Sandwiched between preschool and first grade, kindergarteners often start school at very different stages of development depending on their exposure to preschool, home environments and biology. For the first time, the Common Core includes kindergarten in academic standards laying out what students should be able to do by the end of the grade. Kindergartners are expected to know basic phonics and word recognition as well as read beginner texts, skills some childhood development experts argue are developmentally inappropriate. These critics caution that pushing kindergarteners to move too quickly into reading can cause gaps in foundational thinking crucial for strong reading.

“There’s a wide age range for learning to read,” said Nancy Carlsson-Paige on KQED’s Forum program. Carlsson-Paige is professor emerita of education at Lesley University and co-author of the study “Reading Instruction in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lo... which criticizes the Common Core standards for kindergarten.

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