First 5 LA Study Shows Positive Outcomes for Children Attending Family Literacy Programs

The evaluation studied how children who participated with a parent in Family Literacy Initiative program activities performed on measures of school participation and achievement relative to children who participated in Los Angeles Unified School District's School Readiness Language Development Program.

It showed that students who participated in the Family Literacy Initiative had higher attendance rates and performed better on the California Standards Tests in English language arts and math for grades 2 through 5 than did students who participated in the comparison group.

The Family Literacy Initiative is a comprehensive program to promote language and literacy development, parenting knowledge and skills, and economic self-sufficiency among low-income families in Los Angeles County. Family Literacy programs mostly serve families whose primary language is not English.

"We are pleased to see that First 5 LA's significant investment in family literacy has made a real difference in Los Angeles County," said Craig A. Steele, interim chief executive officer for First 5 LA. "The positive results this study reveals should encourage further interest in this comprehensive parent-and-child program model from policymakers and program developers."

First 5 LA contracted with the American Institutes for Research to conduct the study which analyzed elementary school attendance, English language skills at kindergarten entry, achievement test scores and in English language arts and mathematics for students in grades 2 -5.

For more information on the Family Literacy Evaluation visit http://www.first5la.org/Community-Change/Program-Evaluations/Family-Literacy-Evaluation.