Special Report
Early Childhood Opinion

Identify Key Elements of Kindergarten Success

By Heather E. Quick — January 03, 2015 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

For this edition of Quality Counts, the Commentary editors reached out to researchers and a policymaker, all of whom are known for their work in early-childhood education. These four contributors were asked:

What’s a research concern that we still need answered about early-childhood education?

What follows is Heather E. Quick’s response to this question. See more responses.

Heather E. Quick

Kindergarten has evolved. What used to be a play-oriented introductory school experience focused on socialization is now often characterized as more academically focused, geared toward getting children ready to read and to succeed in mathematics. National trends show kindergartners spending more time on reading and language arts activities and less time on art, dramatic play, and child-directed exploration.

This increased attention to academic subjects in recent years is compounded by the movement toward full-day kindergarten and thus many more hours of academic instruction for today’s children. The federal No Child Left Behind Act, with its increased accountability requirements, likely contributed to this evolution, and the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards further crystalizes the expectation for academic rigor in kindergarten.

How have these changes affected children’s learning and development? What kind of kindergarten experience best supports children’s smooth transition to elementary school and lays a strong foundation for a successful educational career? What characteristics offer promise for reducing the achievement gap already manifest by the time children enter kindergarten? Identifying the elements that matter most for an effective kindergarten program includes exploring what works for which children and under what conditions. Some children—such as those who didn’t attend a high-quality preschool program, who are dual-language learners, or who are less developmentally ready—may need additional supports.

California recently established “transitional kindergarten”—year one of a two-year kindergarten program—to offer a developmentally appropriate modified kindergarten curriculum for children who otherwise would have started kindergarten at age 4. Early findings from the American Institutes for Research indicate that, compared with children in traditional kindergarten, children in transitional kindergarten spend less time on academic subjects and more time in child-directed exploration and activities that foster social-emotional development. As we further assess this program’s impact, we expect to find out more about whether this approach produces greater learning gains for children and where more attention is needed.

Related Tags:

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Early Childhood What the Research Says 6 Challenges for Early Educators as Preschool Growth Halts
School enrollment for the nation’s youngest learners has nosedived—and could cause long-term problems.
4 min read
Close crop of the back of a pre-school girl's head showing her playing with foam puzzle pieces of shapes and numbers.
iStock/Getty
Early Childhood What the Research Says Starting School in Infancy Can Help Low-Income Children Keep Up With Peers in Elementary School
Research on a birth-to-4 initiative in Tulsa finds academic gains through 3rd grade.
4 min read
Teacher Silvia Castillo, center, reads a book about dinosaurs with Everett Fisher, left, and Jaz Endicott in a toddler classroom at Kids First on Jan. 30, 2019 in Lincoln, Neb.
Teacher Silvia Castillo, center, reads a book about dinosaurs with Everett Fisher, left, and Jaz Endicott in a toddler classroom at Kids First on Jan. 30, 2019, in Lincoln, Neb.
Gwyneth Roberts/Lincoln Journal Star via AP
Early Childhood Why Parents 'Redshirt' Their Kids in Kindergarten
Parents have a number of reasons why they decide to delay their children's school entry, but it's not always a good idea.
5 min read
Students participate in a pre-kindergarten class at Alice M. Harte Charter School in New Orleans on Dec. 18, 2018. Charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately operated, are often located in urban areas with large back populations, intended as alternatives to struggling city schools.
Students participate in a pre-kindergarten class at Alice M. Harte Charter School in New Orleans on Dec. 18, 2018.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Early Childhood Q&A An Investment in Early-Childhood Education Is Paying Off Big
Richard Tomko believes that expanding the early education pipeline buffers schools against enrollment loss and academic struggles.
2 min read
Dr. Richard Tomko, Superintendent of Belleville Public Schools in Belleville, N.J., visits science teacher Paul Aiello’s Medical Academy Field Experience class on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. The Medical Academy’s class uses Anatamoge tables, an anatomy visualization system that allows students to garner a deeper, comprehensive understanding of the human body and medical tools to prepare them for careers in the medical field.
Richard Tomko, superintendent of Belleville Public Schools in Belleville, N.J., has expanded academic programs while restoring trust in the school system.
Sam Mallon/Education Week