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How Important Kindergarten Has Become

Fifteen years ago, barely one-third of kindergarten teachers felt it was important their students learn to read before first grade.

Today, according to the American Institutes of Research, that number has shot up dramatically — nearly four in five kindergarten teachers now say their students should be reading.

The analysis offers a telling picture of how expectations of kindergarteners and their teachers have changed in the last two decades.

“In many ways, kindergarten is becoming the new first grade,” write Jill Walston and Kristin Flanagan at The Quick & The Ed.

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Kyle Stokes joined WFIU/WTIU in 2011 as an education reporter and blogger for StateImpact Indiana, a collaborative reporting venture between WFIU and NPR News. He comes to Bloomington from Columbia, Mo., where he was a producer and reporter for NPR member station KBIA-FM and NBC affiliate KOMU-TV. Originally from Minneapolis, Minn., Stokes is a proud graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism and an even prouder Minnesota Twins fan.
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