2014 New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards Revision

New Jersey's Preschool Mathematics Standards Revision

New Jersey's 2014 Preschool Standards for Teaching and Learning in Mathematics now match the kindergarten Common Core Standards for mathematics.  The preschool standards are ordered according to the domains used in the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.

New Jersey's Preschool English Language Arts Standards Revision

The preschool English Language Arts standards have also been revised to match the Common Core standards. Like the standards for K-3, the preschool ELA standards have six strands:  Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, Reading: Foundations, Writing, Speaking and Listening and Language.

In addition, the revisions of both the Mathematics and English Language Arts Standards include:

• More clarity regarding what children should know and be able to do by the end of the four year old preschool year,
• Additional examples of teaching practices,
• An aligned framework that is consistent throughout preschool to third grade, providing a common language for articulation across the grades.
• Teaching practices for each standard that correspond to each of the preschool learning outcomes for that standard, and
• The use of technology embedded in the teaching practices.

New Jersey's Preschool Approaches to Learning Addition

"Approaches to Learning" was added to the preschool standards.  Approaches to Learning, such as initiative and persistence, are behaviors and attitudes that show how children learn, not just what they learn.  Research shows that Approaches to Learning is a better predictor of how preschool children do in school than early math and literacy skills.  Children with higher levels of attentiveness, task persistence, eagerness to learn, learning independence, flexibility, and organizational skills do better in both literacy and math throughout the early elementary years.