America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005 (2005). Washington, DC: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (pdf)

School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps (2005).  To date, policymakers and practitioners have focused most attention on the gaps in achievement among school-aged children. And yet by many estimates sizable racial and ethnic gaps already exist by the time children enter kindergarten. Indeed, according to one report, about half of the test score gap between black and white high school students is evident when children start school. (pdf)

High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40 Summary  (2005) is one of the longest running and best known studies of the effects of preschool education. The study compares the lives of two groups of at-risk children, one group who had a high-quality preschool program in the 1960s and another who had no preschool program. (pdf)

The Carolina Abecedarian Project (ongoing) is a carefully controlled scientific study of the potential benefits of early childhood education for poor children. (Web-based)

Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSRE), 1996–2005 (2005) is a rigorous, large-scale, random-assignment evaluation of Early Head Start. The project was designed to carry out the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers for a strong research and evaluation component to support continuous improvement within the Early Head Start program and to meet the 1994 reauthorization requirement for a national evaluation of the new infant-toddler program. (Web-based)

Seven Things Policy Makers Need to Know about School Readiness, Revised and Expanded Toolkit (2005). State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network. (pdf)

Building the Foundation for Bright Futures: Final Report of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness (2005). Washington, DC: National Governors Association. (pdf)

Early Childhood Care and Education Research in Pennsylvania :
A Compendium of Research Conducted by Academic Researchers and in School Districts (2004). Compiled by Anita Kochanoff, Ph.D. and Commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Policy. (pdf)

Families as Primary Partners in their Child's Development & School Readiness (Hepburn, K., 2004). Baltimore, MD: Prepared for The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (pdf)

Building Culturally & Linguistically Competent Services to Support Young Children, Families and School Readiness (Hepburn, K., 2004).  Baltimore, MD: Prepared for The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Click here to read this publication. (pdf)

The State of Preschool; 2004 State Preschool Yearbook (2004). Rutgers University: National Institute for Early Education Research. (pdf)

On the Path to School Readiness: Key Questions to Consider Before Establishing Universal Pre-Kindergarten (2004).  Des Moines, IA: State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network (SECPTAN). (pdf)

Early Learning Left Out: An Examination of Public Investments in Education and Development by Child Age (2004).  Des Moines, IA: State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network (SECPTAN). (pdf)

Depression, Substance Abuse, and Domestic Violence: Little is Known About Co-Occurrence and Combined Effects on Low-Income Families (2004). New Synthesis: Depression, domestic violence, and substance abuse have deleterious effects on both parents and children. What are critically needed are two-generation strategies that address both the needs of adults and children simultaneously as well as the co-occurrence of these issues among vulnerable families. (pdf)

Changing Children’s Trajectories of Development (2003) is an evaluation of the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP).  RCCP is intended to  reduce aggression and violence in children and youth and enhance their classroom learning. (pdf)

Low Income and the Development of America's Kindergartners - Living at the Edge (2003). By the time they begin formal schooling, children in low-income families already lag significantly behind their more affluent peers academically, socially, and physically. This brief examines the well-being of children from across all incomes and race-ethnicity groups. (pdf)

Quality Early Learning - Key to School Success.  A First-Phase 3-Year Program Evaluation Research Report for Pittsburgh's Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) Bagnato, Stephen J.; Early Childhood Partnerships; SPECS; Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; The UCLID Center at the University of Pittsburgh (2002). In 1996, the Heinz Endowments, a nationally renowned Pittsburgh philanthropy organized the business, corporate, agency, and foundation sectors in an ambitious effort to expand quality early care and education programs and options for nearly 8,000 un-served children in 80 high-risk neighborhoods; full report. (pdf) (View Executive Summary)

A "Noble Bet" in Early Care and Education: Lessons from One Community's Experience (2002).  The Early Childhood Initiative (ECI), an ambitious effort launched in Pittsburgh in 1996 to provide high-quality early care and education services to at-risk children. (Web-based; pdf access)

Children’s Reading and Mathematics Achievement in Kindergarten and First Grade (2002). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics. (pdf)

