No Child Left Behind Comes to Preschool

In this article I examine recent policy initiatives related to early childhood education that can be traced either directly to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) or to the emphasis on standards and accountability that produced NCLB, including the development of standards and assessments and moving the birth date for kindergarten eligibility to require children to be older when they enter school. I also discuss instructional and assessment issues that need to be considered if new pressures to teach academic skills in preschool benefit rather than do harm to young children.