October 2005: Preschool Quality

The push for more academic content in preschool already has led to questionable testing of Head Start pre-kindergarteners. Chicago is taking a closer look at its own preschool programs with an eye for improvement. Another test to measure what youngsters learn over time may be next.

Cover Stories

• Taking pre-K up a notch Testing young children is a dicey proposition. On one hand, educators and policy-makers agree that finding out what preschoolers know and building on those skills is important. Yet, they warn that too much emphasis on academic skills could be detrimental.
  
• Half-day takes its toll at Mays An Englewood preschool loses students when district eliminates the full-day format.
  
• Pre-K goal: 'fun and engaging' A Q&A with Chief Early Childhood Education Officer Barbara Bowman.
  
• Too soon for national Head Start test to begin driving decisions A new study finds problems with the two-year-old test for preschoolers.
  
• Next up: tougher standards to accredit preschools Highlights of what’s to come and how one local Head Start stacks up.
  
• Advisory council renews call for universal preschool In the current state budget, Gov. Rod Blagojevich paid the final installment of a pledge to invest $90 million over three years to increase the number of children in preschool.
  

Letter From the Editor Charting a course to create preschool for all in Illinois Members of the Illinois Early Learning Council deliberated the best strategies for creating a statewide system of high-quality preschools for 3- and 4-year-olds and came up with is a list of recommendations that lay the foundation for a two-year program to serve poor families and children who are otherwise at-risk of failure in school.