Editor’s Note
For comments on this article, read Diane Trister Dodge on making play count in the classroom and Judith Schickedanz on designing meaningful play for children.
Preschoolers at the FPG Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Volume 25, Number 3
May/June 2009
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing
New reports outline key principles for preK–3rd grade
By DAVID MCKAY WILSON
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing, continued
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing: New reports outline key principles for preK–3rd grade
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing
As the push to teach literacy and math skills reaches farther into preschool and kindergarten, educators are warning that teachers need to address young students’ social, emotional, and physical needs as well as their cognitive development. Among their concerns:
- Teachers in preK–3rd grade increasingly focus on a narrow range of literacy and math skills, with studies showing some kindergarteners spend up to six times as much time on those topics and on testing and test prep than they do in free play or “choice time.”
- Many schools have eliminated recess or physical education, depriving children of their need to move and develop their bodies.
- Instruction is often focused on “scripted” curricula, giving teachers little opportunity to create lessons in response to students’ interests.
- Some state standards for literacy are too stiff, such as one state’s standard that all students be able to read by the beginning of first grade.
In light of these concerns, several prominent early childhood organizations have issued reports on the importance of incorporating developmentally appropriate practice into elementary school classrooms, based on what research has confirmed about early learning.
This is an excerpt from the Harvard Education Letter.
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As the push to teach literacy and math skills reaches farther into preschool and kindergarten, educators are warning that teachers need to address young students’ social, emotional, and physical needs as well as their cognitive development. Among their concerns:
- Teachers in preK–3rd grade increasingly focus on a narrow range of literacy and math skills, with studies showing some kindergarteners spend up to six times as much time on those topics and on testing and test prep than they do in free play or “choice time.”
- Many schools have eliminated recess or physical education, depriving children of their need to move and develop their bodies.
- Instruction is often focused on “scripted” curricula, giving teachers little opportunity to create lessons in response to students’ interests.
- Some state standards for literacy are too stiff, such as one state’s standard that all students be able to read by the beginning of first grade.
In light of these concerns, several prominent early childhood organizations have issued reports on the importance of incorporating developmentally appropriate practice into elementary school classrooms, based on what research has confirmed about early learning.
