HEAD START IMPACTS
School Readiness
Head Start is the nation’s most successful school readiness program. School readiness
means children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children’s learning,
and schools are ready for the children who enter their doors.
School readiness for children in Head Start and Early Head Start is measured by the skills
set out in these five learning domains: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional
Development, Language and Literacy, Cognition (Math and Scientific Reasoning), and
Physical Development and Health. School readiness outcomes are assessed in the Fall,
Winter and Spring of each year.
In Idaho, in 2016, across all 5 domains, scores improved 47% from the Fall to
Spring assessments. Consequently, in all domains, 88.5% of Idaho Head Start 4-
year-olds were school ready at the end of the Head Start year.
The Head Start Advantage – Impacts
When disadvantaged children receive high-quality birth-to- five education, such as Early
Head Start plus Head Start, the return on investment can be as high as 13% annually.
