Intervention in Early Childhood: Links to School Success

We're often asked to demonstrate HIPPY's quantitative, research based effects. Below are highlights from a recent study developed by Dr. Angela Nievar, from the University of North Texas.

Research questions

Do students who have received a home visiting intervention program have significantly higher average reading scores than a comparable group of students, controlling for income and classroom quality?

Do students who have received an early childhood preschool program have significantly higher average reading scores than a comparable group of students, controlling for income and classroom quality?

In the Texas HIPPY program, 75% of families served are Hispanic, 18% are African American, 4% are Asian, 2% are Native American, and 1% is White. The median annual income of HIPPY families in Texas is $10,000, and almost 75% of parents surveyed had not graduated from high school.

The Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI) measures the effectiveness of the child’s language arts teacher in the third grade (m = 5.01, sd = 9.69). CEIs are calculated through the use of multiple regression and hierarchical linear modeling and widely used to hold schools, principals, and teachers accountable for student achievement (Bembry, 1997).

Our results concur with a meta-analysis of early childhood parenting intervention programs (van IJzendoorn, Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Juffer, F., 2003); intervention programs that involve the parent have a positive effect on at-risk children. Our analyses looked at the effectiveness of prekindergarten and home visiting programs, separately and combined, on third grade reading achievement. The majority of students in the HIPPY home visiting program also attended prekindergarten; hence the number of HIPPY-only students is too small to test. As expected, a preliminary analysis showed a significant association between the Classroom Effectiveness Indices (CEI) and TAKS reading test (r = .22, p < .001). Correlations between income and both the CEI and TAKS reading measures were, respectively (r = .04, p < .001, r = .08, p < .001).

The models in Table 1 provide insight into the combined effects of socioeconomic status, classroom quality, and early intervention within low-income Spanish-speaking families. It was of particular interest that prekindergarten alone was not an effective intervention for this group. The HIPPY program predicted higher scores on TAKS reading when combined with prekindergarten. A test of the HIPPY program, including students who were only in HIPPY and in both groups, was also significant.