Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2019) (FACES 2019)

For over two decades, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) has been an invaluable source of information on the Head Start program and the children and families it serves. FACES 2019 is the next phase of this important endeavor, and extends a previously conducted data collection to a new sample of Head Start programs, families, and children. Mathematica Policy Research and its partners, Juárez and Associates, Educational Testing Service, and consultants Margaret Burchinal and Martha Zaslow , developed the instruments and data collection procedures to assess the school readiness skills of 2,400 children and survey their parents and Head Start teachers in fall 2019 and spring 2020 (Classroom + Child Outcomes Core) and conduct observations in 720 Head Start classrooms and survey Head Start staff in spring 2020 and spring 2022 (Classroom Core).

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Head Start Participation

Detailed Description

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2019, or FACES 2019, is the seventh in a series of national studies of Head Start, with earlier studies conducted in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2014. (FACES 2014 is entered as NCT03705377). It includes nationally representative samples of Head Start programs and centers, classrooms, children and their families. Data from surveys of Head Start program and center directors, classroom teachers, and parents provide descriptive information about program policies and practices, classroom activities, and the background and experiences of Head Start staff and families. Classroom observations are used to assess the quality of Head Start classrooms. Children in the study participate in a direct assessment that provides a rich picture of their school readiness skills at different time points.

FACES 2019 extends a previously conducted data collection to a new sample of Head Start programs, families, and children. As with FACES 2014-2018, FACES 2019 features a "Core Plus" study design; Core studies will capture key indicators; a potential Plus study affords the flexibility to address new policy and programmatic issues. As with previous rounds, FACES 2019 will collect information from a national probability sample of Head Start programs to learn what progress Head Start has made toward meeting program performance goals.

The goals of FACES 2019 are to describe: (1) the quality and characteristics of Head Start classrooms, programs, and staff for specific program years; (2) the changes or trends in the quality and characteristics of classrooms, programs, and staff over time; and (3) the factors or characteristics that predict differences in classroom quality. The study also will focus on describing (4) the school readiness skills and family characteristics of children who participate in Head Start during specific program years, (5) the changes or trends in children's outcomes and family characteristics over time, and (6) the factors or characteristics at multiple levels that predict differences in children's outcomes. FACES 2019 provides the mechanism for collecting data on nationally representative samples of programs, children, and families served in Regions I through X in order to provide the Office of Head Start, other federal government agencies, local programs, and the public with valid and reliable national information.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 6228

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Lizabeth Malone, Ph.D.; Phone Number: (202) 484-9220; Email: LMalone@Mathematica-Mpr.com
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Nikki Aikens, Ph.D.; Phone Number: (202) 484-9220; Email: NAikens@Mathematica-Mpr.com

Study Locations

• United States
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20002
      • Recruiting
      • Mathematica Policy Research
      • Contact: Lizabeth Malone, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 202-484-9220; Email: lmalone@mathematica-mpr.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Head Start children (and their families), Head Start programs, Head Start centers, Head Start classrooms/teachers

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The Head Start programs participating in FACES 2019 were a probability sample selected from among 3,400 study-eligible programs on the 2017-2018 Head Start Program Information Report (PIR). To be eligible for the study, a program had to be
• In one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia
• Providing services directly to children ages 3 to 5
• Not be in imminent danger of losing its grantee status.

Within those classrooms, eligible classrooms needed to

-have at least one Head Start child enrolled

Exclusion Criteria:

• American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs (Region XI) or Migrant and Seasonal Worker Head Start programs (Region XII) were not eligible. Other ACF studies (AI/AN FACES-NCT040046965 and MSHS-NCT03116243) focus on those programs.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Head Start children and families; children (2,400), parents (2,400), classrooms/teachers (720), program directors (180), center directors (360)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Children's physical health	Indicators of physical well-being will be assessed by weighing (using kilograms) and measuring children's height (using centimeters), and combining these measurements to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) in in kg/m^2.	1 year
General health status	Indicators of physical well-being will be assessed by parent report to a survey item on if child's health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor	1 year
English proficiency	Children's English language proficiency will be assessed during week-long site visits using Preschool Language Assessment Survey (preLAS 2000): Simon Says and Art Show. See Duncan and DeAvila for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Language-English receptive vocabulary	Indicators of language will be assessed during week-long site visits using Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fifth Edition (PPVT-5). See Dunn 2019 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Language-Expressive vocabulary	Indicators of language will be assessed during week-long site visits using Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (EOWPVT-4 or EOWPVT-4 Spanish-Bilingual Edition). See Martin and Brownell 2010 and Martin 2012 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Language-Spanish receptive vocabulary	Indicators of language will be assessed during week-long site visits using Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test - Fourth Edition (Spanish-Bilingual Edition; ROWPVT-4:SBE). Please see Martin 2012 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Literacy-Letter word knowledge	Indicators of literacy will be assessed during week-long site visits using Letter-Word Identification Test from Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement-Fourth Edition. Please see Schrank et al. 2014 and Woodcock et al. 2004 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Literacy-early writing	Indicators of literacy will be assessed during week-long site visits using Spelling Test from Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement-Fourth Edition. Please see Schrank et al. 2014 and Woodcock et al. 2004 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Literacy-Letter sounds knowledge	Indicators of literacy will be assessed during week-long site visits using ECLS-B Letter Sounds. Please see Snow et al. 2007 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Mathematics	Indicators of mathematics will be assessed during week-long site visits using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) preschool mathematics assessment of children's understanding of relative size, ordinal numbers, and pattern matching; number recognition; and the children's ability to count, recognize shapes, add, and solve word problems. Please see Snow et al. 2007 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Mathematics	Indicators of mathematics will be assessed during week-long site visits using the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement-Fourth Edition/Batería III Woodcock-Muñoz (Applied Problems Test). Please see Schrank et al. 2014 and Woodcock et al. 2004 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Executive function	Indicators of executive function will be assessed by the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS). The MEFS is a standardized and adaptive assessment administered on a touch-screen tablet with child-friendly graphics, avatars, and child-directed instructions. The MEFS provides an objective assessment of children's self-regulation, particularly cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control. See Carlson and Zelazo 2014 for more information on the task.	1 year
Social-emotional development	Indicators of social-emotional development will be assessed using teacher report of several items on children's positive and problem behaviors. Please see the FACES 2014 User's Manual (Kopack Klein et al. 2017) for more information on the scores and technical information.	1 year
Social-emotional development-cognitive/social behaviors	Indicators of social-emotional development will be assessed using assessor report children's cognitive/social behaviors during the assessment time, using the Leiter International Performance Scale-Third Edition Examiner Rating Scale. The Leiter comprises eight subscales that examine children's approach to the assessments, their engagement with the materials, and their ability to attend to and regulate their physical and emotional responses during the assessment tasks. Please see Roid et al. 2013 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Social-emotional development - Approaches to learning	Indicators of social-emotional development will be assessed using teacher report of approaches to learning using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Class of 1998 (ECLS-K). The items assess a child's motivation, attention, organization, persistence, and independence in learning. Please see U.S. Department of Education 2002 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	1 year
Classroom quality-teacher child interactions	Indicators of classroom quality will be assessed using the the PreK Classroom Assessment Scoring System. The Pre-K CLASS assesses the qualities of interactions between teachers and students in classrooms and measures aspects of interactions related to children's early academic achievement and social competencies. Please see Pianta et al. 2008 for more information on the scores and technical properties.	One-day observation in March-May 2020, March-May 2022
Classroom quality-global classroom environment	Indicators of classroom quality will be assessed using a shortened form of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R), a global rating of classroom quality based on structural features of the classroom (Harms et al. 2005). The items in the short form represent the strongest 21 items identified by researchers in a large-scale study (Clifford et al. 2005). Please see Harms et al. 2005 and Clifford et al. 2005 for more information on the scores and measure technical properties.	One-day observation in March-May 2020, March-May 2022

