Pre-K: Growing Popularity?

Here in the Kansas City area, we tend to think of those children who need pre-kindergarten -- schooling for three and four year olds -- as those who appear to be behind in the developmental skills s/he will need for school. In the Shawnee Mission District here in Overland Park, it is called Smart Start. But the Sunday New York Times (12/18/11) has a write-up of how popular pre-K is in New York City -- to the point that middle class and wealthy parents are scrambling for a spot in the strong programs.

And the spots aren't there. Some parents are forming their own pre-K groups but, given the politics of running a program for one's children, parents are finding the task harder than expected. I don't know if this is the trend of the future or just an East Coast experience; I'll be interested to wait and watch.

CADERS, The Test

     CADERS is not only the name of the early readers I have but a computerized assessment reading test I've developed. It's all on www.sheilaberenson.com, but at this point I have the site locked since student scores are listed on it (and once you open the site, all scores are available). Once I figure out a way to make it available to the public, I'll be able to unlock it and let anyone use it for testing their classroom or own child. It assesses phonic skills, comprehension, and literacy and is very user friendly. Not ready for public use yet, but someday and soon...