For decades, Oregon was a national leader in progressive policies and practices for young children and families. Other states would look to Oregon as a model for "how to do it right."
Now we are getting noticed for just the opposite reason. Here are a few examples:
Washington Post: A Very Scary Headline about Kindergartners, Written by Valerie Strauss, it begins -
Rob Saxton is Oregon’s deputy superintendent of public instruction. Jada Rupley is the early learning system director within the state Department of Education. Together they wrote an OpEd piece that was published online with this headline: Kindergarten test results a ‘sobering snapshot’ What could possibly be sobering about test results from kindergartners? What kind of tests are they giving to kindergartners anyway?
It turns out that every public school kindergartner in Oregon was given a kindergarten readiness test last September to see how many numbers, letters and sounds they knew. The Oregonian reported that kids on average entered kindergarten knowing 19 capital and lower-case letters and seven letter sounds of at least 100 possible correct answers. Kindergarten readiness tests are nothing new. What is is the ever-increasing focus on turning kindergarten, and now preschool, into academic environments with the aim of ensuring that children can read by the time they are in first grade. In fact, kindergarten is the new first grade when it comes to academics. Saxton and Rupley wrote in their piece that the results of the testing of the kindergartners in Oregon “provide a sobering snapshot of the skills our children possess as they enter kindergarten.”
*****************************
Nancy Bailey, a former Principal from Tennessee, an author, and advocate for school reform, invokes Oregon's KA, in her blog post, which was reposted on Defending the Early Years Web Site. "Setting Young Children up to Hate Reading." Her piece begins:
Any educator or parent who understands the beauty of reading and the importance of helping a child learn to do it right was appalled to read two recent articles about the subject. Both should make all of us concerned that children are being set up to hate reading. They are being pushed to read earlier than ever before! Consider the February 1, 2014, headlines of The Oregonian: “Too Many Oregon Students Unready for Kindergarten State Officials Lament.” What is the crisis?
Now we are getting noticed for just the opposite reason. Here are a few examples:
Washington Post: A Very Scary Headline about Kindergartners, Written by Valerie Strauss, it begins -
Rob Saxton is Oregon’s deputy superintendent of public instruction. Jada Rupley is the early learning system director within the state Department of Education. Together they wrote an OpEd piece that was published online with this headline: Kindergarten test results a ‘sobering snapshot’ What could possibly be sobering about test results from kindergartners? What kind of tests are they giving to kindergartners anyway?
It turns out that every public school kindergartner in Oregon was given a kindergarten readiness test last September to see how many numbers, letters and sounds they knew. The Oregonian reported that kids on average entered kindergarten knowing 19 capital and lower-case letters and seven letter sounds of at least 100 possible correct answers. Kindergarten readiness tests are nothing new. What is is the ever-increasing focus on turning kindergarten, and now preschool, into academic environments with the aim of ensuring that children can read by the time they are in first grade. In fact, kindergarten is the new first grade when it comes to academics. Saxton and Rupley wrote in their piece that the results of the testing of the kindergartners in Oregon “provide a sobering snapshot of the skills our children possess as they enter kindergarten.”
*****************************
Nancy Bailey, a former Principal from Tennessee, an author, and advocate for school reform, invokes Oregon's KA, in her blog post, which was reposted on Defending the Early Years Web Site. "Setting Young Children up to Hate Reading." Her piece begins:
Any educator or parent who understands the beauty of reading and the importance of helping a child learn to do it right was appalled to read two recent articles about the subject. Both should make all of us concerned that children are being set up to hate reading. They are being pushed to read earlier than ever before! Consider the February 1, 2014, headlines of The Oregonian: “Too Many Oregon Students Unready for Kindergarten State Officials Lament.” What is the crisis?