Nearly 80% of U.S. teachers say children are less prepared for elementary school than they used to be, the most dismal rate of any country in the global survey.
Nearly half of U.S. teachers surveyed (47%) blamed the lingering effects of COVID-19 disruptions for the learning slowdown among their country's youngest students.
In the survey, teachers were asked, “Based on your experience, how do you think children's readiness for school has changed over the past few years? Do you think children are better prepared for school than they were a few years ago? Do you think children are about as ready for school as they were a few years ago? Do you think children are less ready for school than they were a few years ago?”
A shocking 78% of U.S. teachers say U.S. students are not prepared, with only 4% saying they are prepared and 18% saying they are just as prepared or the same.
Many American educators have noted that a significant percentage of 4- and 5-year-olds cannot wash their hands, go to the toilet on their own, identify numbers and letters, or read simple words, including their own names.
The poll, conducted by a UK-based global children's charity, found that the preparedness gap in the US was far more serious than those cited by educators in the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil, South Africa and India. Their WorldIn partnership with Hall & Partners.
By comparison, 60% of teachers in the UK say their youngest students are not yet ready, 64% in Brazil and 55% in the Netherlands say the same.
India bucks the trend, with 70% of teachers in the world's most populous country saying students are starting school more prepared, and 45% of South African educators say the same.
Seventy percent of American teachers also said young Americans are not ready for school because children are not attending pre-K, a program that has been universally available in New York City for nearly a decade, but has been nonexistent in many parts of the country for decades.
About 57% of teachers also cited poverty as a factor and said parents are not teaching their children “school readiness” skills.
A Bronx parent of a 5-year-old boy with autism who is entering first grade told The Washington Post on Monday that it's up to parents to prepare their children for kindergarten, and that society needs to stop making excuses.
Ruth Valladares, 43, a mother who works at a nail salon, said her son, Tayden, is ready for school and knows how to do the basic tasks listed in the survey.
“He knows his name, he knows how to write his name, he knows how to wash his hands, he knows how to go to the bathroom on his own,” she said.
She said COVID-19 is not a good excuse for parents whose children are not doing well.
“Right now, everyone says 'COVID' for everything, but that's not actually the case,” Valladares said.
She said Tayden attended preschool before he started kindergarten and she sat with him and taught him how to write his name.
“We need to help kids at home,” Valladares said.
State Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx), a former elementary school special needs teacher, said better preschool and education for 3-year-olds could help parents who are struggling to make ends meet and help their children.
But parental responsibility is also a key factor, he said.
“Childcare is very important. Home life is very important. Eighty percent of learning comes from the home,” Benedetto said.
Presenting the findings, Theirworld executive chairman Justin Van Fleet called for action to increase public funding for childcare, pre-school and other early education.
“Without urgent investments in children's early years, America's youngest and most vulnerable children will start life at a severe disadvantage,” Van Fleet said.
“This could have lasting effects for generations.”
He stressed that increasing spending on early childhood education would help better address inequality and labor shortages.
“Ninety percent of a child's brain is developed by age 5, so the period from birth to school is the most critical period in a child's life. Our leaders must recognize that investing in these early years is one of the most cost-effective ways to build healthier, more prosperous and greener communities,” Van Fleet said.
The global survey questioned more than 2,600 teachers, including 506 in the United States.
