What Happens When the Stakes in Kindergarten Rise?

First there was the letter from an elementary principal in Elwood, NY, saying that the annual year-end kindergarten show was being canceled because the teachers needed additional academic time with students to "prepare for college and life" (see actual letter below). The letter was authenticated by the Washington Post, among other sources, and is apparently not a spiteful act by a harried principal trying to show the stupidity of No Child Left Behind. Then, by coincidence, an item in Education Week outlines the academic expectations for today's kindergarteners, including:

• Kindergarten teachers expect students to arrive knowing their letters and numbers.
• The focus is more academic, with students expected to read by first grade.
• 80 percent of programs are full-day, compared to 56 percent in 1998.

The authors note, "There is a lively debate among educators and parents on whether the new kindergarten expectations are developmentally appropriate. Are classrooms becoming sweatshops for rote, shallow academics with no time for play, socio-emotional learning, and other subjects?" Apparently, the answer is yes.