$167 BILLION of Failure Since 1965!

With a solid track record of FAIL!!, one would think that the Fed program could be eliminated.

Not in ObozoLand!

Two weeks after President Obama declared the Head Start federal program for preschoolers off-limits for Republican budget-cutters in the House, members of Congress along with those who have studied the 46-year-old Great Society legacy are beginning to ask the obvious question: Why Head Start? Has Obama read the impact study of his own Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Head Start....?

Oh? Failure? It's forrrrrrrrrr the CHILLLLLLLLRRRRRRRRRRRENNNNNNNNN! How can this be?

...“the advantages children gained during their Head Start and age 4 years yielded only a few statistically significant differences in outcomes at the end of the first grade for the sample as a whole.”

Statistically zip. Zero. Nada. Nothing.

...the study assessed 19 kindergarten outcomes and 22 first-grade outcomes, with no measurable effects on nine measures of language and literacy, two measures of the Spanish language, and literacy, and three measures of math skills. ("Head Start Impact Study: Final Report," pp. 4-10-4-13, Exhibit. 4.2.) In the cases of the 22 first-grade outcomes, none of them showed a measurable impact at the 5% level. ("Head Start Impact Study: Final Report," pp. 4-10-4-13, Exhibit 4.2.]

“By the end of the first grade,” noted the study, “only a single cognitive impact was found for each cohort [participant]. Head Start group children did significantly better on the PPVT (a vocabulary measure) for 4-year-olds and on the Woodcock-Johnson III test of Oral Comprehension for the 3-year-olds.” ("Head Start Impact Study," Executive Summary, p. iv.")

Although the report did find several positive aspects to participation in the Head Start program, its conclusions was “the benefits of access to Head Start at age 4 are largely absent by first grade for the program population as a whole [emphasis added].” ("Head Start Impact Study: Final Report," p. xxxviii.)

Let's see if Paul Ryan and John Boehner have any balls.