Evaluations which describe and measure the impact of programs assisted under Title I are mandated by law. This evaluation is to be used in the decision-making process. A review of the literature on evaluation and instrumentation shows a paucity of descriptive information on early childhood programs funded under Title I. On-going evaluations of…

The report presents an executive summary of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of a comparative study to assess the services being provided to handicapped preschool children by Project Head Start and non-Head Start programs. This study is Phase I of a larger study of the process of mainstreaming handicapped children in Head Start…

The final report contains narrative and evaluation information for the UNISTAPS Project, a family oriented noncategorical program for severely handicapped children birth to 4 or 5 years. Sections deal with such topics as preschool state guidelines, major strengths and weaknesses of the UNISTAPS Projects, interagency coordination in early…

Using the evaluation of day care programs at the state level as a basis, this document focuses on the methodology, logistics, politics, and benefits of state-wide efforts, particularly as these efforts relate to the impact of day care services on the children served. Since every evaluation effort must be individually tailored, and each state's day…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of teacher rating and observational techniques in the evaluation of a preschool program for emotionally disturbed children. Eleven children (nine boys and two girls) participated in the project occurring within the preschool program during one academic year. Teacher ratings were felt to…

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of a "packaged" language development program, on the general cognitive, intellectual, and language development of preschool children. A selected basic language program (Buchanan Language Readiness Program) and supplementary materials (other language programs), were used to…

What needs to be done with preschool programs is to define specifically their desired product (the behaviors we want in the children) and to determine the optimal process by which this product can be brought about. Using an instrument called the Observation of Substantive Curricular Input in 1967-68, a coding system based on a series of 3-minute…

This approach to preschool education of the disadvantaged uses a teacher training program which was developed only after each component of the program had been empirically tested. Teachers were retrained through course work and workshops to teach disadvantaged preschool children. These teachers then taught mothers and older siblings of…

In order to investigate diffusion effects within families involved in an intervention program, 80 disadvantaged children were divided into four groups, three of which were made up of younger siblings of preschool children in the intervention program. In two of these three groups, the mother was also involved in the program. The fourth group was…

Papers presented at a symposium on "The Application of a Model for the Evaluation of Educational Products" are provided. The papers are: "A Model for the Evaluation of Educational Products" by Charles L. Bertram; "The Application of an Evaluation Model to a Preschool Intervention Program" by Brainard W. Hines; "An Evaluation Model for a Regional…

The guidelines for early childhood education programs in the State of Maryland are presented. The following topics are discussed: (1) the importance of early childhood education; (2) the goals of early childhood education; (3) family and community involvement in early childhood education; (4) factors to be considered in planning an early childhood…

Presented is the first of two volumes on evaluation findings for a preschool handicapped project with six objectives--to create public awareness on available services; to identify and locate all handicapped children, ages 0 to 4 years, 7 months; to provide diagnostic evaluation services; to provide preschool programs as a special target area; to…

This program, based on the Portage Project, serves 169 urban families with developmentally delayed children ages 0-6. In weekly visits, a specialist teaches parents to work with their children. Results indicate improvement in both children and parents. (SJL)

Studies examining the effectiveness of early intervention for infants and children with organic impairment and and developmental delay were reviewed using recently developed quantitative methods. Results suggest an accurate interpretation of the early intervention research literature cannot be made without consideration of specific design…

Reviews twelve experimentally-designed longitudinal studies of infant education programs. Suggests that the more intense programs, those that had more hours of contact with children and included parents and children, had more positive intellectual effects on the children, parent behaviors, and family life circumstances. (KH)