The Pre-K Achievement Gap
Good Education just reviewed a recent survey presented at the annual conference for theNational Association for the Education of Young Children in which two-thirds of kindergarten teachers say the majority of their students start school without knowing basic preschool concepts like the alphabet.
According to the survey, only 6% of kindergarten teachers said that their students were well prepared academically at the beginning of the year. Many students did not know how to hold a pencil or write their name. Less than 9% of teachers said their incoming students’ oral language skills were good.
The article does make some incorrect implications, like the idea that college educated parents are often working so much they may not spend enough time reading to their children. While they may be working longer hours and spending less time with their children than they should,