High-Quality Preschool is Key to Closing the Achievment Gap
NCCP:
As our nation's children head back to school this month, the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) urges policymakers to ensure that preschool really does prepare young children to succeed in the early school years.
NCCP's new report, Effective Preschool Curricula and Teaching Strategies, identifies ways to strengthen preschool in order to close the persistent achievement gap separating low-income children from their more affluent peers.
A review of national data shows that at age 4, children who live below the poverty line ($20,000 for a family of four) are 18 months below the developmental norm for their age group, and by age 10, that gap is still evident.
Provide teachers with the hands-on professional development and supports that can help them more effectively promote early literacy and early math in the context of nurturing and supportive classrooms.
Invest in deliberate, sustained strategies to help teachers implement an intentional curriculum, and actively promote the kinds of skills young children need to succeed when they enter kindergarten and first grade.
