John Merrow Answers Questions

This is a great question. I don't know of any systematic effort, but I suspect that many principals try to put their "best" teachers in the early grades.

If you saw part five of our New Orleans coverage, you know that we asked that question: Are first graders learning to read? I wanted to cover that aspect of the story because I am convinced that most first graders can learn to read and because I know that kids who fall behind early are unlikely to catch up.

We were heartened to see how many first graders were reading with comprehension.

If I had my druthers, I'd group all kids who we now call first graders, second graders and third graders in one group and then work with children in small groups depending on their achievement level. That way some "first graders" would be grouped with "third graders" for math, and so on. Age segregation is for the convenience of adults and completely disregards what we know about early learning.