Head Start’s Benefits Prove Hard to Measure

Despite vast evidence that early childhood education improves outcomes for students later in life, a recent report from the U.S. Department of Education concluded that there is little evidence to support measurable benefits of one specific early learning initiative: Head Start. Since its inception in the 1960s, the federal initiative has been lauded as an effective investment in young learners, but this report shows that none of nearly 100 existing studies on the program prove it to be successful in boosting student achievement — nor do they prove incompetence. (Hechinger Report)