Soon after the implementation of federal and state early education mandates that require the teaching and testing of more formal "academic" skills, many highly experienced early childhood teachers began voicing concerns about the negative impact the mandates were having on the young children in their classrooms. Many of these concerns focused on children from low-income homes--the very children the mandates were most supposed to help. This report documents what highly experienced and well-trained teachers in several states said in interviews about how school reform mandates are harming low-income young children, their families, their programs and themselves. The responses reveal that the mandates--and the top-down manner in which they have been implemented--disregard teachers' knowledge of child development, culturally appropriate practice, and how to meet the diverse educational needs of poor children. Recommendations for action conclude the report.