The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Head Start on early literacy skills relevant to school readiness of English language learners compared to their peers. The comparisons of literacy outcomes were conducted between English language learners and non-English language learners when both groups participated and were not in Head Start. A total of 47 covariates were involved in propensity score analysis, and average treatment effects for the treated individuals were used to estimate the literacy outcome differences from the comparisons. The results indicated that early literacy outcomes of English language learners and non-English language learners were significantly different in recognizing alphabetic letters and rhyming words regardless of whether or not both English language learners and non-English language learners attend in Head Start. Being in Head Start did not contribute to reducing the gap between English language learners and non-English language learners. Finally, the limitations of this study and future directions for research and practice are discussed.
AkamatsuN (2003) The effects of first language orthographic features on second language reading in texts. Language Learning53: 207–231.
2.
AugustDShanahanT (2006) Developing Literacy in Second Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
3.
AunioPAubreyCGodfreyR. (2008) Children’s early numeracy in England, Finland and People’s Republic of China. International Journal of Early Years Education16: 203–221.
4.
AunioPHautamakiJSajaniemiN. (2009) Early numeracy in low-performing young children. British Educational Research Journal35: 25–46.
5.
BarnettWSBrownKShoreR (2004) The universal versus targeted debate: should the United States have preschool for all?New York: the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Available at: http://nieer.org/resources/policybriefs/6.pdf
6.
BlairC (2002) School readiness: integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children’s functioning at school entry. The American Psychologist57: 111–127.
7.
BlairCDiamondA (2008) Biological processes in prevention and intervention: promotion of self-regulation and the prevention of early school failure. Development and Psychopathology20: 899–911.
8.
BodrovaELeongDJ (2007) Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. 2nd ed.Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
9.
BrookhartMASchneeweissSRothmanKJGlynnRJAvornJStürmerT (2006) Variable selection for propensity score models. American Journal of Epidemiology163: 1149–1156.
10.
BurgessSRHechtSALoniganCJ (2002) Relations of home literacy environment (HLE) to the development of reading-related abilities: a one-year study. Reading Research Quarterly37: 408–426.
11.
BusAGvan IJzendoornMHPellegriniAD (1995) Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: a meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research65: 1–21.
12.
CaliendoAKopeinigS (2008) Some practical guidance for the implementation of propensity score matching. Journal of Economic Surveys22: 31–72.
13.
ChangFCrawfordGEarlyD. (2007) Spanish-speaking children’s social and language development in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Early Education and Development18: 243–269.
14.
CoplanRJBerberAMLagace-SeguinDG (1999) The role of child temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly14: 537–553.
15.
CoyneMDKame’enuiEJSimmonsDC (2001) Prevention and intervention in beginning reading: two complex systems. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice16: 62–72.
16.
CurrieJThomasD (1995) Does Head Start make a difference?American Economic Review85: 341–364.
17.
DemingD (2009) Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: evidence from Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics1: 111–134.
18.
DickinsonDKMcCabeA (2001) Bringing it all together: the multiple origins, skills, and environmental supports of early literacy. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice16: 186–202.
19.
DuncanGJDowsettCJClaessensA. (2007) School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology43: 1428–2446.
20.
EdwardsD (1999) Public factors that contribute to school readiness. Early Childhood Research and Practice1: 1–11. Available at: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v1n2/edwards.html (accessed 24 August 2000).
21.
EvansMShawDBellM (2000) Home literacy activities and their influence on early literacy skills. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology [Revue Canadienne De Psychologie Expérimentale] 54(2): 65–75.
22.
GalinskyE (2006) The Economic Benefits of High-Quality Early Childhood Programs: What Makes the Difference?Washington, DC: The Committee for Economic Development.
23.
GarcesEThomasDCurrieJ (2002) Longer-term effects of Head Start. American Economic Review9: 999–1012.
24.
GarciaG (2000) Bilingual children’s reading. In: KamilMLMosenthalPBPearsonPDBarrR (eds) Handbook of Reading Research. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, Vol. 3, pp. 813–834.
25.
GauntlettEHugmanRKenyonP. (2001) A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Community-Based Prevention and Early Intervention. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services.
26.
GevaEYaghoub-ZadehZSchusterB (2000) Understanding differences in word recognition skills of ESL children. Annals of Dyslexia50: 123–154.
HairEHalleTTerry-HumenE. (2006) Children’s school readiness in the ECLS-K: predictions to academic, health, and social outcomes in first grade. Early Childhood Research Quarterly21: 431–454.
29.
HammerCSMiccioAW (2001) Bilingual preschoolers. The ASHA Leader6(21): 6.
30.
HammerCSMiccioAW (2006) Early language and reading development of bilingual preschoolers from low-income families. Topics in Language Disorders26: 302–317.
31.
HammerCSLawrenceFRMiccioAW (2003) Exposure to English before and after entry into HS: bilingual children’s receptive language growth in Spanish and English. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism11: 30–56.
32.
HammerCSLawrenceFRMiccioAW (2007) Bilingual children’s language abilities and early reading outcomes in Head Start and kindergarten. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools38: 237–248.
33.
HansenBB (2004) Full matching in an observational study of coaching for the SAT. Journal of the American Statistical Association99: 609–618.
34.
HansenBB (2007) Optmatch: flexible, optimal matching for observational studies. R News7: 17–24.
HeckmanJIchimuraHSmithJ. (1998) Characterizing selection bias using experimental data. Econometrica66: 1017–1098.
37.
HernánMABrumbackBRobinsTM (2000) Marginal structural models to estimate the causal effect of zidovudine on the survival of HIV-positive men. Epidemiology11: 561–570.
