Recognizing that achievement gaps start early, policymakers at the state and federal level have focused attention on reading readiness for low-income and minority preschool children. Neuman argues that the focus of many preschool programs--building such basic literacy skills as letter recognition and decoding--misses the mark. What economically disadvantaged children need to close the achievement gap is "a great infusion of knowledge--knowledge of words and their meanings, understanding of the concepts that connect them, and ability to think critically about what one reads." This kind of knowledge provides the basic foundation for literacy learning. Neuman describes preschool classrooms that provide knowledge-building experiences and encourage students to question, discover, evaluate and use higher-order thinking skills.