Significance of Pre-Kindergarten Standards

A growing body of research has focused on the importance of learning in the early years. Publications such as Eager to Learn, Preventing ReadingDifficulties in Young Children, and From Neurons to Neighborhoods have detailed research that supports the importance of the early years in future student achievement. The No Child Left Behind legislation focuses on the need for accountability in supporting student achievement for all children. The standards movement in the U.S. has articulated key benchmarks for student achievement at each grade level K-12 in academic content areas. These standards have impacted the quality of educational programs and have improved student achievement across the country. Although there has been a focus on the importance of early learning, the standards movement had not included early education until now. Over the past few years organizations such the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the International Reading Association, and The National Council for the Teachers of Mathematics, have provided forums and policy statements concerning the development of standards for Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) learning. Many states have developed standards, or are in the process of development. Through the No Child Left Behind legislation and the Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative, programs supported through the Child Care and Development Fund and the Department of Education will be linked through the development of standards to be used in preschool programs supported and operated through the Nevada Department of Education as well as child care programs supported through the Child Care and Development Fund.

The attached standards are a joint effort supported by both the Nevada Department of Education's Office of Special Education, Elementary and Secondary Education, and School Improvement Programs, aligning with the Nevada K-12 Content Standards, as well as the State of Nevada, Department of Human Resources, Welfare Division; Child Care Assistance Department and the Child Care and Development Fund. Both of these state agencies have been challenged by the Good Start, Grow Smart initiative to work together to develop standards to be used by all early childhood education programs in Nevada as a guide for child outcomes for preschool. Future federal funding will be contingent on the completion and implementation of the Pre-K Content Standards.

The Nevada Pre-K standards describe appropriate outcomes for children at the end of their preschool experience and entering kindergarten. Therefore, when reading the standards one should think in terms of the child's final learning outcome before entering kindergarten. The standards are guidelines to be used with all children in any early education setting such as childcare centers, family childcare homes, Head Start, preschools and school district Pre-K programs.

Development of the NevadaPre-K Standards

A group of early childhood professionals representing Nevada from the Nevada Department of Education and local school districts, Head Start and childcare attended the U.S. Department of Education Early Childhood Educator Academy in Los Angeles in November 2002. This core group of professionals became the nucleus for the Steering Committee for the development of Pre-K State Standards.

The Steering Committee met in December of 2002 to design a framework and timeline for the development of Nevada's standards. Jane Lowe, the Early Childhood Education Consultant for the Nevada Department of Education took leadership as the chair of the Steering Committee. Jerry Allen, the Nevada Child Care Development Administrator, provided funding for the development process through Child Care and Development Fund quality funding. The committee collected standards from other states, as well as Head Start standards and standards developed by CTB McGraw Hill. The Steering Committee developed a list of stakeholders across the state to be invited to participate in the development and implementation of the Pre-K standards. Invitations to attend the first meeting were sent out to over 150 early childhood educators representing:

Childcare providers (for profit and non profit)

Family childcare providers

Nevada Department of Education Early Childhood

Nevada Department of Education Early Childhood Special Education

Nevada Council for K-12 Standards Committee members

All school district superintendents and early childhood education representatives

Kindergarten teachers

Early Childhood Special Education teachers

Community College Early Childhood faculty

University Early Childhood faculty

Nevada Welfare Childcare Assistance staff

Childcare Licensing staff

Head Start

Head Start Collaboration

Tribal Head Start program staff

Nevada Early Childhood Special Education Services staff

Childcare Resource and Referral agencies

Family to Family Connection

University of Nevada - Reno Cooperative Extension

On February 4, 2003, the first meeting to develop the Nevada Pre-K Standards was held. Over 60 people attended. An overview from the Early Childhood Academy was presented, and participants were given copies of standards from other states to review, as well as the Nevada Academic Standards and Indicators of Progress for Kindergarten. Participants critiqued other state standards and brainstormed content areas for Nevada. Content areas/domains were identified as:

Language/Literacy

Physical Development/Health

Creative Arts

Science

Math

Social Emotional/Social Studies

About 40 participants volunteered to work on writing teams, and committed to attend three 2-day writing workshops during March and April. At the first writing workshop the Nevada Content Standards were provided, so that Pre-K standards could link to kindergarten and the primary grades. Writing teams were divided into the content areas/domains. Draft standards were developed, refined and reviewed. Peer review suggestions were given to the writing teams in April to make changes. The teams finalized their content standards and reviewed other content standards. Diverse input from Nevada early childhood educators was collected through focus groups, written responses and e-mail. Focus groups were held in Las Vegas, Carson City, Elko, Ely and Reno. Input was reviewed by the Steering Committee. The Pre-K Standards were then finalized by the Steering Committee in December 2003.

Pre-K Content Standards Format

The Nevada Pre-K Content Standards format is based on the Nevada K-12 Content Standards. The content standard listed on the top of the page is used from Pre-K-grade 12, with the specific age-appropriate standards, the content strands and any specific definitions that relate to the standards. All Pre-K standards are linked with the K-12 standards, although several new content standards were developed in the social-emotional domain and the creative arts domain because there were no specific content standards in the K-12 standards that addressed several key components of early learning. Conversely, some standards that exist in K-12 do not have a Pre-K standard. The numbering of the Pre-K Standards aligns with the K-12 Standards; therefore, a skipped number in the Pre-K Standards signifies that Pre-K Standards Committee did not think that children at the pre-kindergarten level should be expected to develop a skill related to the particular strand. For each subject area in which a cross-referencing link has been identified with a particular benchmark standard, the letter codes found in the key at the beginning of each domain will be used along with the specific numbering system used to identify the specific standard. Most Nevada Content Standards can be cross-referenced. Those included in the document serve as an illustration of how the content standards can be used across domains.

