Marshall Memo 540

What’s Academically Appropriate for Kindergarten?

            In this article in Education Week, Daphna Bassok (University of Virginia/ Charlottesville), Amy Claessens (University of Chicago), and Mimi Engel (Vanderbilt University) note the changes that have taken place in U.S. kindergarten classrooms in recent decades:

-   Kindergarten teachers expect students to arrive knowing their letters and numbers.

-   The focus is more academic, with students expected to read by first grade.

-   80 percent of programs are full-day, compared to 56 percent in 1998.

There is a lively debate among educators and parents on whether the new kindergarten expectations are developmentally appropriate. Are classrooms becoming sweatshops for rote, shallow academics with no time for play, socio-emotional learning, and other subjects?

Bassok, Claessens, and Engel say that too many educators and parents are posing a false dichotomy. We don’t have to choose between play and academically rigorous kindergarten classrooms, they say: “Engaging and challenging academic instruction should (and can) be developmentally appropriate, and it does not have to be overwhelming, stressful, or boring. It does not have to supplant play or child-initiated activities. And it certainly does not have to involve worksheets, one-size-fits-all lessons, or an overemphasis on assessment.” The best kindergarten programs provide academically rich instruction in literacy and math – and also a rich diet of physical education, art, music, science, and social studies.

One of the key issues in early-childhood education is the knowledge and skill gap between high- and low-SES children entering kindergarten – a full standard deviation, according to one study. “There is strong support for both early-childhood parental interventions and pre-school programs as strategies for narrowing these gaps,” say the authors. “It seems only logical, then, that a strong emphasis on language, literacy, and reading during kindergarten would be another key component for reducing inequality of opportunity. Early exposure to mathematics instruction is also important.”

“Rather than focusing on whether academic content has a place in early-childhood classrooms,” they conclude, “let’s focus on how to teach it in a way that is tailored to young learners. Let’s focus on creating engaging, fun, developmentally appropriate learning experiences for all kindergarteners… We need to meet all young children where they are, and help them build on their inherent curiosity and enthusiasm, and create opportunities for authentic learning.”

“The Case for the New Kindergarten: Both Playful and Academic” by Daphna Bassok, Amy

Claessens, and Mimi Engel in Education Week, June 4, 2014 (Vol. 33, #33, p. 28, 24), www.edweek.org