From Babbling Babies to Ready Readers: Minnesota and
Massachusetts Link Early Childhood and Closing the Literacy Gap
Feb 09, 2011 Under pressure to close achievement gaps, raise
test scores, and increase graduation rates, state education
officials are coming around to what early childhood development
experts have known all along: the skills that lead to literacy
and academic success are developed early. Some states, including
Massachusetts and Minnesota, are considering legislative and
budget proposals that will intensify the focus on building
reading skills starting at preschool, and aiming for reading
proficiency by third grade. That, experts say, is the age by
which if a child is not reading, they may have academic
challenges that follow them throughout their school careers.
Given the abundance of research supporting the importance of the
early childhood years in cognitive and language development,
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton's proposed 7-point education
plan's emphasis on prekindergarten and kindergart