Invest Early: Early Childhood Initiative. Year 7 Evaluation Summary

Wilder Research, in conjunction with the Invest Early leadership team and staff, is conducting a longitudinal and cost-benefit evaluation of the program. Annual reports document the implementation and assessment of Invest Early and outcomes for the service system, families, and children. Invest Early is effective in preparing low-income students with multiple risk factors for school success when delivered in sufficient quantity. Highlights of this year seven summary include: (1) Home learning environments, which are associated with higher school readiness scores, improve significantly for Invest Early families during their participation; (2) Kindergarten entry results show that Invest Early children perform better than their low-income comparison peers (58% vs. 52% proficient, where proficiency is defined as achieving 75% of the total points), and they continued to narrow the gap with the higher-income group this year; (3) More Invest Early students were ready for kindergarten this year than in all previous years; and (4) Efforts within the Invest Early communities to improve conditions for school readiness systemically may be gaining momentum and benefiting all low-income students. [For "Invest Early: Early Childhood Initiative. Year 6 Evaluation Summary," see ED612509.]