Witness appearing before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education

Scott Himelstein
Chairman, CEO, National Even Start Association

Testimony regarding the William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program Efficacy and Appropriations

April 28, 2005

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to appear before you this morning. As Chairman of the National Even Start Association, I appreciate the support of this Committee; in particular, you Mr. Chairman, Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Kennedy. Your support of the nearly 1300 Even Start programs nationwide has allowed us to provide strong, effective literacy instruction and support services to over 50,000 families this year.

We, at the National Even Start Association, agree with the Administration and the Secretary's stand that all programs should be held accountable to provide an opportunity for all children to be successful in education.

As recent data indicates Mr. Chairman, there is good news to report about the results in Even Start. I want to share with you some evidence of success from Even Start projects across the nation. There are three main points that I would like to make. First, Even Start families are more disadvantaged than families served by other federally funded programs. Secondly, despite their complex backgrounds, children are closing the achievement gap, are making comparable gains to other children, and are successful in school. And lastly, their parents are making progress in advancing their own education and in supporting their children in school.

According to the US Department of Education, no other education program serves a population as disadvantaged as the one served by Even Start Family Literacy programs. Even Start families are significantly more disadvantaged than Head Start families. Nearly 90 percent of Even Start families had an income below the federal poverty level with nearly half of all parents having incomes below $6000. Even Start parents are far more educationally disadvantaged than families served by other programs. Only 15 percent of parents had a high school diploma or GED when they enrolled in Even Start, compared with over 70 percent of Head Start parents. Even Start families are four times less likely to be employed than Head Start families when they join Even Start. A significant body of research exists showing that children who grow up in high-risk environments face considerable challenges as they enter school.

There is good news about results for Even Start families. In 2001, Congress mandated that each state develop indicators of program quality. This accountability system at the State level is documenting the success of the Even Start program.

The results of state data show that Even Start children, though more disadvantaged at the start, are accelerating their growth in order to achieve at comparable levels when they enter school and at the end of the primary grades. We know from the research that children who aren't talked to or who aren't engaged in language interactions with their parents, are going to have low levels of vocabulary and conceptual development. This affects later reading and academic achievement. Even Start not only provides high quality early childhood education, but provides parenting education where parents learn how to support their children's learning. In Florida, more than 80 percent of the children who participated in Even Start were deemed "Ready for School" by the state's pre-Kindergarten screening compared to a statewide average of 75 percent. In New York State, 80 percent of preschool children enter Even Start with literacy scores below the 50th percentile on the Preschool Language Scale-a well-regarded and rigorous assessment. Yet, over 75 percent of those children make more than a one year gain in language development during a year of Even Start preschool--including the children whose native language is not English and children with disabilities. The achievement gap for young children in New York is narrowing. In Georgia, over 85 percent of the Even Start children read on grade level by the end of the primary grades - nearly double the statewide average of 41 percent. In North Carolina, over 75 percent of the pre-k children participating in Even Start programs displayed at least a 1.5 month gain for each month they were enrolled in the program on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.; and 83 percent of children in grades K -2 were reading at or above grade level. Illinois reports that an average of 97 percent of their children in kindergarten through grade 3, are reading at or above grade level. And in a study of 450 Even Start families in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Texas, 69 percent of Even Start children exceeded expected levels in Academic Performance.

The parents of these children are also making gains. Research shows that in settings where young children's language development thrives, parents are aware of their role in providing their children with models of language that are more conventional for effective communication. We also know from the research that parents who are successful in school themselves, or those who have had successful experiences interacting with school activities, are more likely to help their children with school related experiences in the future. We know that the literacy level of the parent is also important. The average literacy level for adults entering a New York Even Start program is below the 8th grade level; yet 84 percent of the adults participating in Even Start increased their literacy levels by at least a grade level last year. They were twice as likely as adults in other adult education programs to get their GEDs. Importantly, over 70 percent of these same parents showed documented gains in providing their children with educational support at home and in school. The North Carolina Department of Education reports that adults participating in Even Start demonstrated statistically significant gains in reading, mathematics, and language usage as assessed with the TABE and CASAS. And inn Georgia, 89 percent of the participating adults make at least a one grade level gain in literacy.

