The Head Start Performance Measures

THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE HEAD START'S COMMITMENT TO RESULTS--AND TO DOCUMENTING OUR ACHIEVEMENT.

by James A. Harrell

Questions have been raised recently about Head Start Performance Measures--what they are and what they mean. This article provides an overview of these measures, the commitment they represent to quality and excellence in Head Start, and their implications for services provided to Head Start children and families.

What are the Head Start Performance Measures?

The Performance Measures are methods and procedures for assessing the quality and effectiveness of the Head Start program through outcomes for children and families and through program indicators. These findings will provide a snapshot of how well the Head Start program is performing nationally or regionally at a given point in time. The Performance Measures are a statement of the Head Start program's commitment to continuous improvement--an ongoing pursuit of excellence in achieving our ultimate goal: socially competent children who are ready to learn and ready to meet the challenges of life. They are Head Start's commitment to results--results translated into real terms like increased learning ability, better health, sound nutrition, stronger families, supportive communities, and efficiently run programs. They are Head Start's promise to the American taxpayers who foot the bill for this valuable effort.

• In Head Start, we are promising to:
  
• Enhance children's growth and development;
  
• Strengthen families as the primary nurturers of children;
  
• Provide children with educational, health and nutritional services;
  
• Link children and families to needed community services;
  
• Ensure well-managed programs that include parents in decision-making.

The Performance Measures will allow us to document our successes in achieving these five objectives.

A Conceptual Framework

The illustration on the following page provides a conceptual framework for the Performance Measures, showing how the measures are organized and, more importantly, how they relate to Head Start's ultimate goal of enhancing children's social competence. The pyramid illustrates how the five objectives identified above provide the support essential to realizing the goal of social competence in children.

The pyramid further highlights the relationship between what are processes (Objectives 3-5) and what are outcomes (Objectives 1 and 2), leading to the goal of social competence. Achieving these objectives--both process and outcome-based--is critical to the ultimate success of Head Start.

How Will the Head Start Performance Measures Be Used?

From a national perspective, the data that we track and report on a regular basis will be like a "report card." They will tell Federal staff, policy makers, budgeters, and others where we are making excellent progress and--just as important--where we need to improve. We will use the measures to hold ourselves accountable. They will shine a spotlight on areas where additional knowledge-development or training and technical assistance may be needed. And those data will also tell Congress and the American people what they are buying for their billion-dollar investment in Head Start.

In time, we hope that local Head Start programs will also adopt the pyramid as their own framework for self-assessment, for individual program goal-setting, and for tracking improvement. The real pursuit of excellence in Head Start will always be community-based, program-specific work.

In describing how the Head Start Performance Measures will be used, it is equally important to clarify how they will NOT be used. The Performance Measures will not be used as a yardstick for measuring program compliance, nor will they replace the Program Performance Standards.

The Program Performance Standards are the mandatory regulations which grantees and delegate agencies must implement in order to operate a Head Start program; they define the services that must be provided by Head Start programs. The Performance Measures, on the other hand, are tools to help us assess change the impact that Head Start is having in specific areas (e.g., health, literacy). The Performance Measures will help programs to document their successes, as well as areas for improvement. The measures also move beyond assessing individual programs to assessing how well the Head Start program is performing in a variety of areas, in a variety of locations, and over time. The Performance Measures will not be used to assess individual children or to single out individual programs as winners or losers.

How Can We Make the Head Start Performance Measures Work for Children and Families?

There are a number of ways in which the Performance Measures can benefit Head Start children and families (and others). As a whole, and from a national perspective, a focus on these specific results will give us an important tool that we can use to:

Clarify our purpose.
These measures lay out what we in Head Start have committed to accomplish.

Identify our opportunities.
Using these measures, we can assess both our successes and equally important--the efforts that have not been sufficient or effective. These areas present opportunities for increased attention and improved results.

Unify our efforts.
By setting out a results-oriented agenda, we can avoid the tendency to rush to our proverbial horses and ride off in all directions at once. By focusing on the desired result, we can work together and use our multiple resources to achieve a common goal.

Solidify our support.
By tracking progress on these measures over time, we will generate greater confidence in our achievements - from the community level to Congress. Without these objective measures, we will continue to face the problem of explaining ourselves to an often uninformed and sometimes unimpressed political constituency.

We plan to publish the report on the Head Start Program Performance Measures soon. It will be distributed to all Head Start programs and published electronically through the Head Start Bulletin Board. In the meantime, I hope that this article has helped to clarify what the Head Start Performance Measures are and how they will benefit Head Start children and families.

Performance Measures--Conceptual Framework

Child's Social Competence

1. Enhance children's growth and development
2. Strengthen families as the primary nurturers of children
3. Provide children with educational health and nutritional services
4. Link children and families to needed community services
5. Ensure well-managed programs that involve parents in decision-making

James A. Harrell is Acting Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families.