Teachers today are faced with myriad expectations. Whether preparing children for school learning goals, state assessments, or building social skills, it seems that teachers are being asked to do more every year. Perhaps the most palpable effect of the standards movement has been the academic "trickle down," whereby our youngest learners…

Today, in conjunction with the Alliance for Childhood, we are thrilled to release our new report "Reading Instruction in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose." In the report we concluded that Common Core reading requirements for kindergarten are inappropriate and not well-grounded in research. Under Common Core, students are…

Since the passage of "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) in 2001, public schools in the United States have witnessed an influx of reforms intended to elevate students' academic standing in a global economy. The unprecedented federal involvement in education resulting from the passage of NCLB has propelled a nationwide movement to standardize…

The purpose of this study is to explore the tensions that exist between the pressures teachers feel about accountability and what early childhood teachers have long known as developmentally appropriate practice. This study addresses the experiences, insights, and reflections of four kindergarten teachers working at a suburban elementary school. In…

Recently a school district colleague recounted a conversation with a young kindergarten teacher that had shaken her to her core. The kindergarten teacher (let's call her Ms. Post) said that nobody talks about developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) anymore--everyone is way past that. The author and her colleague, two mature early childhood…

Noting the challenges presented for kindergarten teachers by current demands for accountability based on standardized measures that ignore diversity, this book presents ideas for implementing a developmentally-appropriate kindergarten curriculum within the constraints of American public schools. Following introductory remarks, the book is…