Christmas WS's!
A new groundbreaking study, Do high flyers maintain their altitude? released by the Fordham Institute should serve as an alarm bell to parents of young children.
The study analyzed the progress of tens of thousands of kids through years of school. A key finding: kids who have only average reading and math scores in grade 3 rarely become high achievers later.
Grade 4, and the ship has sailed
The implications for parents are profound. Parents who believe their kids will catch-up and excel later are wrong: they won’t. The early years are just too critical a period for learning basic reading, numeracy and study skills - the tools kids need for all their future learning.
The lesson for parents
Parents who want their children to have the opportunity to be a high achiever – a lawyer, doctor, engineer, and so on –need to be proactive in ensuring that they build appropriate skills in the primary years. Tools like online learning, tutors, Kumon or old fashioned workbooks are available, but its up to Mom and Dad to make sure that learning is the number one priority in a young child’s life.
