A Program Evaluation Comparison of a Head Start and Public School Kindergarten Reading Curriculum

In order for students to be successful in school, strong foundations are needed at the earliest grades. In a district in central Mississippi, many students entering public school from Head Start were not able to identify alphabet letters or produce letter sounds, based on results of the 2011 Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Head Start and Kindergarten programs' curricula in order to identify differences in teaching strategies. The conceptual framework was guided by Bjarte and Samuelsson's work on vertical articulation. Research questions were posed to address how curricula were aligned and what techniques Head Start teachers used to prepare students for Kindergarten. A mixed-methods design was utilized. For the quantitative portion, data from curricular materials from archived STAR results for 272 students were analyzed with a chi-square analysis. For the qualitative portion, 4 Head Start teacher interviews were coded and common themes were identified. Findings revealed that language-arts instructional strategies varied between Head Start and Kindergarten. The study resulted in the creation of Head Start 2 Kindergarten (HS2K), a training program, whereby Head Start and Kindergarten teachers work together to align standards and teaching methods. Recommendations include evaluating HS2K by having joint professional development for Head Start and Kindergarten. Results may produce positive social change by preparing students for Kindergarten using vertical articulation, thus improving their foundational literacy skills for academic achievement and global competiveness.