Many parents wonder what they can do to ensure that their preschoolers will be successful when they enter school, especially now with so much emphasis on state testing and learning standards. Through play and everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping, young children acquire the information and skills needed to learn more…

This document looks at the performance of Illinois schools. The positives include: (1) more schools are meeting tough No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements; and (2) math scores in all grades have improved significantly over the past five years. However, there continues to be room for improvement, including: (1) improving reading at all grade…