Head Start enters adulthood

Article Abstract:

President Bush has recently requested a $500 million increase in funding for Head Start, a move that reflects the high regard such early enrichment programs enjoy. But are they really successful? That such programs help prepare children for kindergarten and first grade seems supported by research results, but long-term benefits have not been clearly demonstrated. The initial goal of Head Start was the 'inoculation' of children against their environments by brief intervention, with IQ measurements as a major component. Studies showed, however, that IQ gains dissipated, becoming invisible by third grade. Supporters still defended the programs as good preparation for children entering the school system. Another argument in favor of these programs is that they foster long-term improvements in motivation and self-worth. Results of research studies do not support these latter claims either, however. Much of the positive impression of Head Start may come from the reports of one project, the Perry Preschool Project, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The study involved 121 black at-risk children, and showed higher rates of high school graduation and employment, and lower arrest and teen pregnancy rates, after almost 20 years for children who received early intervention. This study, however, may have been unusually intensive and its results may have been exaggerated. Nor have they been replicated. The lack of knowledge about what works in preschool education may be the result of measurement of the wrong variables and the fundamental difficulty in measuring the teacher-child relationship. The field of early-intervention research is not rigorous, and findings have been inconclusive in many cases. But Head Start, in spite of its shortcomings, remains a popular program. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Education, Social policy, Preschool children, Socially handicapped children, Disadvantaged children, United States. Department of Health and Human Services, Education, Preschool, Preschool education, United States. Administration for Children and Families. Head Start Bureau

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Does Rochester without math add up?

Article Abstract:

The University of Rochester's plan to cut costs by ending its graduate math program has caused serious concern in the mathematics community. The American Mathematical Society has assembled a task force to find a way to prevent the closure.

Management, Universities and colleges, Study and teaching, College administration, Mathematics, University of Rochester

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