Evaluation and Assessment

Head Start is required to complete two assessments that ensure programs provide high quality, comprehensive services to the children and families being served.  Every year a self-assessment is conducted that allows staff to look closely at their programs and make improvements based internal findings and recommendations.  Every three years, a Federal Review is conducted.

Head Start measures its outcomes for children.  Head Start four-year-olds perform above the levels expected for children from low-income families who have not attended center-based programs.  They develop a sense of structure and are better prepared for elementary school.  Head Start research is pioneering methods to evaluate these and other benefits to ensure that Head Start programs continue to be accountable to the families they serve and to the wider community.

Shelby County Head Start uses the LAP-3 Assessment.  Based on a task-analysis model results from the LAP-3 can be used to assist the teacher in lesson planning by incorporating information gathered from the assessment to guide instruction and classroom planning.

The LAP-3 is a criterion-referenced assessment that provides a systematic framework for observing the development of children functioning in the 36-72 month age range.  The purpose of this assessment is to assist early education staff in assessing children’s individual skill levels in seven developmental domains:  Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Pre-Writing, Cognitive, Language, Self-Help and Personal/Social.

The LAP-3 assessment system provides a wide range of reports on children and classrooms allowing teachers and administrators to make informed decisions on individualization as well on curriculum planning (including the learning environment, interactions with teacher and peers and the content of learning experiences).