Follow-Up Data on Parents in Even Start Programs
in Texas, 2004 and 2005

Don F. Seaman, Research Scientist
and
Chia-Yin Chen, Research Associate

Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning
Texas A&M University

Because of concerns for demonstrating accountability in Even Start family literacy programs in Texas, staff in the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning designed a research project to document how investment of federal funds in Even Start provides returns on that investment. Since Even Start provides basic educational experiences to both parents and children, it was determined to first implement a pilot study to assess the impact of the program on the parents in 2003-2004. Data from the pilot test indicated that a more extensive study should be conducted on Even Start programs in the state. That research is found below.

1. With the assistance of the State Coordinator of Even Start in Texas, the research team acquired a list of all programs that were in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year of program operations ( 61).
2. All programs were assigned a number from 1 to 61.
3. Using a table of random numbers, a one-third sample (20 programs) was drawn for the study.
4. In the selected programs, coordinators were asked to identify all families who had departed their Even Start program since it had begun, for whatever reason. Those who had “dropped out” were included as well as those who could be classified as “successful” by meeting their own goals or those of the program. Then, all families were assigned a number from 1 to whatever was the total number.
5. During a state conference, and operating from another table of random numbers, the research team trained each local program coordinator in (1) how to use the table of numbers to select those families who would be in the project from their total list and (2) how to use the telephone survey that had been developed for this project.
6. Once telephone surveys from 30 families (or as many as the program staff could locate) had been acquired from each program, they were sent to the research team for analysis.

By May 1, 2005 data were acquired from 516 parents in the 20 randomly-selected Even Start programs in the original sample (100%). Nineteen (4%) of the respondents were males and 497 (96%) were females. These parents have been away from an Even Start program for an average of 2.6 years.

Education:

(Sample question and responses) How often did you help your children with their learning activities/homework?

Chi-square analysis of these results showed significance at the .01 level in the increase of the number of times parents help their children with learning activities. It means the likelihood of the increase occurring by chance is less than one time in a hundred, or 1%.

(Sample question and responses) How much did you read to your children?

Chi-square analysis of these results showed significance at the .01 level in the increase of the number of times parents read to their children.

Out of the 516 respondents, 170 (33%) obtained the GED or completed high school while in Even Start, and 120 (23%) of the respondents enrolled in further training or education after leaving the program. In many cases, these parents were the first in their family to ever enter post-secondary education or training.

Employment:

Ninety-two (18%) respondents indicated that they were employed before enrolling in Even Start. They worked for an average of 28.1 hours per week. The average salary was $195.53 per week.

Two hundred sixty-one (51%) were employed at the conclusion of this study. They worked for an average of 32.4 hours per week and the average salary was $260.79 per week.

The t-test statistic was run on the differences between the means of the hours and wages before and after their participation in Even Start to determine if significant increases were attained by the parents. Out of 67 respondents who were employed before they enrolled in Even Start and are employed now, significant increases were found in both hours and wages before and after their participation in Even Start.

The standardized gain for number of hours worked before and after parents’ participation in Even Start is 0.66. For amount of wages earned before and after Even Start it is 0.79. A standardized gain calculation reveals how much of an effect the intervention provided by the program had on the gains made by the participants, i.e., the higher the standardized gain, the bigger the impact of the intervention on the scores gains. The standardized gain is said to be small (.20), medium (.50), or large (.80). Therefore, for this group of parents, Even Start program had a medium effect upon the increases of hours made by the parents and a large effect upon the increases of wages. This cannot be interpreted that participation in Even Start caused this difference, but it can be said that a significant relationship exists between that participation and the change that occurred.

Further Training:

One hundred twenty (25%) of the respondents enrolled in further training or education after participating in an Even Start program. Thirty-six of the 120 parents (30%) entered into a community college while 13 (11%) enrolled in further training in the area of child care (mostly the CDA - Child Development Associate program).

Public Assistance:

Before enrolling in Even Start, 266 (52%) of the parents in the study received public assistance, whereas only 178 (35%) parents were receiving public assistance at the time the study was conducted. That is a 33% reduction in the number of families receiving public assistance.

Volunteer:

Before enrolling in Even Start, 121 (23%) respondents volunteered in organizations, mostly elementary schools. They volunteered for an average of 3.5 hours per week.

Two hundred and thirty-seven (46%) respondents were volunteering at the conclusion of the study, again mostly at schools. This means that the number of parents who volunteer in schools has almost doubled since they participated in Even Start. They were volunteering for an average of 3.18 hours per week. Although there is no way to put a monetary value on this participation, the positive impact for schools must be significant.

Conclusion: Based upon the results of this investigative research, there is not another program that produces these kinds of results for the small amount of federal funds that are spent on them.