In 1997, Head Start launched the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), a study of a national random sample of Head Start programs, designed to describe characteristics, experiences, and outcomes for children and families served by Head Start. In 2000, FACES began data collection on a new national cohort of 2,800 children and their families in 43 Head Start programs. This report focuses on the 2000 sample, as well as on Kindergarten followup data from the 1997 sample. For the 2000 sample, there were 4 phases of data collection following 3- and 4-year-olds from program entry, through 1 or 2 years of program experience to the Spring of their kindergarten year. Data collection included child assessment, parent interviews, teacher and staff interviews, and classroom observations. The report presents findings with regard to Head Start children's cognitive and social-emotional development, Head Start programs' use of curricula, quality in Head Start classrooms, relationship of program and classroom characteristics to children's outcomes, relationship of family and parental characteristics to children's outcomes, and predictive validity of the FACES cognitive and behavioral measures. Findings indicated that children entered Head Start at a great disadvantage to other children. Although the gap between Head Start children and the general population of preschool children narrows during the Head Start year on key components of school readiness, Head Start children enter kindergarten still substantially below national averages. Head Start classrooms continued to be of good quality across a wide variety of indicators. Several program factors were related to child outcomes, including higher teacher salaries and the use of an integrated curriculum. Head Start involvement moderated negative effects of violence, depression, and other risk factors on children's cognitive and social-emotional status. (Contains 21 references.) (KB)