A Birth-to-Third-Grade Strategy for Closing the Achievement Gap

“Gaps between low-income and middle-class children appear early and increase over time,” says Massachusetts-based early learning expert David Jacobson in this Kappan article. “Addressing large gaps requires improving the quality of services for children at each level of development and integrating and aligning these services in order to have the most effect.” He makes the case for a comprehensive program that integrates services from birth through third grade and points to two districts, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Union City, New Jersey, that have pioneered this approach and seen marked improvements in student achievement and reductions of racial/economic disparities. The strategy has three phases:

• Age 5-9 – The primary grades sometimes suffer from relative neglect because there isn’t state testing at this level, says Jacobson: “School and district leaders may have less knowledge about early childhood education, and, in many districts, early childhood does not have as much internal political power as other departments. Often low-performing teachers are moved from tested grades to kindergarten, 2^nd-grade, and even 1^st-grade classes.” What’s needed is careful K-3 curriculum alignment, clear expectations for all subject areas – especially oral language, vocabulary development, and social-emotional skills – and improved teacher training in developmentally appropriate classroom strategies and the effective use of classroom assessments. 

• Age 3-5 – In many communities, preschool education is a hodge-podge of family day care, community-based preschool centers, Head Start, and district programs, says Jacobson. While K-12 educators have a lot on their plates, it’s very much in their interests to join with state and other agencies to ensure that children enter kindergarten and first grade ready for school success. This means monitoring and improving the quality of existing preschool programs, promoting training in best practices (including joint professional development with district teachers and leaders), articulating curriculum expectations aligned with primary-grade Common Core standards, and establishing a climate of mutual respect and two-way collaboration. 

• Birth to age 3 – Services at this level include home visiting, parenting classes and supports, and quality infant-toddler care. Leaders need to advocate for cross-sector partnerships, full-service schools, and early childhood centers. Support services for needy families should continue through the preschool years and elementary grades. 

“The Primary Years Agenda: Strategies to Guide District Action” by David Jacobson in Phi Delta Kappan, November 2014 (Vol. 96, #3, p. 63-69), www.kappanmagazine.org; Jacobson can be reached at jacobsondl@gmail.com and his organization, Birth Through Third Grade Learning Hub, is at www.birth-third.net. 

From the Marshall Memo #562