Tune into Kids in Georgia

Challenges Facing Georgia’s Children Today:

Expanding Pre-K As the first state to introduce universal Pre-K, Georgia’s Pre-K program, funded by the Georgia lottery, created momentum for universal pre-K programming nationwide. Georgia can be proud to report that 55% or 72, 943 four year olds were enrolled in voluntary State Pre-K programs during the 2004-2005 school year. This does not include four year olds in private Pre-K programs, or those still involved in Head Start Programs. This is a huge leap from the 15, 500 children enrolled in Pre-K in 1995-- the year before the program opened up to all Georgia’s four year olds. Georgia’s investment in universal Pre-K shows dedication to improving education in Georgia and the momentum should not be stopped.

EARLY (3-4):  Three and four year olds, especially those from disadvantaged families, who attend quality Pre-K programs are more likely to succeed in school, and eventually to gain employment, and enjoy better life outcomes.  The public value of Georgia’s Pre-K for disadvantaged four year olds highlights an opportunity for similar programs to be offered for families with children ages 0-3. Children from low-income families have seen incredible education benefits from quality, early education programs. While Georgia has led the way in universal Pre-K initiatives, we have fallen behind other states in making 0-3 programs available to children from low income families.

There are also steps to take to improve Georgia’s current programs. Many of the state's Pre-K programs are not nationally accredited, however, all program providers are required to use approved curricula that meet Georgia's Pre-K Program Content Standards for four year olds, which are part of a continuum of standards for children from birth through college.  Quality initiatives such as Bright from the Start’s, Standards of Care are a great start towards ensuring the quality of our childcare professionals and creating access to quality childcare programs for kids 0-5. Georgia needs to continue to build upon its successes in Pre-K in kindergarten and elementary education to maintain the advantage gained by early learning initiatives.

MIDDLE (5-12): While Georgia continues to use state-based testing, the CRCT or Criterion Referenced Competency Tests, to monitor student progress within the state, the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP scores provide the most reliable data available on the proficiency of Georgia students compared with students across the nation. In 2005, NAEP scores sent a clear message to Georgians. Georgia students’ average scores were below the national average, and below 33 other states/ jurisdictions. In 2005, 41% of Georgia students were below Basic achievement levels on the fourth grade reading assessment. Basic achievement in reading requires students to demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of the text and make simple observations and inferences from the text to their own lives. While a basic understanding is critical, it cannot be our final goal. The fourth grade marks the crucial age when kids transition from learning to read, to reading to learn. Georgia students must be reaching for Proficient and Advanced achievement levels to make them competitive with students across the country.

A major challenge in Georgia is the demographics gap on NAEP test scores. On average, black students scored 27 percent below their white classmates; Hispanic students on average scored 23 points below. These achievement gaps must be addressed if Georgia is to raise the bar of education in our state. If we could bring minority students’ scores to the same level as their white counterparts, we would already have achieved the goal of 72% of students meeting basic achievement levels.

^{NIEER, “The Effects of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children’s School Readiness in Five States”}

ADOLESCENTS (13-19)
For Georgia’s teens, high school graduation can be a door to a promising future. Yet, each year a significant number of our teens are not completing their education. Georgia’s annual drop-out rates have far exceeded the national average of 8%, reaching 12% in 2004. In Edweek’s recent publication, Diplomas Count, the EPE calculated Georgia’s 2002-03 graduation rate was a low 56.3 % compared to 69.6% nationally. ^[2]  Students’ abandoning their education at such a young age makes them much more vulnerable to a host of other challenges—statistics show that high school drop outs are much more likely to be unemployed, and once they find work to make below the minimum wage. These teens are also at a higher risk for teen pregnancy, drug or alcohol abuse, and eventually even prison. For more information on the challenges of high school drop-outs see EMPLOYABLE.

  ^{[2] http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/dc/2006/ga_SGB06.pdf}