NPR Ed – Elissa Nadworny, Anya Kamenetz
“If you have young kids in school, or talk with teachers of young children, you’ve likely heard the refrain — that something’s changed in the early grades. Schools seem to expect more of their youngest students academically, while giving them less time to spend in self-directed and creative play. A big new study provides the first national, empirical data to back up the anecdotes…Sonja Santelises, vice president for K-12 policy and practice at the Education Trust, which focuses on efforts to reduce the achievement gap, says rising expectations are a good thing, though “rigid instruction” is not. “The report clearly raises important questions about how we are teaching our youngest learners.”…Researcher Daphna Bassok says, “The changes that seem potentially troubling are more around how kids are learning, not what kids should be learning,” she says. “There are classrooms that are very hands-on and allow kids to explore and also have terrific focus on math and are language-rich. Those things don’t need to be at odds at all.””(more)