Implementation of the Head Start National Reporting System: Spring 2007 (Appendix)

Over four years of implementation of the Head Start National Reporting System, a direct assessment of 4-year-olds in the year prior to kindergarten, Mathematica staff visited multiple nationally representative samples of programs, observed child assessments, and interviewed program staff. This report chronicles the last round of data collection in spring 2007, before the National Reporting System was terminated. In its studies of regional, tribal, and migrant Head Start programs over the years, Mathematica found that assessors met or exceeded certification standards, and children generally reacted well to the assessments. Mathematica has recommended that Head Start provide further information to help programs select, interpret, and use child assessment data.