38.
HojnoskiRLSilberglittBFloydRG (2009) Sensitivity to growth over time of the preschool numeracy indicators with a sample of preschoolers in Head Start. School Psychology Review38: 402–418.
39.
KimS (1999) The effects of storytelling and pretend play on cognitive processes, short-term and long-term narrative recall. Child Study Journal29: 175–191.
40.
KlingnerJArtilesAJ (2006) English language learners struggling to learn to read: emergent scholarship on linguistic differences and learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities39: 386–389.
41.
KlingnerJKArtilesAJBarlettaLM (2006) English language learners who struggle with reading: language acquisition or LD?Journal of Learning Disabilities39: 108–128.
42.
LeeK (2011) Impacts of the duration of Head Start enrollment on children’s academic outcomes: moderation effects of family risk factors and earlier outcomes. Journal of Community Psychology39: 698–716.
43.
LesauxNKSiegelLS (2003) The development of reading in children who speak English as a second language. Developmental Psychology39: 1005–1019.
44.
LewitEMBakerLS (1995) School readiness. Future of Children5: 128–139.
45.
LindseyKAManisFRBaileyCE (2003) Prediction of first-grade reading in Spanish-speaking English-language learners. Journal of Educational Psychology95: 482–494.
46.
LudwigJPhillipsD (2008) The long-term effects of Head Start on low-income children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences40: 1–12.
47.
MalacovaELiJBlairE. (2008) Association of birth outcomes and maternal, school, and neighborhood characteristics with subsequent numeracy achievement. American Journal of Epidemiology168: 21–29.
48.
MasonJM (1980) When do children begin to read: an exploration of four-year-old children’s letter and word reading competencies. Reading Research Quarterly15: 203–227.
49.
MushelJC (2001) The relationship between kindergarten achievement and preschool experience (Master’s Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI). Available at: http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2001/2001mushelj.pdf
50.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2011) National Household Education Surveys Program of 2011. US Department of Education.
51.
PellegriniAD (1984) Children’s play and language: infancy through early childhood. In: YawkeyTDPellegriniAD (eds) Child’s Play and Play Therapy. Lancaster, PA: Technomic, pp. 45–58.
52.
PerryDG (1999) A study to determine the effects of pre-kindergarten on kindergarten readiness and achievement in mathematics. Master’s Thesis (ED430701, Retrieved from ERIC database), Salem-Teikyo University.
53.
RamaniGBSieglerRS (2011) Reducing the gap in numerical knowledge between low- and middle-income preschoolers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology32: 146–159.
54.
RobertsGMohammedSSSharonV (2010) Reading achievement across three language groups: growth estimates for overall reading and reading subskills obtained with the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey. Journal of Educational Psychology102: 668–686.
RosenbaumPRRubinDB (1983) The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika70: 41–55.
57.
RoskosK (1990) A taxonomic view of pretend play among four- and five-year old children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly5: 495–572.
58.
RoskosKNeumanS (1998) Descriptive observations of adults’ facilitations of literacy in young children’s play. Early Childhood Research Quarterly8: 77–98.
59.
RubinDB (1974) Estimating causal effects of treatments in randomized and nonrandomized studies. Journal of Educational Psychology66: 688–701.
60.
ScarboroughHS (2001) Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: evidence, theory, and practice. In: NeumanSBDickinsonDK (eds) Handbook of Early Literacy Research. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 97–110.
61.
ScarboroughHSDobrichWHagerM (1991) Preschool literacy experience and later reading achievement. Journal of Learning Disabilities24: 508–511.
62.
ScarboroughJSDobrichW (1994) On the efficacy of reading to preschoolers. Developmental Review14: 245–302.
63.
SchumacherREwenDHartK. (2005) All together now: state experiences in using community-based child care to provide pre-kindergarten. Paper prepared for the conference “Creating a National Plan for the Education of 4-Year-Olds,” February. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy. Available at: http://www.brookings.edu/es/research/projects/wrb/200502lombardi.pdf
64.
ShadishWRCookTDCampbellDT (2002) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
65.
SnowCEBarnesWSChandlerJ. (1991) Unfulfilled Expectations: Home and School Influences on Literacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
66.
StuartEA (2010) Matching methods for causal inference: a review and look forward. Statistical Science25(1): 1–21.
67.
TaylorD (1983) Family Literacy: Young Children Learning to Read and Write. Exeter, NH: Heineman.
68.
US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (2009) About the office of Head Start. Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/about/index.html (accessed 17 September 2009).
WanzekJVaughnS (2007) Research-based implications from extensive early reading interventions. School Psychology Review36: 541–561.
73.
WardenBA (1998) A study to determine the effectiveness of preschool on kindergarten readiness and achievement. Master’s Thesis (ED425821, Retrieved from ERIC database), Salem-Teikyo University.
74.
WeinbergerJ (1996) A longitudinal study of children’s early literacy experiences at home and later literacy development at home and school. Journal of Reading Research19: 14–24.
75.
WestJMaloneLHulseyL.; Administration for Children and Families (DHHS), Office of Planning, and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2010) Head Start children go to kindergarten. ACF–OPRE Report, 15December. Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.
76.
WhitehurstGJEpsteinJNAngellAL. (1994) Outcomes of an emergent literacy intervention in Head Start. Journal of Educational Psychology86: 542–555.
77.
WilliamsMRaskH (2003) Literacy through play: how families with able children support their literacy development. Early Child Development and Care173(5): 527–533.
78.
WinslerADíazRMEspinosaL. (1999) When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children attending bilingual preschool. Child Development70: 349–362.
