Research:

• Even with quality preschool interventions, at-risk children can experience a "fade out" of learning gains without continued appropriate instruction in primary grades. This "fade out" is less likely in schools that connect pre-k to kindergarten and primary grades through a PK-2 education program. [Graves, Bill. PK-3: what is it and how do we know it works? 2006]

Current Realities:

• In the fall of 2001, the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted the Cumberland County School Readiness Assessment (CCSRA).   Cumberland County teachers used practices designed to help children and families make the transition into school less frequently than teachers across NC and the nation. Teachers in high-poverty schools used some transition practices more frequently than teachers in low-poverty schools.