The Next Social Contract for the Primary Years of Education
Research shows that education investments in the earliest years of life make the greatest difference in the educational outcomes of children and can have a long-term impact on the workforce and citizenry of the United States. Yet today's education policies do not reflect that understanding.
This report, authored by Lisa Guernsey and Sara Mead of the New America Foundation, envisions a new “PreK-3rd” education system that lowers the starting point for public education from age 5 to age 3 and erases the artificial divide between “preschool” and “k-12.” The approach involves community-based providers in the earliest years, frees teachers to collaborate more broadly and across grades, and equips all children with essential literacy, math, and social-emotional skills by the end of third grade.
The authors recommend voluntary universal pre-kindergarten programs, full-day kindergarten, and national standards and curriculum for pre-k through the third grade. They underscore the importance of parental engagement and highly qualified teachers who share data and professional development within and across grades.
The report comes at a key moment for education reform in the United States, as Congress takes up reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It follows the recent release of national test results showing that two-thirds of American fourth graders cannot read at grade level.
