The Achievement Gap
When expectations in standards are tied to state testing processes, children who consistently do not achieve the desired outcomes fall into the so-called achievement gap. States report test scores on a continuum, with descriptors such as below basic, basic, or proficient (National Report Card). State and federal monies for many supplemental programs and Title 1 funding are reserved for those with high numbers of children in the achievement gap. Consequently the labeling of individuals, groups of children, or even entire schools as underachievers is a sensitive issue.
While students need and deserve to be assessed and evaluated so that teachers can provide them with appropriate support, NAEYC and other early childhood advocacy groups insist that these processes should view children first in terms of what they know and can do. The core principles of the 2011 Reaffirmed NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct clearly promote positive and respectful images of young children. They suggest that we:
- Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle
- Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn
- Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family
- Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society
- Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)
- Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues
- Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect (NAEYC, 2005, p. 1)
Individual Stressors
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Today’s young children are probably unaware of the arguments over how they should be tested, measured, categorized, and labeled. But they develop a self-image and are influenced by interactions with their families, immediate environments, peer groups, and teachers. They are also not oblivious to the hardships and challenges they may encounter as a result of socioeconomic conditions, family dynamics, and the pressure to be successful in school.
In the Hurried Child (2001), psychologist David Elkind asserts that today’s child is overscheduled, overtested, overfed, and overmarketed; pressured to grow up too soon; and denied the pleasures of being a child. Elkind describes this child as the “Superkid, with precocious powers, even as an infant” (p. xvi), a victim of “overwhelming stress borne of rapid, overwhelming social change and constantly rising expectations” (p. 3).
Early childhood classrooms and care settings offer opportunities for teachers to create environments without these kinds of pressuresplaces where children can be children, with the teacher’s image of each one constructed from interactions with that child. Having reasonable developmentally appropriate expectations without imposing or projecting adult issues onto children is a significant priority for preschool teachers. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to practical suggestions about how this is to be done.