Good Start, Grow Smart: The Bush Administration’s Early Childhood Initiative (2002). The Bush Administration has proposed a new early childhood initiative Good Start, Grow Smart to help States and local communities strengthen early learning for young children. This will ensure that young children are equipped with the skills they will need to start school ready to learn. (pdf)

Making Dollars Follow Sense: Financing Early Childhood Mental Health Services to Promote Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children (2002). New York, NY: Kay Johnson, Jane Knitzer and Roxane Kaufmann, National Center for Children in Poverty. (pdf)

Mental Health Services for Children: An Overview (June 2002). Washington, DC: Holly Kenny, Leah Oliver and Julie Poppe, National Conference of State Legislatures. (pdf)

Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families: The Impacts of Early Head Start (June 2002). Washington, DC: Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. (pdf)

No Child Left Behind Policy Brief: Literacy (2002). Denver, CO: Kristie Kauerz, Education Commission of the States. (pdf)

Ready to Enter: What Research Tells Policymakers About Strategies to Promote Social and Emotional School Readiness Among Three- And Four-Year-Old Children (2002). New York, NY: C. Cybele Raver and Jane Knitzer, National Center for Children in Poverty. (pdf)

Tracking the Well-Being of Children and Youth at the State and Local Levels Using the Federal Statistical System (September 2001). Washington, DC: Brett V. Brown, Child Trends, Assessing the New Federalism, Urban Institute. (pdf)

Building Their Futures: How Early Head Start Programs Are Enhancing the Lives of Infants and Toddlers in Low-Income Families, Summary Report (2001). Washington, DC: Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. (pdf)

Building Services and Systems to Support the Healthy Emotional Development of Young Children: An Action Guide for Policymakers (2001). New York, NY: Jane Knitzer, National Center for Children in Poverty. (pdf)

Caring for Infants and Toddlers: Analysis and Recommendations (2001). Los Altos, CA: The Future of Children, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. (Web-based)

From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, Zero to Three Introduction (2001). The Committee’s charge was to review what is known about the nature of early development and the influence of early experiences on children’s health and well-being, to disentangle established knowledge from erroneous popular beliefs or misunderstandings, and to examine the implications of the science base for policy, practice, professional development, and research. (pdf)

Step by Step: Incorporating Developmental Screening into Programs and Services for young Children  (2001). Chicago, IL: Birth to Three Project, The Ounce of Prevention Fund. (pdf)

Improving the Odds for the Healthy Development of Young Children in Foster Care (2001). New York, NY: Sheryl Dicker, Elysa Gordon, and Jane Knitzer, National Center for Children in Poverty. (pdf)

Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read (2001). Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. (pdf)

America’s Kindergartners: Findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (2000). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics. (pdf) (View this report in Web-based format)

A Good Beginning: Sending American’s Children to School With the Social and Emotional Competence They Need to Succeed (2000). Bethesda, MD: The Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network. (pdf)

Using Mental Health Strategies to Move the Early Childhood Agenda and Promote School Readiness (2000). New York, NY: Jane Knitzer, Carnegie Corporation of New York and the National Center for Children in Poverty. (pdf)

Promoting Resilience: Helping Young Children and Parents Affected by Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Depression in the Context of Welfare Reform (2000). New York, NY: Jane Knitzer, National Center for Children in Poverty. (pdf)

Building a Better System of Child and Family Indicators (1999). Washington, DC: Child Trends. (pdf).

Building Your Baby’s Brain: A Parent’s Guide to the First Five Years (1999). Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies, Inc. (pdf)

Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1999). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. (Web-based)

Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments (1998). Washington, Dc: Lorre Shepard, Sharon Lynn Kagen and Emily Wurtz eds., Goal 1 Childhood Assessments Resource Group of the National Education Goals Panel. (pdf)

Intergenerational Transfer of Literacy (1996). Commissioned paper for Family Literacy: Directions in Research and Implications for Practice. Washington, DC: Catherine Snow and Patton Tabors, U.S. Department of Education. (Web-based)