The Impact of Texas HIPPY on School Readiness and Academic Achievement: Optimal Full Propensity Score Analysis Approach.

This study was intended to evaluate the impact of socioeconomically disadvantaged children's participation in the Texas home instruction for parents of preschool youngsters (TXHIPPY) program on their school readiness and academic achievement for grades K to eight. The study used a quasi-experimental design and applied optimal full propensity score matching (PSM) to address the evaluation concern of the impact of the TXHIPPY program on HIPPY participants' academic achievement compared to non-HIPPY participants. This study targeted former HIPPY participants and tracked them in the Dallas independent school district (DISD) database through grade levels. Data were obtained by administering istation's indicators of progress (ISIP) for kindergarten, TerraNova/SUPERA for grades K to two, and State of Texas assessments of academic readiness (STAAR) for math and reading for grades three to eight. HIPPY and non-HIPPY groups were matched using propensity score analysis procedures. The findings show that the TXHIPPY program positively influences kindergarten students to start school ready to learn. The findings of math and reading achievements suggest that HIPPY children scored at the same level or higher than non-HIPPY children did on math and reading achievement, indicating that TXHIPPY program has achieved its goal of helping children maintain long-term academic success. However, the study findings also indicate that the impact evaluation framework must be designed with attention to higher-level factors beyond academic achievement that influence children's academic success. This work is vital to policymakers, program managers, and evaluators in the field of home visiting interventions in which it guides implementing rigorous evaluation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]