Perhaps most important, the gains by Even Start participants are long lasting. A University of North Carolina longitudinal study, with a national sample of 30 sites receiving Even Start funds, showed that 60 percent of the Even Start children who accelerated their literacy growth during the program, continued to be at or above expected levels in reading, 80 percent were average or above in language and 73 percent were on level in math. In fact, Even Start students continued to have higher average test scores than other students randomly selected from the same classes, after leaving the program. Two-thirds of their parents also continued their educations and attained GEDs or high school diploma. And a follow-up study in Colorado, found, that in families who had been out of Even Start program for an average of 3.5 years, children were performing at higher education levels than their peers. Over half of these Even Start children were reading above grade level (53%) and the remaining children (47%) were reading at grade level. This is while less than one-third (28%) of comparison children were reading above grade level, 44% reading at grade level and 28% were reading below grade level.

Mr. Chairman, all Even Start programs are required to have an independent local evaluation each year. Our local project in San Diego is an example of the many success stories for Even Start. Over 90 percent of the children, aged three and four, demonstrated gains in reading readiness and 100 percent of the children in grades K-2 were promoted to the next grade. Over a four- year period, 50 percent of the adults enrolled in the Even Start program attained a GED or high school diploma. Thirty percent became economically self-sufficient.

We, in Even Start understand and recognize the need for continuous improvement of our programs. Congress addressed improvements for Even Start in 2001 with the Literacy Involves Family Together Act. Since that time, there have been many improvements in Even Start, including the requirement to use scientifically based reading research and to improve the qualifications for Even Start instructional staff.

By the end of last year, working with the U.S. Department of Education and the key architects of the President's No Child Left Behind Act, all Even Start programs participated in training to redesign and improve the quality of preschool education. This year similar trainingbegins to help programsimprove the quality of interactive literacy. Even Start, unlike Reading First and Early Reading First, is the only program targeted to provide parenting education to help parents support their children's literacy and to begin literacy education of young children at birth. Even Start provides a critical link to support the most disadvantaged parents to exercise their roles as parents in seeking educational opportunities for their children-the type of informed parental choice that No Child Left Behind is all about --that is, helping parents exercise the option to move their children from low performing schools and take advantage of supplemental tutoring services and other supports to help their children in reading and mathematics.

But we know from surveying state leaders that the cuts in funding to Even Start made last year have already impacted program implementation at the local. States have reduced the number of programs they are able to fund. Others have reduced the amount of funds to each local program. The number of families that are able to benefit from family literacy services is thereby reduced and children are left behind. Even Start is not just an early childhood program. It is a comprehensive program that improves parents' literacy skills, provides parents with the knowledge and skills to understand and support their children's learning (parenting education) ,and, concurrently, provides early childhood education. Research tells us that children's learning in general, and reading achievement in particular, are positively influenced by parental involvement. Results from almost every National Assessment of Educational Progress have indicated that children who are involved regularly with their families in literacy-related activities have higher levels of reading achievement than students whose parents are not actively involved in reading.

Perhaps the greatest testimony of the effectiveness of Even Start at the community level is that local resources do supply over 50 percent of the cost of Even Start programs. I know of no other federal education program that receives this kind of investment from the local community. To continue to leverage this kind of local support, it is critical to continue federal funding. If local people did not think this program was effective, they would not commit that level of support in fiscal times such as these.

In light of all of the evidence I've provided, I therefore urge your continued support of the William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy program.

AWARDS:

• Community Leader of the Year, San Diego Union Tribune, 2005
• William F. Goodling Award for outstanding contributions in family literacy, 2002
• Citizen of the Year for Phi Delta Kappa, 2001
• Nominated Outstanding Young Citizen, San Diego Chamber of Commerce, 1990