Expert Panel Affirms Effectiveness of Even Start Literacy Program for Hispanic Families

Washington, DC – At a Capitol Hill briefing today sponsored by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., a panel of experts urged the next Congress to fully fund the Even Start family literacy program. The panel, which included former U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman and author of the Even Start program Bill Goodling, addressed the importance of Even Start for helping the lowest-income adults and children in the U.S. improve their reading and learning skills.

“The Even Start family literacy program is critically important for low-income families, nearly half of whom are Latino. Even Start helps parents fulfill their roles as their children’s first teachers, and has been highly successful in helping immigrant parents integrate, learn English, and help their children succeed in school,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.

Panel member Margarita Calderón, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist and Professor at Johns Hopkins University, presented the findings of a report by University of Missouri-Columbia professor Linda Espinosa, The Third National Even Start Evaluation and Latinos: Does the Data Distort Reality?, challenging a 2003 national Even Start assessment by Abt Associates which questioned the program’s effectiveness.

“The assessment relied almost exclusively on English-language tests to evaluate the reading, writing, and speaking skills of Spanish-speakers, and thus presents a distorted picture of literacy rates among Even Start participants. And by focusing solely on urban and Spanish-speaking participants, the assessment failed to provide a full evaluation of Even Start’s impact on non-Spanish-speaking ELLs [English language learners], migrants, Native Americans, and families in rural communities,” noted Calderón.

Panel member Maria N. Trejo, Ed.D., Administrator of the California Department of Education’s Even Start Office, spoke on Even Start’s success in California where new data show that Even Start third-grade students (the vast majority of whom are ELLs) outperformed all students and other ELL students on the California Achievement Test in Reading. For example, 41% of third-grade Even Start students scored at or above the 50th percentile in reading, compared to 36% of all students and 15% of other ELL students.

The Even Start budget, currently $99 million, has been cut by 60% over the last three years. Congress will soon consider competing proposals to either restore federal funding to the program or extend these cuts further, which would result in a drastic reduction of services.

In countering the assault on Even Start funding, Goodling noted that “eliminating or even reducing funding for Even Start will leave over 40,000 families without vital literacy or parenting services.”

During his presentation at the briefing, Goodling underscored the importance of the program to Latino and other minority populations. “Minority parents and children make up 70% of Even Start participants, 46% of whom are Latino. In Texas, the percentage of Latino participants grows to over 90%. Many of these are our newest citizens, in search of the English-language skills they need to obtain a job and support their children’s education.”

Noting current longitudinal Even Start research, Goodling added, “Research shows this population is gaining the most from Even Start programs. With this additional budget cut by the House or funding elimination by the Senate, those most in need of a family-oriented literacy program will find no support.”

For photos of the event, please call the NCLR Office of Public Information at (202) 785-1670. For a copy of the critique, the presentation of California Even Start data, or more information on the briefing, please call Miriam Calderón at (202) 785-1670 or please see:

###