Marilyn Musgrave: “I rise in support of H.R. 2210. While the resources spent for Head Start have been very significant, hard-earned dollars…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2210. While the resources spent for Head Start have been very significant, hard-earned dollars of our taxpayers, the results have been mixed. Studies indicate that children who are enrolled in Head Start make some progress, but are still lagging far behind the national average in school readiness. Let me share some research from Health and Human Services. In 1997, Head Start children entered the program at an average of the 19th percentile in early learning knowledge areas and graduated in the 23rd percentile. That left Head Start students 27 percentile points behind the national average. In the 1997-98 school yard, Head Start students actually decreased performance in letter recognition. In 2000, Head Start children entered the program at an average of the 21st percentile in early learning knowledge areas and graduated in the 24th percentile. That left these Head Start children more than 25 percentile points behind the national average. Sadly, in the 2000-2001 school year, the Head Start students made no gains in letter recognition. A recent publication by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services again concludes that both higher- and lower-achieving Head Start children have low scores overall and show limited progress after completion of the Head Start program, another way of saying they enter and leave the Head Start program with below average skill and knowledge areas.”