Other Policy Resources

Various states have conducted statewide evaluation of Even Start and other family literacy programs, where the state or other supporters have funded them. Pennsylvania's, Colorado's and Nebraska's evaluation note positive and significant outcomes for participants. Pennsylvania has sent a sample letter to all of the state's family literacy programs to customize and send, with the report, to their local legislators.

In addition, Michigan, Arizona, Texas and Pennsylvania have produced overviews of family literacy programs in their states, including impressive participant outcomes.

Two reports from Texas demonstrate the effectiveness of Even Start family literacy. The Value of Texas Even Start Programs and Follow-Up Data from Texas Even Start provide data that support the efficacy of the Even Start model. Texas also has compared participation and outcomes in adult education and Even Start programs. Initial findings show that Even Start adults participated for more hours and that a greater percentage of adults made gains than those participating in adult basic education. Research is neede to validate this comparison and identify factors that influence an adults' level of participation.

Follow-up data on older children who have been in family literacy programs are provided in Is Family Literacy Achieving Its Intended Outcome? to demonstrate their success in school.

The Rand Review shows that the educational attainment of mothers, as well as neighborhood poverty, is more important than ethnicity or immigration status in determining children's school achievement.

The Brookings Institute demonstrates the importance of parental and preschool child interventions in eliminating racial and ethnic gaps in school achievement

CNN's Dana Bash on the future of Even Start

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Web page last modified November 7, 2007