We are seeing another burst of evidence and arguments that early learning matters, with researchers backing up what is happening in Washington State by finding public-private partnerships, quality and curriculum help.
The Daily Progress in Virginia reports on a new study that says quality early learning leads to measurable achievement later in “Report Stresses Early Education for Area Children.
“Key study recommendations include:
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Increase the quality and accessibility of childcare and family support services in the area;
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Improve the ability to measure school readiness and program accountability; and
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Strengthen public-private partnerships to capitalize on the area’s resources.” – Daily Progress, 8/6/09.
It also highlights interesting findings about how pre-k can close achievement gaps.
“Data showed that of those kindergarten students with such program experience, 93 percent and 95 percent, respectively, achieved the required assessment benchmarks in the fall and the spring. Those who did not had 72 percent and 84 percent passing rates.
Economically disadvantaged students who had pre-kindergarten education also fared just as well, if not better, than non-disadvantaged students who did not partake in those programs.”
A couple of hours North, Montgomery County Public School received more kudos for its early learning success in a new book, “Leading for Equity.” ($26.95 at Amazon.com), according to The Early Ed Watch Blog.
What jumped out at me was mention of perhaps early learning’s hottest topic: math matters, even in preschool.
But (Montgomery County Public School Superintendent) Weast also recognized that to access those classes and perform well on those exams, students first needed strong reading and math skills - and the development of those crucial skills must begin not in high school, when it was often too late, but in early childhood. – Early Ed Watch, 8/6/09.
I may have saved the best for last because University of Chicago professor James Heckman eloquently explains why early learning is one of the best tools to fight poverty on NPR’s “Tell Me More.”
“And as a result of a series of studies over my whole lifetime, actually, I found that the effectiveness of early intervention is much, much higher than many of the interventions that American society has traditionally adopted to try to remediate, to patch up, to fix the problems that arise from disadvantaged environments.”
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“Because in the long run, when we really understand how to solve the problem of poverty, we're going to understand that disadvantage in the early years and disadvantage through childhood is increasingly playing a role in producing the two societies that America is becoming.” – “Tell Me More” 8/5/09.
(Thanks to Early Ed Watch for highlighting this interview.)