PreK to Third Grade: To Play or Not to Play?

baby-84626_1280Should we test babies?  How else do you get the message across about the importance of preschool for brain development?  Even if you do test toddlers, there is disagreement over what to do about delayed development.  Some researchers argue persuasively that instructive play is the most effective strategy.  Others focus on the need to develop language skills in prescriptive ways.  Regardless of philosophy, where this learning occurs matters.

The Center for American Progress report  Examining Quality Across the Pre-school to Third Grade Continuum finds that gaps in learning are apparent at nine months and significant gaps are noticeable at 24 months.  By kindergarten , forty-eight percent of poor children meet school readiness levels while 75% of moderate to high income children are ready.  Children from low income families do attend preschools, but a study of these schools revealed quality gaps.

Five types of programs were evaluated using a 7 point scale from the Early Childhood Ratings-Revised.   The study found that access to high quality early childhood education is limited and varies by type and by racial and socio-economic background.  On average, all programs were above the minimal quality level (rating of 3).  None of the programs, however, achieved an average rating of five to qualify as ‘good quality’.

Even within the same type of program, there is a range of quality.  For example, the quality of Head Start programs for blacks on average, tends to be of much lower than for Head Start centers which enroll primarily white or Hispanic children.

  • public school centers (4.64)
  • private school (4.33)
  • child care centers (4.20)
  • Head Start programs (4.85)
  • Preschool and nursery programs (4.58).

The classroom experiences of children from preschool to grade 3 differ.  Children from low income families and children of color are less likely to receive instruction in crucial literacy and numeracy skills.  In order to close achievement gaps in the early grades, preschoolers need support to develop not only basic skills but also appropriate higher order thinking and problem solving skills.  In early elementary grades–kindergarten through second grade teachers appear to spend less time developing the higher order thinking skills that are critical for school success.

“By the end of kindergarten, children are expected to gain knowledge in letters, print recognition and phoneme awareness, recognize words, begin to read, spell, and write; and demonstrate increased vocabulary and knowledge of the world.” 

The report concludes that “Academic skills alone may not help students develop the skills they need …Standards such as sharing, self control and building relationships with peers and adults have generally been left out for elementary, middle and high school students”. 

The solutions are obvious but not easy.  Children from deprived backgrounds need access to high quality early education.  This will require greater investments at federal, state, and local levels.  Standards should be aligned and include consistent metrics and data systems to track access to quality between preschool and third grade.  Teacher preparation programs and professional development programs must incorporate information about children’s development in all domains to support higher order skill building.

The debate in the media challenges the critical thinking and problem solving standards introduced through the Common Core.  Supporters, however, decry the limitations of didactic teaching and learning strategies.  The operative words are ‘what children should know and be able to do’.  Not all children may reach any given standard, but the objectives for instruction and access to quality must be clear.  Instructional strategies will and should vary.  Teacher preparation and development programs must focus on teachers’ content knowledge, developing effective problem solving and and higher order skills teaching strategies along with the methods to  develop the social and emotional skills children need to be successful.

The problems are obvious.  The learning goals are clear.  What is missing are consensus and commitment.  Change must be possible without imposing arbitrary standards and punitive measures.  A commitment to changes in funding priorities at federal, state, and local levels must be made.   If parents believed that a coherent strategy, well implemented was possible, their suspicions about the intrusive collection of data on children and the profiteering motives related to private sector involvement in curriculum and assessment might diminish.

 

Florida Gets an ‘F’ Again

FAILED1Which states get it right?  Not Florida.  It was one of eight states that received an overall grade of ‘F’ when its grades were averaged across the categories studied.   The Network for Public Education rated states based on six criteria.

For each category, I combined the percentages of A, B and C grades received across states.  I was surprised at the results.  Relatively few states (11) use test scores to punish students and teachers, but Florida is one of those that do.  You can see the combined percentages (think of them as passing scores) at the end of each of the criteria.

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A Dog Fight for the Soul of Education

teacher-403004_1280 (1)Last week the Alachua County school board faced some harsh realities.  The teacher shortage has hit home.  We now have long term substitutes for positions we cannot fill.  Board members attended the Rally in Tally to support our schools and teachers.  They announced that 4,000 people were there.

Perhaps the most hopeful moment at the board meeting came when a parent, Kanh-Lien Banko spoke.

 

 

 

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VAM Scores FACTOID

teacher-23304_1280I saw a bit of trivia in the Tampa Bay Times the other day.  It made me laugh or cry, not sure which, at life’s absurdities.

Based on VAM achievement gain scores only, 32 teachers in 18 districts had highly effective evaluations and 5 districts had elementary teachers who consistently earned unsatisfactory ratings over 4 years.  Such small numbers can only mean that VAM scores are worthless.

There are 175,006 teachers in Florida.  Could it just possibly be that VAM scores reflect which students are assigned to a teacher rather than which teacher is assigned to a class?  It does not take high level critical thinking to answer this question.

The Florida legislature could come up with a better evaluation system.  Almost any one of the options would be better if laced with a little common sense.

 

 

 

NEA Petition to End High Stakes Testing

dmbtestNEA has created an online petition to end high stakes testing.  The high stakes relate to student promotion, teacher evaluation, and school grades.

The new ESSA bill requires annual testing, but states now have the authority to change how scores are used.

Here is the link to the petition.

Just click the link and complete the information.  You can make a difference.

LWV Florida asks: We Have The Standards: Now What?

LWV_OpenLogoThe Florida League of Women Voters press release today argues that the State Board of Education is asking the wrong questions.  The SBE argued about how many students and schools to fail.  Shouldn’t they be asking how to make them more successful?

The press release was sent out across the state.  Pass it on to all concerned parents, educators and business leaders.  Forward it to your legislative delegations.

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US DOE Spells Out ‘OPT OUT’ Consequences to States

dmbtestAssistant Secretary Whalen, U.S. Department of Education, sent a letter on December 2nd, 2015 to Chief State School Officers that outlines the consequences to states for failure to administer state assessments to at least 95% of eligible students.  The letter lists possible federal actions to restrict funding for federal programs.  If fewer than 95% of students sit the state assessments for two years in a row 2014-2016, then the state may incur penalties e.g.

  • Place Title I Part A grants on high risk status.
  • Withhold Title I Part A administrative funds
  • Withhold or redirect Title VI test administrative funds

The letter provides a list of actions that states may consider to pressure districts and schools to comply with federal testing mandates for 2016.  These could include lowering school grades, counting non participants in testing as not proficient in accountability reports, withholding state aid and/or funding flexibility and labeling schools as ‘high risk’.  High risk schools may be subject to state take over.

The letter does not specify what actions schools may take to pressure parents to comply with the testing requirement.