EDUCATION
REPORT- Head Start Testing
By Jerilyn Watson
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English
Education Report.
Four-year-old children in Head Start programs throughout
the United States are taking a test. This test is meant to show if Head
Start is succeeding in its goal. The goal is to make sure children from
poor families are as prepared to begin school as other children.
The four-year-olds are being tested for their ability
to recognize simple words and letters in the alphabet. They are also
being tested for their skills with numbers. Federal education officials
say the test will help the Head Start program improve. The officials
will compare the performance of the children against national averages
in early arithmetic, reading and writing.
Head Start began almost forty years ago. The children
are between the ages of three and five. They receive free preparation
for their first year in school. Some spend half a day in Head Start,
others a full day. Still others take part in a program of home visits.
Local non-profit organizations operate the programs.
The government spends more than six-and-a-half thousand-million dollars
a year to pay for Head Start.
Federal officials say close to a million children
throughout the country take part in the programs.
Wade Horn leads the Head Start program for the government.
Mister Horn says the test is designed to learn which kinds of programs
help children the most.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services
released a report on Head Start in June. The agency compared Head Start
children with children from average, middle-income families. It said
the Head Start children are not as ready for school as the others. But
some educators criticize the idea that one year in Head Start could
raise poor children to average levels. Some also criticize parts of
the test. For example, critics noted that the children are asked to
point to a picture of a "swamp." They say a lot of children,
especially from cities, might not know that a swamp is a wetland area
with grass.
Still, even some educators who oppose the test agree
with federal officials that Head Start needs to do better to prepare
children for school. Currently, local programs decide what they want
to teach. Many have placed major importance on health, nutrition and
social development. In recent years, federal managers of Head Start
have been telling programs to place more importance on basic skills
needed for school.
This VOA Special English Education Report was
written by Jerilyn Watson. This is Steve Ember.
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