Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion NYT opinion: No (rich) child left behind

can you imagine... a house without books?! <>>

also, if my kids break or lose a library book I can and will pay for it and keep our library privledges. Some people can't or won't.

But there appear to be some benefits from Head Start that follow into adulthood.
The Case for Saving Head Start The Case for Saving Head Start

"Moreover, research has shown that the test-score fadeout was most severe when Head Start students went on to attend low-quality schools, so there is little doubt that high quality preschool would be even more effective if coupled with subsequent high-quality learning environments, especially in the early grades."

See it is simple. High-quality learning environments in pre-k and beyond for all kids.

I do not agree with the emphasis on pre-K one jot, so all of these negative factors (hunger, violence etc) miraculously disappear post pre-k? Come on!

Obviously, if someone has not reached an average level of attainment by gradeX then they are not going to follow along at gradeX+Y unless they are brighter than average and lucky. Do we really need a funded study to prove that????



I think that insisting that the public schools focus on dragging sub-average students up to average (NCLB) instead of allowing the truly bright to excel is entirely the wrong direction to head in. NCLB is basically walling in the brighter children of lower income parents and utterly smothering the majority of legal chances at social mobility

also, if your kids know the consequences of treating a book disrespectfully, doesn't that mean there was at least once where a book was endangered?
There's been a couple of books I've had to toss for damage. (maybe 3 or 4) for as much as my very young children use books and as many as they have I'm glad to pay for a few wasted books in the "game" of literacy.

But is this because they truly are NOT that high in cognitive ability?

Or is it because those things are merely a proxy for whatever that quality is? This is why test scores are quite often NOT the sole means of entry-- even for programs specifically intended for HG+ children.

We know full well that some disabilities can depress those scores-- and in lower income groups, the ability/impetus/understanding necessary to PURSUE a proper diagnosis (leading to a 2e diagnosis) is lacking.

Therefore, pretty much ALL 2e children who are identified are from high SES homes.


Likewise, most children from low SES are never tested. It's money that those families (and, all too often-- their schools) simply do not have.

You may not agree with it, but the evidence shows it is effective. I don't know anyone who is a fan of NCLB.

One interesting point about Head Start--a potential weakness is that it is all kids who are poor. A new study came out on a brand-new public pre-K program in Boston that is not means-tested--pre-K for all regardless of income. Good results. One thought is that the mixed-income environment may be helpful to the poorer kids.

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/201...-poor-and-affluent-kids-study-finds?lite

The thing that I was pointing out-- and which I think that MadeinUK is saying, too, is that the effects of any of those school-based intervention programs is really quite small.

Yes, it's a positive impact, but it is so short of what seems to actually be needed.

I was intending to suggest that this may mean the same thing that I suspect it means in this current study-- that being that there are SO many influences that get in the way of learning and performance in low SES homes that programs based in schools that don't control the other 70-80% of those kids' lives...

well, it isn't much wonder that those children don't do their homework, don't have parents signing reading journals or attending conferences, etc. etc.

Placing some of those expectations on a mixed SES classroom of kids could merely confer additional advantage to kids with high SES. They aren't worried about asking for supplies for the science fair... taking home a note for a meeting with the teacher... losing a library book... or needing money for the book fair...needing help with reading homework, getting a parent signature, asking if dad can chaperone a field trip, etc. etc.

Those aren't even things that are about NCLB, or ignoring the highest potential kids in the room. Those are things that are about assuming a minimum level of affluence among those children's families.

Also, the thing about 0-5 interventions is that it really IS DIFFERENT at that age. The brain is developing so rapidly. Later on, it just isn't the same. It's biology. You can dislike it, but that doesn't make it go away.