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The Research

This page includes a collection of key research studies on Head Start and Early Head Start. These studies highlight how the programs support children’s learning, strengthen families, and make a lasting difference in communities.  For even more research and evaluation on Head Start, visit the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) at the Administration for Children and Families.  This list is not exhaustive. If you know of a credible, evidence-based study that should be added, please send it to Catherine Welsh. We’re always looking to expand and strengthen this resource.

Aikens, N., Kopack Klein, A., Tarullo, L., & West, J. (2013). Getting ready for kindergarten: Children's progress during Head Start. OPRE Report 2013-21b. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/getting_ready_kindergarten.pdf
Anderson, M. L., Ramnath, S., & Butcher, K. F. (2010). The Effects of Head Start on Parenting and Child Health. University of California, Berkeley. https://www.nber.org/papers/w15471
Barnett, W. S., & Hustedt, J. T. (2005). Head Start's lasting benefits. Infants & Young Children, 18(1), 16–24. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001163-200501000-00004
Barr, A., Gibbs, C. (2022). Breaking the Cycle? Intergenerational Effects of an Antipoverty Program in Early Childhood. Journal of Political Economy, 130 (12): 3253–3285.
Bauer, L., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2016). The long-term impact of the Head Start program. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-long-term-impact-of-the-head-start-program/
Bauer, L., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2020). The long-term impact of Head Start on human capital and economic self-sufficiency. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-long-term-impact-of-head-start-on-human-capital-and-economic-self-sufficiency/
Bitler, M., Domina, T., and Hoynes, H. (2014). “Experimental Evidence on Distributional Effects of Head Start.” NBER Working Paper. No. 20434.
Center for American Progress. (2024). Project 2025 would eliminate Head Start, severely restricting access to child care in rural America. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025-would-eliminate-head-start-severely-restricting-access-to-child-care-in-rural-america/
Currie, J., & Thomas, D. (1995). Does Head Start make a difference?. American Economic Review, 85(3), 341–364. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2118178 Deming, D. (2009). Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence from Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3), 111–134. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.3.111
Deming, D. (2009). Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence from Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3), 111–134. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.3.111
Feller, A., Grindal, T., Miratrix, L., and Page, L. C. (2016). Compared to what? Variation in the impacts of early childhood education by alternative care type. The Annals of Applied Statistics 10 (3), 1245–1285.
Garces, E., Thomas, D., & Currie, J. (2002). Longer-term effects of Head Start. American Economic Review, 92(4), 999–1012. https://doi.org/10.1257/00028280260344560
Gelber, A. and Isen, A. (2013). “Children’s Schooling and Parents’ Investment in Children: Evidence from the Head Start Impact Study.” Journal of Public Economics 101.
Green, B. L., Ayoub, C., Bartlett, J. D., & Furrer, C. (2014). The effect of Early Head Start on child welfare system involvement: A first look at longitudinal child maltreatment outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 42, 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.04.008
Government Accountability Office. (2019). Head Start: Action needed to enhance oversight of grantees’ data on classroom quality and teacher credentials (GAO-19-519). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-519
Heckman, J., Moon, S.H., Pinto, R., Savelyev, P., Yavitz, A. (2010). “The Rate of Return to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program,” Journal of Public Economics 94, 114-128.
Johnson, R. C. (2010). The impact of Head Start on longer-term outcomes. Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Paper no. 1398-11. https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp139811.pdf Lee, K. (2011). Impacts of the duration of Head Start enrollment on children's academic outcomes: Moderation effects of family risk factors and earlier outcomes. Journal of Community Psychology, 39(6), 698–716. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20456
Kline, P. and Walters, C. (2016). “Evaluating Public Programs with Close Substitutes: The Case of Head Start,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol 131/4, pages 1795-1848.
Lochner, L., and Moretti, E. (2004). “The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports.” American Economic Review 94/1.
Love, J. M., Kisker, E. E., Ross, C. M., Schochet, P. Z., Brooks-Gunn, J., Paulsell, D., ... & Brady-Smith, C. (2002). Making a difference in the lives of infants and toddlers and their families: The impacts of Early Head Start. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/making-difference-lives-infants-and-toddlers-and-their-families-impacts-early-head
Lumeng, J. C., Kaciroti, N., Sturza, J., Krusky, A. M., Miller, A. L., Peterson, K. E., & Reischl, T. M. (2015). Changes in body mass index associated with Head Start participation. Pediatrics, 135(2), e449–e456. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-1725
Montialoux, C. (2016). Revisiting the impact of Head Start. IRLE: Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. University of California: Berkeley.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). (2021). Evaluating Head Start: What we know about its long-term impacts. https://www.nber.org/digest/202104/evaluating-head-start-program-disadvantaged-children
Office of Head Start. (2023). Head Start Program facts: Fiscal year 2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/about-us/article/latest-program-facts
Phillips, D., Gormley, W., and Anderson, S. (2016). The Effects of Tulsa’s CAP Head Start Program on Middle-School Academic Outcomes and Progress. Developmental Psychology 52 (8): 1247-61.
Puma, M., Bell, S., Cook, R., & Heid, C. (2010). Head Start Impact Study: Final report. Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/head-start-impact-study-final-report
Puma, M., Bell, S., Cook, R., and Heid, C. (2012). Third Grade Follow-up to the Head Start Impact Study Final Report, OPRE Report # 2012-45, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
RAND Corporation. (2005). Early childhood interventions: Proven results, future promise. https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG341.html
Raver, C. C., Jones, S. M., Li-Grining, C., Zhai, F., Metzger, M. W., & Solomon, B. (2009). Targeting children's behavior problems in preschool classrooms: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(2), 302–316. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015302
Sabol, T. J., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (2014). The influence of low-income children's participation in Head Start on their parents' education and employment. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(1), 136–161. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21731
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Head Start Program Performance Standards (45 CFR Chapter XIII). Administration for Children and Families. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/policy/45-cfr-chap-xiii
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Head Start Program Performance Standards: Curriculum requirements (§1302.32). Administration for Children and Families. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/policy/45-cfr-chap-xiii/subpart-c-education-child-development-program-services#1302.32
Vogel, C. A., Xue, Y., Moiduddin, E., Kisker, E. E., & Carlson, B. L. (2010). Early Head Start children in grade 5: Long-term follow-up of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project study sample. Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-head-start-research-and-evaluation-project-ehsre-1996-2010
Walters, C. (2015). “Inputs in the Production of Early Childhood Capital: Evidence from Head Start.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 7/4.
Zhai, F., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Waldfogel, J. (2011). Head Start and urban children's school readiness: A birth cohort study in 18 cities. Developmental Psychology, 47(1), 134–152. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020783