Open AccessPK‐3: An Aligned and Coordinated Approach to Education for Children 3 to 8 Years Old
Author(s) -
Bogard Kimber,
Takanishi Ruby
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
social policy report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2379-3988
DOI - 10.1002/j.2379-3988.2005.tb00044.x
Subject(s) - library science , yearbook , citation , state (computer science) , sociology , political science , psychology , media studies , computer science , algorithm
The United States is as known for its high-quality universities as for its poor-quality public schools. Many states are taking steps to improve the likelihood that their children will succeed in grades K-12 by providing funding for pre-kindergarten (PK). More than $2.4 billion dollars is spent on these programs, and the number of children participating in these programs exceeds those in Head Start and will likely increase. Given the current spending on these early childhood education programs, research should contribute to informing how to maximize the dollars spent on them. Research indicates that while there are positive outcomes for children participating in early intervention and PK programs, just participating in one year of early educational programming may not be suffi cient to buffer many children from future failure. In fact, many early childhood programs have been attacked because of the lack of long-term benefi ts sustained into the elementary school years and beyond. Drawing from research, we put forth an approach to education (PK-3) that may enable children to maintain gains made in early education and early intervention programs. A PK-3 Approach to education proposes voluntary, universal access to PK for 3and 4-year-olds, followed by mandatory full-school-day kindergarten. Social and pedagogical experiences from PK through third grade are aligned across grade levels and aligned with the learning experiences research indicates children require based on their developmental capabilities. Teachers who are prepared to provide high-quality experiences across PK through third grade are a necessary component to this approach to education. This alignment necessitates a master plan that intentionally lays out clear expectations for children at each grade level, aligns these expectations with classroom experiences that facilitate reaching the expectations, and multiple forms of assessment that provide information on whether or not children are progressing toward the expectations set out for them throughout the years from PK through third grade.