Research findings from Inequalities at the Starting Gate 2015 reinforce prior findings about unequal starts in Kindergarten. Without improved opportunities for young children and families at or near poverty, the achievement gap is likely to continue and even widen. Here is an excerpt from the report:
“This analysis affirms decades of research that connects parents’ economic resources and opportunities (or lack thereof) to their children’s degree of school readiness, with gaps in readiness growing as we compare families that are further and further apart on the socioeconomic spectrum. Moreover, the fact that unequal starts are found in both traditional cognitive skills such as math and reading and in non-cognitive skills such as creativity or approaches to learning means that socioeconomic inequality affects all aspects of children’s early development.
These significant education gaps by socioeconomic status raise important questions about the potential for efforts to improve the U.S. education system. Not only are our schools and teachers serving students who are unequally prepared to learn, but, as research shows, those who enter behind tend to enter under-resourced and racially and economically segregated schools. This compounds early disadvantages, expands them over time, and threatens the promises of equal opportunity and social mobility based on educational attainment.”
It is time to make significant progress toward equality at the starting gate.
