A longitudinal study was conducted to: (1) describe characteristics of verbal interaction of children from 3 to 6 years of age with their mothers and preschool teachers; (2) analyze similarities and differences in conversational styles of mother-child and teacher-child dyads at the child's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth year; and (3) explore the…

This meta-analysis explored how measuring student progress toward long vs. short-term goals affects achievement outcomes. Twenty-one controlled studies were coded in terms of measuring method (toward long- vs. short-term goals) and type of achievement outcome (probe-like vs. global achievement test). Analogues to analysis of variance conducted on…

Focusing particularly on messages transmitted by socializing agents in preschool settings, this exploratory study investigates (1) the incidence of communication events in which standards for achievement are expressed, (2) the nature of the standards, and (3) variations across settings in the nature of standard-setting events. The relationship of…

This report provides articles on several topics related to the education of young children. In the introduction High/Scope President David P. Weikart suggests that public investment in preschool education is a wise and economically sound social policy. New studies of the long term effects of preschool are demonstrating the staying power of early…

This evaluative report of a Head Start program discusses gains in academic achievement and social development of 248 preschool children as measured by standardized tests, parent questionnaires, and staff surveys. A pre- and postadministration of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was used as a basis for the measurement of student gains…

The Ypsilanti Perry Preschool Project was an experiment to assess the longitudinal effects of a 2-year preschool program designed to compensate for functional mental retardation found in some children from disadvantaged families. The program consisted of a daily cognitively oriented preschool program and home visits each week to involve mothers in…

Information for the second complete school year under the agreement between the Nevada Department of Education and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the orderly and equitable termination of the Johnson-O'Malley Program in the State of Nevada is presented in this annual report. Termination, over a 5-year period, of the student transportation and…

A total of 160 five-year-old children from Head Start-eligible families were assigned to two treatments during a 6-month Head Start program. The experimental group received the Environmental Academics Program for one to one and a half hours per school day, and the ongoing Head Start program for the balance of the day. The control group received…

Improvements in reading and oral language achievement by disadvantaged elementary-age students in England are reported in connection with a program of parental involvement in the classroom. A reading-at-home program, a neighborhood center for parents of preschoolers, and other collaborative school-parent-community activities are also described.…

Noting that Pennsylvania's current support of policies to promote school success for all children offers an opportunity to assess how well the state serves its children, identifies gaps in services, and enacts effective public policies to meet children's needs, this special Kids Count report describes effective practices to help Pennsylvania…

This report, a letter to the Chairman of the Education Task Force of the Committee on the Budget of the United States Senate, summarizes work the General Accounting Office (GAO) has completed from 1990 through 1997 addressing early childhood, elementary, and secondary education issues. The GAO has identified the need for improvement in the…

This publication presents a collection of true stories that demonstrate the ways in which children's, parent's, and staff's lives have been enriched as a result of their involvement with Project Head Start. The stories describe remarkable achievements of individuals, often made in the face of great disadvantages and difficult circumstances, which…

This newsletter theme issue includes five articles on migrant education and migrant students. "Creative Educational Opportunities for Migrant Students" (Abelardo Villarreal, Anita Tijerina Revilla) discusses the need to increase high school graduation rates among migrant students, the high dropout rate and low standardized test scores of…

This report describes capacity and needs assessments of youth services in the District of Columbia. The assessments were conducted by the Urban Institute, Georgetown University, and the University of the District of Columbia in the summer of 1999. D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams requested these assessments to help guide the allocation of additional…

This study examined the educational records of 36 children who met all or most of the criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and who were referred to special education in Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau (Alaska) school districts. Thirty of the children were found to have medical comorbidities independent of the findings generally associated…