Does head start yield long-term benefits?

Using a new data set, the National Longitudinal Sun,ey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). this paper examines the relationships between Head Start and school suspensions, grade retentions, and scores on math achievement tests. The body of previous work that has studied the effects of Head Start on child outcomes has examined relatively young children or small samples from compensatory, preschool programs other than Head Start. Using the NLSY97 helps to remedy some of the data issues because it is a large nationally representative data set and contains outcomes lip to the teenage years. The estimates indicate that Head Start participation does not have long-term benefits. This finding is compatible with past work showing that compensatory preschool programs that are long in duration and intensive are more likely to improve participants' outcomes.