Transitions and Alignment: From Preschool to Kindergarten. Special Report

Policymakers and educators continue to grapple with issues of persistent achievement gaps in student performance at third grade and beyond. As they do, they look for ways to create a more seamless system of education that is "connected from one stage to the next -- reducing the chances that students will be lost along the way or require remedial programs to acquire skills or knowledge they could have learned right from the start." Successful coordination between preschool and kindergarten helps to lay the groundwork for a child's positive school experience. If this transition does not go well, children can be turned off to learning and school at an early age. By aligning standards, curricula, instruction and assessments between preschool and kindergarten, children can experience a seamless pathway that sets them up for future success. Based on research and work with states, Education Commission of the States has identified these two key elements that states can consider when creating a coordinated preschool-to-third grade system: (1) Effective transition programs and practices that help the child and family move smoothly and successfully from one learning setting to another; and (2) Authentic alignment of the basic pedagogical components of early learning and kindergarten to create continuous learning and teaching experiences. This special report -- focused on early learning and kindergarten -- examines effective transition programs and practices, and the importance of alignment across basic pedagogical components.