Volume 12, Number 2 (Spring) 1977
Barnow, Burt S., and Glen G. Cain. 1977."A Reanalysis of the Effect of Head Start on Cognitive Development: Methodology and Empirical Findings." Journal of Human Resources 12(2):177-197.
The effect of the Head Start program on cognitive achievement is examined with two objectives in mind. First, we clarify the use of statistical models to evaluate programs that deal with nonrandom assignments to "treatment' and "control" groups, and we show the conditions for unbiased estimation of program effects. Second, we present a refined set of empirical estimates of Head Start effects, using multiple regression techniques. The data used are from the Westinghouse Learning Corporation study, and our results generally support their pessimistic findings, although some qualifications are in order.
The authors are, respectively, Research Economist, ASPER, U.S. Department of Labor, and Professor of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. We wish to express our gratitude to Arthur S. Goldberger and the editor and referees of this Journal for helpful comments. This work was supported by the U.S. Office of Education (Grant No. OEG-0-72-1384) and by the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, with funds granted by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare pursuant to the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X