Achievement Gaps, Access, Quality And Floridas Vpk Program

Achievement Gaps, Access, Quality and Florida’s VPK Program Achievement Gaps Each year in the United States four million eager young children walk into a kindergarten classroom with big hopes and dreams of success both academically and socially (U.S. DOE, 2015). But the stark reality facing many of these children is that they are several steps behind their classmates on the journey to success. Even as early as the first grade, 30% - 50% of the black-white achievement gap is already present. (Mead, 2012). Similar size gaps also exist when considering socio-economic levels. â€Å"Before even entering kindergarten, the average cognitive score of children in the highest SES group are 60% above the scores of the lowest SES group† (Mead, 2012). These children are beginning their journey without the reading, math and social–emotional skills necessary for their success. The â€Å"average math achievement is 21% lower for black than for whites, and 19% lower for Hisp anics† (Mead, 2012). These gaps are looming large in the lives of young children. Access/Quality â€Å"Research shows that young children’s earliest learning experiences can have powerful long-term effects on their cognitive and emotional development, school achievement, and later life outcomes† (Mead, 2012). The literature reveals that a strong collection of research exists that indicates children who attend high-quality preschool programs have better health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes than those who do not