在线英语听力室

'Achievement Gap' Closing Slightly for Young Students in U.S.

时间:2016-10-07 16:34:40

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

'Achievement Gap' Closing Slightly for Young Students in U.S.

It is no surprise that within many education systems, wealthier students often test better than poorer students.

To education experts this is often called the “achievement gap.”

What is a surprise is that, in the United States, the achievement gap seems to be closing, at least a little. That result surprised researchers at Stanford University in California.

Sean Reardon is a professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford. He studied children and how they prepare for kindergarten classes. He also looked at how their preparation has changed since the 1990s.

Kindergarten programs are for boys and girls before they enter first grade. At this level, children need to demonstrate simple counting, an ability to listen and language skills. They need to be able to focus on a project and act responsibly in a classroom.

Reardon found that from 1998 to 2010 the achievement gap closed a small amount. He said it was not a huge change. The important thing, he said, is that the gap is closing.

One way to reduce the gap is to offer pre-kindergarten programs to very young children.

Education experts and some politicians have long pushed for pre-kindergarten classes for all young children. In fact, it has been a promise heard on the political campaign trail -- universal pre-kindergarten classes for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

Such classes are already being offered in some areas around the United States, including the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. In fact, education reformers may want to look to Washington as a role model.

Vincent Gray is a former mayor of the District of Columbia. When Gray was chairman of the D.C. Council, he wrote the legislation1 for universal pre-K. His measure gave parents of all children in Washington the choice to begin school at either age 3 or 4.

“We’ve always had some form of early childhood care in the District of Columbia, for decades. But what we didn’t have was universal access. And I did the legislation in 2009 as Chairman of the Council to get it done. And then when I became the mayor, when I was sworn in in 2011, it gave me an incredible2 opportunity to be able to fully3 implement4 the legislation. The reason why I did it is that I believe that the opportunity to learn in a formal sense should not wait until a child is 5 years old.”

Gray says he made sure the legislation was in effect and fully enforced during his four years as mayor. He was defeated for re-election, but is now a candidate for re-election for a seat on the D.C. council.

Today, most of Washington’s youngest children are in school. Gray explains that the pre-K programs are not a requirement in the city. Parents can still choose what is best for their family. But many parents are choosing education.

"We now have in the District of Columbia, we have over 80 percent of our 3-year-olds that go to school. And I might add, it's not mandatory5. You’re not required to put your child in school. But virtually no parent at this stage is saying ‘I don’t want my child in school.’ They want them in school because there’s not a cost associated with it, other than the cost of them not having the opportunity to learn. And then we have 94 percent of our four-year-olds who go to school all day. We have essentially6 reached universality.”

Pre-kindergarten classes for 3- and 4-year-olds offer hope for many youngsters7. It is more than learning the ABCs or counting to 100. These classes give the youngest students the chance to learn how to listen, develop social skills, and interact8 with others.

However, there are theories that say a child does not need schooling9 at the age of 3 and 4. If we are looking at test results, Finland beats the United States and most other countries in mathematics, reading and science. Yet Finnish children do not start school until age 7.

Perhaps there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Perhaps different children need school at different times.

Generally, wealthier parents have more financial resources to help their children. Educated parents -- wealthy or not -- may know how to use the resources that are available to them. For example, they may take their children to free events at a public library or recreation center. Washington, D.C. also has many museums with free admission.

Perhaps children who grow up with these types of activities don’t need to start attending school at age 3. However, children who are growing up in what Vincent Gray calls socio-economically challenging situations may not have access to such activities. For some families, he says, starting school at age 3 can be a game changer.

“It’s especially important for kids who may the victims of an achievement gap, especially important for kids who are in socio-economically challenging situations.”

Pre-kindergarten classes do more than educate the child. They also bring parents and caregivers into the schools. This point of contact, explains Gray, is a valuable time to educate families.

A federal study found that, overall, parent involvement increased with such contacts. But it increased even more among low-income parents. It shows schools offer a place where conversations with these parents can happen.

Words in This Story

focus – v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific

universal – adj. done or experienced by everyone : existing or available for everyone : existing or true at all times or in all places : - n. universality

campaign trail – n. a route that takes a candidate for office to different places in order to talk to people during a campaign <The candidates talked about the people they met on the campaign trail.>

role model – n. a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others

incredible – adj. extremely good, great, or large

implement – v. to begin to do or use (something, such as a plan) : to make (something) active or effective

mandatory – adj. required by a law or rule

virtually – adv. very nearly : almost entirely10

associated – v. to combine or join with other parts

essentially – adv. basically

library – n. a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow

socio-economically – adv. in a way that relates to, or involves a combination of social and economic factors

challenging – adj. difficult

game changer – n. an element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 legislation q9uzG     
n.立法,法律的制定;法规,法律
参考例句:
  • They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
  • The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。
2 incredible q8fx7     
adj.难以置信的,不可信的,极好的,大量的
参考例句:
  • Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
  • Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。
3 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
4 implement WcdzG     
n.(pl.)工具,器具;vt.实行,实施,执行
参考例句:
  • Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划,除非你能完成这项计划。
  • The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
5 mandatory BjTyz     
adj.命令的;强制的;义务的;n.受托者
参考例句:
  • It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
  • There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。
6 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
参考例句:
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
7 youngsters 9d413e799253048dc5ebe7d07ff8dd5f     
n.孩子( youngster的名词复数 );少年;青年;年轻人
参考例句:
  • We followed the youngsters at a more sedate pace. 我们跟在年轻人后面,步子稍慢一点。
  • The camp is for youngsters aged 8 to 14. 这次夏令营是为8至14岁的少年儿童安排的。
8 interact w5Ix9     
vi.相互作用,相互影响,互通信息
参考例句:
  • All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
  • The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。
9 schooling AjAzM6     
n.教育;正规学校教育
参考例句:
  • A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
  • Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。
10 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。