In accordance with the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP, Act 631), all local school districts of South Carolina are responsible for providing instruction in the basic skills of mathematics, reading and writing to students that demonstrate deficiencies in one or more of these tests. The BSAP represents a comprehensive approach toward…

AN EXPERIMENTAL PRESCHOOL PROGRAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF WHICH IS TO HELP THE CHILD TO LEARN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING. ORGANIZED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT COGNITIVE GROWTH PROCEEDS FROM MOTOR TO PERCEPTUAL TO SYMBOLIC FUNCTIONING, THE PROGRAM EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR THINKING AND REASONING. AN…

Assuming the premise that "a child has gone fifty percent of the way in organizing the thinking patterns that we call his intelligence by the time he has reached the age of four, and the next thirty percent by the time he is eight," 50 Schenectady kindergarten-through-first-grade teachers and administrators formulated a chart of behavioral…

There are three parts to this bibliography of tests for children aged two to six. First is an alphabetical index of the 89 tests with a graphic display to indicate which tests measure which of the following functions: (1) intellectual functions or attained skills; (2) oral language communication; (3) self-concept, personality, sociability,…

This paper describes the scope and findings of a separately published comprehensive review of research on optimum age of entry into first grade, covering the literature from 1915 to 1976. (Not included was research on reading, the gifted, mentally retarded, and materials in popular journals.) Findings noted the inadequacy of chronological age as a…

COUNSELING IS AN ACCEPTING, TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP DEALING WITH NORMAL CHILDREN AND EMPHASIZING THE COUNSELOR'S SPECIAL ABILITY TO LISTEN, EMPATHIZE, AND UNDERSTAND. THE SETTING OF GROUP COUNSELING PROVIDES EXCELLENT CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING. EFFECTIVE GROUP COUNSELING INVOLVES TREATMENT BY THE GROUP AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT WITHIN THE GROUP.…

This report describes and anlayzes the second year operations of an ongoing successful parent initiated and directed nursery school. Included are: (1) a brief review of relevant issues in early childhood education, such as parent participation and community control in education; (2) a short history of the program's inception and early development;…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Beyond Auto Shop 1: Is Career and Technical Education a Promising Path for High School Reform? (Lucy Hood); (2) The School Readiness Gap:…

One of the most popular and enduring legacies of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society programs, Project Head Start continues to support young children of low-income families--close to one million annually--by providing a range of developmental and educational services. Yet as Head Start reaches its fortieth anniversary, debates over the…

"Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators" presents a set of baseline measurements that gauge how well a statewide system of school readiness supports is addressing issues that affect Arizona children's readiness for school. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure the system, rather…

This document details the position of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) regarding universal access to early childhood education as represented in a resolution of the AFT convention in 2003. The document points out that the lack of access to high-quality preschool programs is a major problem affecting nearly every working family, and as the…

This monograph describes the development, implementation, and outcomes of the full-day, literacy-focused Bright Beginnings program for disadvantaged preschoolers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) in North Carolina. Key components of Bright Beginnings are a child-centered curriculum with strong language development and literacy emphasis,…

This document brings together much of the information one might need to understand and discuss higher education issues. While this publication does not attempt to answer every question that may come up in discussions about higher education, it highlights the most often-asked questions about institutions, faculty, students, costs, budgets,…

Noting that increasing numbers of infants and toddlers and their working parents face a range of early care and development needs, this paper suggests that by establishing high quality child care and family support services, state legislatures can help families and caregivers nurture the development of infants while helping parents manage work.…

This document provides a compilation of measures of progress toward school readiness and three contributing conditions as used in several local, state, and national surveys. The report begins with a legend listing the surveys examined, their acronyms, and contact information. The remainder of the report, in tabular format, lists measures of…