EDUCATION MATTERS: Not your parents' kindergarten

[Guest guest]

EDUCATION MATTERS: Not your parents' kindergarten

Thursday, September 09, 2010

By Marsha Sutton

Kindergarten is not what it used to be. Playing with blocks, learning to use

scissors and coloring within the lines are now preschool activities. Times have

changed as expectations for academic achievement beginning at age 5 have

accelerated dramatically.

Kindergarten today, it turns out, is no place for 4-year-olds. Nor is it the

half-day, fun-filled, no-pressure zone of yesteryear.

Realizing that the antiquated guidelines in the state's education code are

misaligned with the intensity of modern demands on young children, California

legislators passed a bill on Aug. 31 called the Kindergarten Readiness Act of

2010 which advances the date by which children must turn 5 in order to attend

kindergarten. The legislation, SB-1381, now goes before the governor who has

until Sept. 30 to take action. If no action is taken, the bill will

automatically become law.

Presently, children must be 5 by Dec. 2 to start kindergarten in California.

This bill phases in the cutoff date by one month a year beginning in the year

2012 when the cutoff date would be Nov. 1. In 2013 the cutoff date for turning 5

would be Oct. 1, and in 2014 children would need to be 5 by Sept. 1, where it

will remain thereafter.

The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Joe Simitian (D - Palo Alto), also requires a

transitional kindergarten program for those children affected by the changing

cutoff dates during the years 2012 to 2014. Attendance in this transitional

program will count when districts compute Average Daily Attendance for the

purpose of state funding. This program will be funded by the money that would

have been spent on these children for regular kindergarten.

California is currently one of only three states with a kindergarten cutoff date

later than mid-October (Michigan at Dec. 2 and Connecticut at Jan.1 are the

other two). Three states have cutoff dates of Oct. 15 or 16 (Maine, Nebraska and

North Carolina). Six states don't specify kindergarten cutoff dates or leave the

decision up to school districts (Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania). Vermont and Ohio allow districts to pick a

date - Vermont between Aug. 31 and Jan. 1, and Ohio between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30.

[see sidebar below.]

All the rest - 36 states - range from as early as July 1 (Indiana) to October 1

(Kentucky), with 27 states that have established cutoff dates between Aug. 15

and Sept. 15. So California, with its proposed Sept. 1 cutoff date, aligns

itself with the majority of other states.

About one-fourth of California's children start kindergarten before age 5. Under

SB-1381, a child born after Sept. 1 can still attend kindergarten if the parent

or guardian applies for early admission and the school district agrees that it

would be in the best interest of the child.

The bill is supported by numerous education experts and organizations including

the California State PTA, the Association of California School Administrators

and more than 40 other business, educational, civic, law enforcement, early

childhood education and child-advocate groups. California's non-partisan

Legislative Analyst's Office and the Governor's Committee on Education

Excellence have also favored an earlier kindergarten cutoff date.

According to Simitian, the California Kindergarten Association has supported

bills to change the entrance age for the past 20 years because " kindergarten

educators know that changing the entrance date will help to ensure success for

children throughout their school careers. "

Many experts have observed that children who begin kindergarten before the age

of 5 often have less academic and social preparation and struggle to keep pace

with their older classmates.

In a news release, Simitian referenced a 2008 report by the Public Policy

Institute of California that claimed that " increasing California's entry age

will likely have a number of benefits, including boosting student achievement

test scores. "

" Today's kindergarten classroom is a much different place than most of us

experienced, " said Simitian in a prepared statement. " We're placing real

academic demands on our kids, and the youngest are struggling to keep up. The

evidence shows that giving these younger kindergarteners [sic] an extra year can

make a big difference in their long term success. "

The bill is cosponsored by Preschool California, a nonprofit advocacy

organization that supports increased access to early learning for all of

California's children. According to Preschool California, " Research shows that

moving the kindergarten entry date up increases test scores by as much as 27

percent, helping to close the achievement gap. Children who attend high-quality

early learning programs like transitional kindergarten are also less likely to

drop out of high school, be held back a grade or placed in special education,

and more likely to score better on reading and math achievement tests. "

Preschool California notes that California's children begin kindergarten at a

younger age than children in most other states, and they often lack the maturity

and the social, early literacy and pre-math skills needed to meet the challenges

of kindergarten, which have grown considerably in the past 20 years.

