Chapter 7: Achievement Gap Starts Early: Preschool Can Help PRESENTED BY CHAPTER 7 GROUP

PURPOSE ACCESS TO 1.FREE 2.PUBLIC 3.EARLY EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE

CURRENT ISSUES 1.The basis for current statistics focus on achievement gap 2.Achievemnt gaps target mostly students of color and students from low-income abilities 3.These statistics indicate that abilities for students of colors and students from low-income famileies are lower than students from high income families and even lower than students from the wealthiest of families

RESULTS 1.So what do we do? 1.Money 2.Programs 3.For who 2.Results 1.Is it worth it

STATISTICS ◦Ability gradients emerge early in life. ◦Sizable differences in children’s abilities by family background appear earl y in life. ◦3 years olds from low-income families knew only about half as many words as those from higher- income families ◦Black children are far behind White peers in pre-academic skills by age three. ◦By kindergarten, children in poverty can be 12 to 18 months behind the average child.

VARIATIONS IN EARLY EXPERIENCES Variations in early experiences and the “gap” affecting early cognitive and social development 1.PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION 1.Family background 2.Family behavior 3.early experiences with language 2.Factors beyond parent-child interaction

FAMILY BACKGROUND ◦Race or ethnicity ◦Income ◦Parental education ◦Family structure ◦Conditions of the neighborhoods ◦Indicators of home experiences supporting early learning ◦Number of books in the home ◦Educational toys

VARIATONS IN EARLY EXPERIENCES WITH LANGUAGE ◦How many words are spoken to children ◦How often children are spoken to ◦The extent to which they are encouraged to use their own developing language abilities and emergent preliteracy skills ◦Similar experiences are found between early home mathematics experiences and knowledge of mathematics

FACTORS BEYOND PARENT- CHILD INTERACTION ◦Health ◦Nutrition ◦Exposure to environmental toxins ◦Danger ◦Violence ◦Emotional stress ◦Prenatal exposure ◦Drugs ◦Maternal stress

EXPLANATION EDUCATION GRADIENTS

SUMMING IT UP In summary, attention-grabbing differences in achievement test scores and high school graduation rates can be largely explained by differences in abilities there evident well before children enter kindergarten. Essentially, the education gradients lead to the idea that children who begin school substantially behind are unlikely to ever catch up