Compensatory Education

Compensatory Education offers supplementary programs or services designed to help children at risk of cognitive impairment and low educational archievement reach their full potential [Katy Independent School district: [http://www.katyisd.org/Curriculum/comp_educ.htm Compensatory Education] ] [Garbner, Howard L. (1988): Milwaukee Project: Preventing Mental Retardation in Children at Risk]

Children at risk

Children growing up poor have lower academic outcomes than their well-off peers. They are more likely to experience learningdisabilities and developmental delays. [FPG Snapshot; No. 42, April 2007 - Poverty and Early Childhood Intervention. [http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap42.pdf] ] Poor children score between 6 and 13 points lower on various standardized tests of IQ, verbal ability, and achievement. [The Future of Children, Children and Poverty Vol. 7, No. 2 – Summer/Fall 1997 [http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol7no2ART4.pdf] ] Poverty also has a negative impact on high-school graduation [Duncan, G.J., Yeung, W., Brooks-Gunn, J., and Smith, J.R. How much does childhood poverty affect the life chances of children? American Sociological Review, in press.] and college attendance. [FPG Snapshot; No. 42, April 2007 - Poverty and Early Childhood Intervention. [http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap42.pdf] ] Children raised by a single parent, children who have more than two siblings, children by teenaged parents and children raised in ghetto neighbourhoods are also at risk of low academical achievement. [Hans Weiß: Frühförderung mit Kindern und Familien in Armutslagen. München/Basel: Ernst Reinhardt Verlag. ISBN 3-497-01539-3]

How to help these children

Numerous programs have been created in order to help children and youth at risk reach their full potential. Among the American programs of compensary education are Head Start, the Chicago Child-Parent Center Program, High/Scope, Abecedarian Early Intervention Project, SMART (Start Making a Reader Today), the Milwaukee Project and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. In Germany and Great Britain Early Excellence Centres are widely discussed programs of compensatory education. Not all of that programs have been proven to be effective. However scientist were able to identify social programms that work. [ [http://www.evidencebasedprograms.org/ Social Programs that work] ] Among these are the High/Scope Perry Preschool Project [Lawrence J. Schweinhart, Helen V. Barnes, and David P. Weikart. Significant Benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 27 (High/Scope Press, 1993)] [Lawrence J. Schweinhart, PhD. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40: Summary, Conclusions, and Frequently Asked Questions (High/Scope Press 2004)] [ [http://www.evidencebasedprograms.org/Default.aspx?tabid=32 Perry Preschool Project (High-quality preschool for children from disadvantaged backgrounds)] ] , the Abecedarian Project [Campbell, Frances A., Craig T. Ramey, Elizabeth Pungello, Joseph Sparling, and Shari Miller-Johnson. “Early Childhood Education: Young Adult Outcomes From the Abecedarian Project,” Applied Developmental Science, 2002, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 42-57] [Leonard N. Masse and W. Steven Barnett, A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Abecedarian Early Childhood Intervention, New Brunswick, N.J.: National Institute for Early Education Research, 2002 [http://nieer.org/resources/research/AbecedarianStudy.pdf] ] [Campbell, Frances A., Elizabeth Pungello, Shari Miller-Johnson, Margaret Burchinal, and Craig T. Ramey. “The Development of Cognitive and Academic Abilities: Growth Curves From an Early Childhood Educational Experiment,” Developmental Psychology, 2001, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 231-242] [ [http://www.evidencebasedprograms.org/Default.aspx?tabid=33 Abecedarian Project (High-quality child care/preschool for children from disadvantaged backgrounds)] ] [FPG Snapshot; No. 42, April 2007 - Poverty and Early Childhood Intervention. [http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap42.pdf] ] and SMART [Baker, Scott, Russell Gersten and Thomas Keating. When less may be more: A 2-year longitudinal evaluation of a volunteer tutoring program requiring minimal training. Reading Research Quarterly, Volume 35, Number 4; Oct-Dec. 2000.] [ [http://www.evidencebasedprograms.org/Default.aspx?tabid=114 SMART - Start Making a Reader Today (Volunteer tutoring program for at-risk readers in early elementary school)] ]

Jensenism

Jensenism is the belief that an individual's IQ is largely due to heredity, including racial heritage. [ [http://dictionary.factmonster.com/jensenism Jen•sen•ism] ] Arthur Jensen hold the opinion that compensatory education does not work. [Jensen A R. How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement?Harvard Educ. Rev. 39:1-123, 1969] In their controversial book The Bell Curve, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray (author) put forth the same opinion. The book has been critisized by many scientists.

References

ee also

* Poverty in the United States
* Poverty in the United Kingdom

External links

* [http://www.evidencebasedprograms.org/ Social Programs that Work]
* [http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap42.pdf Poverty and Early childhood Intervention]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5DD103DF937A35750C0A964958260 New Head Start Studies Raise Question on Help: Should Fewer Get More?]
* [http://www.ericdigests.org/1993/urban.htm Helping Young Urban Parents Educate Themselves and Their Children. ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 85]
* [http://www.surestart.gov.uk/surestartservices/settings/earlyexcellencecentres/ Early excellence centres]