This disadvantage is exacerbated by the expectation that kindergartners meet

California's rigorous academic standards, considered among the highest of any

state in the nation.

Preschool California president Atkin called the recent vote " an

important victory for California's children, " adding that this is the first time

in at least two decades that such a proposal has passed the legislature, despite

numerous attempts.

Redshirting

Everyone's generally in agreement over this one. Younger kids aren't as ready

for the higher-level learning that happens in kindergarten these days. Clearly,

it's not your parent's kindergarten any more.

Complicating achievement gap issues are data showing that lower-income families

tend to send their 4-year-olds with late fall birthdays to kindergarten in

greater numbers than higher-income families, which frequently hold their

late-birthday children back one year.

In higher-achieving districts, parents will often retain their kids, especially

boys, even if the child has turned 5 as early as the summer months, well before

the proposed Sept. 1 cutoff date. Reasons for this vary, but it's often to give

these kids a perceived advantage in both academic prowess as well as social and

physical abilities.

Lower-income parents are liable to enroll their late-birthday children in

kindergarten because the children have had no preschool, unlike kids from more

affluent families, and because there is a pressing need for daycare.

These trends serve to increase the disparity in learning and achievement between

high-performing and low-performing districts - with younger kids not ready to

learn entering kindergarten in low-achieving districts, and kids in

high-achieving districts held back a year, making them more than ready to excel

when they finally do enter kindergarten.

The National Center for Education Statistics supports these observations,

reporting that lower-income Hispanic and African-American children are less

likely to be held back than their white peers.

In districts where there is more of a balance in socio-economic status, schools

often see a two-year age differential in kindergarten - with classrooms made up

of 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds. Imagine the struggle to teach a class of kids who

span the spectrum of readiness - from those who have never seen a book before,

to older and larger children who have been reading since age 3.

The practice of postponing entrance into kindergarten of age-eligible children

is known as redshirting, which, according to the NCES occurs at the rate of

about 9 percent each year.

From the law of unintended consequences, we can predict that affluent children

who have birthdays as early as July, June or even May may now be held back when

the legislation passes. So where will it stop?

The new Sept. 1 law would be improved if, in addition to restricting younger

children from entering kindergarten, it could require the automatic enrollment

of all kindergarten-ready children who turn 5 by Sept. 1, instead of allowing

wealthier families to arbitrarily hold their 5-year-olds back an extra year to

give them " a leg up " on their peers.

In an article from The Times of London on redshirting in the United States,

Frederick on, a professor of education and psychology at the University of

Michigan, said, " Some parents are being very egocentric. They just want their

kids to be stars, they want them to be noticed by the teacher, and that won't

happen if they are shorter than or lighter than or more immature than the other

kids in class. "

A troubling body of evidence suggests that holding 5-year-old children back a

year to provide them with " extra " readiness skills can actually have detrimental

effects down the road, including behavioral problems, feeling stigmatized and

alienation from classmates.

" Children do not benefit from retention or delayed entry or extra-year classes, "

report researchers from the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists

in State Departments of Education. " Delaying children's entry into school and/or

segregating them into extra-year classes actually labels children as failures at

the outset of their school experience. These practices are simply subtle forms

of retention. Not only is there a preponderance of evidence that there is no

academic benefit from retention in its many forms, but there also appear to be

threats to the social-emotional development of the child subjected to such

practices. "

Because there is evidence that redshirted children have more special needs, some

studies suggest that parents who hold their 5-year-olds back a year may be

confusing what they perceive as immaturity with the need for special education

services. This misinterpretation contributes to increased behavior issues in the

classroom and delayed intervention.

Some scholars believe that 5-year-old children are simply not ready for the

increased academic intensity of kindergarten and are not capable of performing

at levels now required by stiff state standards, and this has contributed to the

redshirting practice.

