Lack of space raises another issue for state prekindergartens. As a result, most children are getting only one year of prekindergarten. I just can't take them at 3. Kindergartners with two years of prekindergarten, she reports, adjust to kindergarten and 1st grade more quickly and, in general, are farther ahead in their development. But, Martinez adds, relatively few children in her class, or in colleague Spurlark's state Chapter 1 preschool, get that second year.
Research points to the benefits of a second year.
It's not surprising that children with two years do better, says Erikson's Bowman. If you have more time to learn something, you learn it better. Getting primary grades 'ready' Early childhood experts say that getting schools ready for youngsters is as important as getting youngsters ready for school. If the gains children make in preschool are to be maintained, primary-grade teaching must change. There has to be a whole new approach.