Informing the Performance-Based Contract Between First 5 LA and LAUP: Child Progress in the 2011-2012 Program Year

A central objective of LAUP is to support early learning and development. To meet this objective, First 5 LA and LAUP have begun to track the progress of children during their year in LAUP programs as an element of the performance-based contract between the two organizations. Beginning in the 2009–2010 program year, Mathematica Policy Research worked with First 5 LA and LAUP to identify the domains of development First 5 LA and LAUP sought to track, to identify appropriate measures, and to set targets for progress across the year to be applied in the 2011–2012 program year. During the 2011–2012 program year, as part of Phase 5 of the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS-5), Mathematica conducted direct child assessments to determine whether the agreed upon targets were met. In this report, we describe children’s progress from fall to spring and report on children’s progress relative to the targets for the 2011–012 program year.