Full-day kindergarten

As academic standards for kindergarten have become more demanding, many experts

note that kindergarten is now more like first grade. Preschool now more closely

resembles the kindergarten of years past, where learning happens through casual

social interactions and playtime. Hence, more and more school districts now

provide full-day kindergarten to meet the academic challenges.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the percentage of

full-day kindergartners has increased significantly in the past decade. In 2000,

about 11 percent of kindergartners attended full-day classes, but by 2008 that

number increased to about 43 percent. It is even higher today. Across the

country, PPIC data show that about two-thirds of all U.S. kindergartners attend

school for a full day.

The California Department of Education defines full-day kindergarten as a class

" taught by the same certificated staff member that exceeds the four-hour

maximum. " The CDE cites five primary reasons for the trend toward full-day

kindergarten:

* To improve the educational program for children

* To provide more time for the teacher to get to know each child

* To encourage children's social, emotional, physical and academic growth

* To address transportation issues related to district bus schedules

* To consider child care needs

Locally, with so many San Diego County school districts providing full-day

kindergarten, it remains a mystery why the Del Mar Union School District lags,

resisting all efforts to eliminate its half-day program in favor of full day.

The movement to bring the Del Mar kindergarten program more in line with the

times was tried before, about 10 years ago. But resistance from a handful of

vocal parents who favored the half day, coupled with the power of the teachers'

union which opposed the change, overrode the best interests of the majority of

kids and the good judgment of school board members.

A study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics points to

convincing research on the benefits of full-day kindergarten " and its positive

association with learning in reading and mathematics during the kindergarten

year. "

The defeat of the effort to move to full-day kindergarten in Del Mar represents

another example of entrenched educational policies that serve adult interests

rather than supporting what's best for kids.

The vast majority of Del Mar children has been engaged in classroom learning

since age 3. Considering all the research, it's hard to understand how Del Mar

can continue to operate kindergarten as if this community's 5-year-olds have

never been exposed to a classroom learning environment.

Many children in Del Mar find themselves inexplicably faced with a half day of

kindergarten after two or three years of preschool that lasted through

mid-afternoon, making parents wonder how such an advanced district in so many

ways can remain stuck in the past. For many, that half day seems a step backward

- as indeed it is.

Half-day kindergarten is a dinosaur, a relic from past years when kindergarten

was the first time kids left home and set foot in a classroom and learned

through play.

The realization that kindergarten is much more academically demanding than in

decades past has triggered sensible laws that legislate an appropriate

kindergarten cutoff date. Attention now needs to be focused on the widespread

availability of quality preschool, the elimination of redshirting in affluent

districts, and an endorsement of full-day kindergarten to support the state's

rigorous academic expectations.

Sidebar:

The following table shows each state's date by which children must turn 5 years

old to enter kindergarten, according to a report by the Education Commission of

the States:

* Alabama: 9/1

* Alaska: 8/15

* Arizona: 9/1

* Arkansas: 9/15

* California: 12/2

* Colorado: not specified

* Connecticut: 1/1

* Delaware: 8/31

* Florida: 9/1

* Georgia: 9/1

* Hawaii: 8/1

* Idaho: 9/1

* Illinois: 9/1

* Indiana: 7/1

* Iowa: 9/15

* Kansas: 8/31

* Kentucky: 10/1

* Louisiana: 9/30

* Maine: 10/15

* land: 9/1

* Massachusetts: not specified

* Michigan: 12/1

* Minnesota: 9/1

* Mississippi: 9/1

* Missouri: 8/1

* Montana: 9/10

* Nebraska: 10/15

* Nevada: 9/30

* New Hampshire: not specified

* New Jersey: not specified

* New Mexico: 9/1

* New York: not specified

* North Carolina: 10/16

* North Dakota: 9/1

* Ohio: 8/1 or 9/30 (district choice)

* Oklahoma: 9/1

* Oregon: 9/1

* Pennsylvania: not specified

* Rhode Island: 9/1

* South Carolina: 9/1

* South Dakota: 9/1

* Tennessee: 9/30

* Texas: 9/1

* Utah: 9/2

* Vermont: from 8/31 to 1/1 (district choice)

* Virginia: 9/30

* Washington: 8/31

* West Virginia: 9/1

* Wisconsin: 9/1

* Wyoming: 9/15