Delay the big K: The kindergarten shuffle

The following editorial appeared in the Union Leader.
. Bravo to the Union Leader editorial staff for understanding that "The assumption that kindergarten is a universal good is wrong " and the accompanying research. Also bravo for their bold statements "Contrary to popular belief, our children might be better off delaying kindergarten until age 6, attending for only half a day, or skipping it entirely " and
"Legislators should repeal the kindergarten mandate. Barring that, they should delay its deadline indefinitely. Then delay it again. And again. And again . . ."

Unfortunately this will not be resolved anytime soon as the teachers' unions, administrative associations and other school employees are too powerful. Also many legislators are educrats and retired educrats. Sadly years of propagandizing students and parents have lead them to believe something that just is not true. Unfortunately schools serve their employees more than they serve their students and taxpayers. Until parents and taxpayers wise up and stop being so apathetic educrats, teachers and school employees will have the upper-hand.




Delay the big K: The kindergarten shuffle

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007

ONLY 11 New Hampshire school districts offer no public kindergarten. Why? Because they chose not to. And that's just fine.

This year legislators mandated that every school district had to provide public kindergarten. The Legislature set a September 2008 deadline for those 11 districts to comply. That's a quick turnaround time for school construction projects. The New Hampshire School Administrators Association asked that the deadline be extended to 2012. Education Commissioner Lyonel Tracy would have none of that.

"They've all had opportunities to implement kindergarten," he said. "Some districts have had other priorities."

That's true. And who does Lyonel Tracy think he is to tell them that their priorities are wrong?

The assumption that kindergarten is a universal good is wrong. "Attendance in a full-day kindergarten program had little effect on reading achievement but was negatively associated with mathematics achievement and the development of nonacademic school readiness skills," a study by the Rand Corporation found last year. By fifth grade, kids who went to full-day kindergarten did worse in math than their counterparts who went to half-day kindergarten and had worse interpersonal skills, "poorer dispositions toward learning," and less self-control.

"This study reinforces the findings of earlier studies that suggest full-day kindergarten programs may not enhance achievement in the long term," the study concluded.

Contrary to popular belief, our children might be better off delaying kindergarten until age 6, attending for only half a day, or skipping it entirely.

The state's implication that kindergarten is a guaranteed benefit is not supported by the research. Whether to offer that extra grade, which is of dubious use, should be made at the district level, not in Concord.

Legislators should repeal the kindergarten mandate. Barring that, they should delay its deadline indefinitely. Then delay it again. And again. And again . . .