitoring reviews in fiscal years (FY) 2012–2015. National, regional, and state CLASS® scores are presented, as well as information about the characteristics of grantees, teachers, children, and classroom activities that were observed. Throughout the report, questions are posed to help readers think about the efforts their own programs are making toward quality improvement.
Teacher and two children playing with blocks on floor.

Tracking Quality in Head Start Classrooms

This report examines data from three successive cohorts (2006, 2009, and 2014) of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) for trends in observed classroom quality and some teacher characteristics. The brief addresses key research questions.

Read more:

HeadStart.gov

official website of the Administration for Children and Families

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