Professional Development System

A professional development system to support the implementation of the Pre-K Standards will be developed by a coalition of agencies, organizations and educators to provide on-going teacher training and support. Training will be available across the state in a variety of formats. Professional development will link best practices to outcomes for children identified by the Pre-K standards.

Guiding Principles

The Pre-K Content Standards are guidelines for teachers to use in the development of learning experiences for young children that are grounded in the following guiding principles taken from, with permission:

Pre-K Standards: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning:

CTB/ McGraw Hill LLC

www.ctb.com/prekstandards

"The standards may be reproduced in whole or in part, free of charge, provided that appropriate acknowledgement is given to CTB/ Mc-Graw-Hill."

Children are active learners.

• Children are not passive recipients of knowledge. On the contrary, they construct their own knowledge through physical, social, and mental activity (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). Because children learn through firsthand actions with objects and things in their world, their learning is mediated and linked to the sociocultural context (Vygotsky, 1986).
• As active learners, young children need opportunities to observe things and events in their here-and-now world, form their own hypotheses, try them out, find out what happens, and formulate their own answers (Dewey, 1944; Glassman, 2001).
• Play is children's mode of finding out. All types of play - manipulative play, play with games, rough-and-tumble play, and socio-dramatic play - provide children with the opportunities to try things out, see what happens, and learn (Rubin, Bukowski & Parker, 1998).
• Organizing children's learning spaces through centers of interest is an efficient way to meet children's active mode of learning. Centers are clearly delineated, organized, thematic play and work areas. Centers encourage children to make decisions, learn new skills, practice skills previously gained, as well as interact with others.
• Centers offer children and teachers a great deal of flexibility. Because they do so, centers may support the needs of children, especially those who have special needs. For example, the needs of children with physical disabilities may be accommodated by providing pathways, low tables, or other necessary adjustments. Those children who need shielding from intrusion or stimulation can be offered quiet, protected centers, and spaces for active learning.

Development and learning are interrelated.

• Learning about self, developing social skills and achievement motivation cannot be separated from intellectual development, learning content and skills, or from physical health and development. Children's ideas about themselves affect not only interactions with others, but also how they perceive themselves as learners (Ladd, 1990). In turn, children's intellectual abilities and their control over language are highly correlated with how they relate and interact with peers. Children who can use language efficiently to negotiate social situations or those who have the intellectual ability to consider another's point of view, are more likely to be those with strong social skills.
• Likewise, learning to write and read depends in great part on how children feel about themselves and their ability to achieve (Bandura, 1997). Children who believe they can learn, and expect to achieve, do so (Seefeldt, Denton, Galper & Younosai, 1999).

Growth and learning are sequential.

• Growth and learning proceed in a relatively orderly sequence (Berk, 2001). For instance, learning generally proceeds from the concrete to the abstract. The early years are the time children can deepen and broaden ideas about their world through concrete, firsthand experiences. These firsthand experiences will form the base from which children are able to gain symbolic knowledge and express their ideas through drawing, painting, and verbal and written descriptions (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Piaget & Inhelder, 1969).

Each child is an individual learner.

• Each child is an individual. Each will grow, develop, and learn at his or her own pace. Because children's development is the result of the interaction between biological maturity and the environment, the rate of their development and learning varies. Thus, chronological age is not a good indicator of developmental maturity or what a child can learn.
• Even though development and learning proceed in an orderly way, development is often uneven. Some children will spurt ahead in language learning while lagging behind in motor development. Others will demonstrate a skill one day and not repeat it for another month.
• A child's genetic makeup may predict health growth and development, but an environment deprived of adequate nutrition or optimum language experiences may negate healthy growth. Severe disabilities affect normal growth and development as well. Children with disabilities may benefit more from early intervention than those without these disabilities.

Development and learning are embedded in culture.

• Culture, the social context in which children learn, grow, and develop, is defined as a complex whole of language, knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs, and ways of living that are passed on to future generations (Cole, 1999). Social groups, the family, neighborhood, religious or ethnic groups within a society, explicitly or implicitly pass on their customs, values, or moral principles to the young.
• Beginning at birth, the culture socializes children to become members of a society. But children are not just products of the culture they grow in. As children grow, they pick and choose selectively from the cultural influences they are exposed to, shaping their own cultural context over time (NRC & IM, 2001).

Family involvement is necessary.

• The close attachment between young children and their families demands family involvement. Consideration of each child's unique circumstances, respect for each family, and cooperative involvement between families and preschools is also critical to children's academic success and later school achievement (NRC, 2001a).
• Family members and teachers must work together to create continuity of learning. Preschool experiences build on and extend what children learn at home. In turn, children's learning in school is extended and continued in the home.

Children's learning can be clarified, enriched, and extended.

• Appropriate early educational experiences can extend, expand, and clarify the ideas, concepts, language and social skills children gain spontaneously. With the guidance of highly knowledgeable, trained, and skilled adults who understand both children and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes children need to acquire, children can learn more than they could on their own (Vygotsky, 1986).