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
• Collaborators: Department of Health and Human Services; Children's Bureau - Administration for Children and Families; Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation
• Investigators: Study Director: Lizabeth Malone, Ph.D., Mathematica Policy Research; Principal Investigator: Nikki Aikens, Ph.D., Mathematica Policy Research; Principal Investigator: Louisa Tarullo, Ed.D., Mathematica Policy Research

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Duncan, S.E., and E. DeAvila. Preschool Language Assessment Survey 2000 Examiner's Manual: English Forms C and D. Monterey, CA: CTB/McGraw-Hill, 1998.
• Dunn, D. M. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fifth Edition. Manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc., 2019.
• EOWPVT-4: Martin, N., and R. Brownell. Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-4th Edition. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications, 2010.
• EOWPVT-4:SBE: Martin, N. Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-4th Edition: Spanish-Bilingual Edition. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications, 2012.
• ROWPVT-4:SBE: Martin, N. Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition: Spanish-Bilingual Edition. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications, 2012.
• Schrank, F., K. McGrew, and N. Mather. Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Achievement. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
• Snow, K., L. Thalji, A. Derecho, S. Wheeless, J. Lennon, S. Kinsey, J. Rogers, M. Raspa, and J. Park. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), Preschool Year Data File User's Manual (2005-06). NCES 2008-024. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2007.
• Woodcock, Richard W., Ana F. Munoz-Sandoval, Kevin McGrew, Nancy Mather, and Fred Schrank. Bateria III Woodcock-Munoz. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing, 2004.
• Carlson, S. M., & Zelazo, P. D. (2014). Minnesota Executive Function Scale: Test Manual. Reflection Sciences, Inc. St. Paul, MN.
• Kopack Klein, A., B. Lepidus Carlson, N. Aikens, A. Bloomenthal, J. West, L. Malone, E. Moiduddin, M. Dang, M. Hepburn, S. Skidmore, S. Bernstein, A. Kelly, F. Hurwitz, A. Edwards, H. Zhou, and G. Lim. Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (2014) User's Manual. Report submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, 2017.
• Roid, G.H., L.J. Miller, M. Pomplu, and C. Koch. Leiter International Performance Scale-3rd Edition. Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting, 2013.
• U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), Psychometric Report for Kindergarten through First Grade. NCES 2002-05. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2002.
• Pianta, Robert, K. LaParo, and B. Hamre. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K Manual. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, 2008.
• Harms, T., R.M. Clifford, and D. Cryer. Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale: Revised Edition. New York: Teachers College Press, 2005.
• Clifford, Richard, Oscar Barbarin, Florence Chang, Diane M. Early, Donna Bryant, Carollee Howes, Margaret Burchinal, and Robert Pianta. What Is Pre-Kindergarten? Characteristics of Public Pre-Kindergarten Programs. Applied Developmental Science, vol. 9, no. 3, 2005, pp. 126-143.

Helpful Links

• To learn more about FACES and access reports/products, please visit the FACES ACF website.
• To learn more about FACES and access reports/products, individuals may also visit the Mathematica study website.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 2, 2019
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): June 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): June 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 30, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): June 3, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 7, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 6, 2019
• Last Verified: November 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: children; parents; Head Start; child health; child nutrition; child development; child care; school readiness; families; parenting skills; early childhood education; curriculum; child rearing
• Other Study ID Numbers: 50515A

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: In the future, FACES 2019 archived data will be available for access.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will become available within 2 years of the completion of each study wave.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Applications for access to restricted-use data file include completing and adhering to a User Agreement.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No