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Minnesota Association
for the Education of Young Children (MnAEYC) Statement
Regarding proposed Minnesota Standards
for Mathematics and Language Arts
The mission of the Minnesota Association for the Education
of Young Children is to promote the professional development
of those who are committed to the care and education
of young children. As part of that mission, we follow
the research on appropriate educational outcomes for
young children and effective ways to teach young children
for them to attain these outcomes. We know that young
children can meet high expectations if they are taught
with strategies appropriate to their ages. A fundamental
position of MnAEYC is that Minnesota will meet its goals
of educational success for learners at every level only
by using techniques and content matched to the age and
development of each individual learner.
Currently the State of Minnesota, under the guidance
of Commissioner Yecke and the Academic Standards Committee,
is working to establish strong, clear standards for
competence in the areas of Language Arts and Mathematics
for all learners K – 12. MnAEYC applauds the Academic
Standards Committee for staying with the wording of
the ‘No Child Left Behind’ law and beginning assessment
of reading and math standards at third grade. However,
the draft standards pertaining to reading at the kindergarten
level are inappropriately advanced when compared to
accepted standards in the field. The Draft Academic
Standards are a particularly inaccurate measure for
the large number of Minnesota children who attend half-time
kindergarten programs.
Standards summarized in the NAEYC/IRA* Position Document:
Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate
Practices and the widely accepted standards of the
Work-Sampling System indicate that young children
are capable of much more than is widely expected but
also that children up to age eight learn differently
than older children. Strategies intended for older children
are not acceptable for 3-8 year olds and do not produce
the outcomes we seek. Only by providing learners with
techniques and content appropriate for their developmental
level will we succeed in meeting the state's goals of
quality and success for learners at every age. MnAEYC
urges a revision of these kindergarten reading standards--
and a subsequent review of standards for first and second
grades--to bring them in line with the NAEYC/IRA Document
and the widely accepted standards of the Work-Sampling
System. We strongly recommend the postponement of
implementation of these standards until September of
2004 to allow adequate time for the unhurried, scholarly
review of the present draft.
* Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally
Appropriate Practices for Young Children, A joint
position statement of the International Reading Association
(IRA) and the National Association for the Education
of Young Children (NAEYC), adopted 1998.
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