Income, Parental Education Linked To Pre-School Learning Gaps:

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Income, Parental Education Linked To Pre-School Learning Gaps

Posted: 12/20/11 05:35 PM ET

As states revamp their early childhood education to grab a slice of federal education dollars, some education experts are urging policymakers to look outside the classroom to improve educational opportunites for the country's youngsters.

Just as Obama awarded over $500 million in state grants to improve pre-K, the Brookings Institutionreleased a report arguing more attention paid to family background factors such as poverty and maternal education would help improve educational outcomes for our littlest learners.

The report argued that gaps in children's ability to learn begin long before they enter the classroom -- and that those gaps can have lasting effects on class mobility.

"If you look at kids with parents in the bottom 20 percent, their chances of remaining in the bottom