Compelling new scientific evidence reveals that a child's earliest experiences have a major role in shaping the likelihood of getting off to a good start in life and school, for these are the years when the essential structures for growth and learning are put in place. These findings have important implications for the content of child care and early education programs and highlight the public interest in assuring the quality of those programs. Similarly, decades of research on the science of learning has shown that deep understanding requires both a rich foundation of factual knowledge and command of the subject's conceptual frameworks--whether it be chess, mathematics, or jet engine mechanics. This research has important implications for educational practice--what and how teachers teach--and for policy, for example, state education standards. This booklet includes executive summaries of five reports that, taken together, provide policy makers, educators, and parents with important tools for progress. It is intended for federal administrators, members of Congress, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and others who want to use the best available science to develop policies to promote child development and education. Conducted under the auspices of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council--the Academies' operating arm--and the Institute of Medicine, these studies exemplify the contributions of science in charting new directions for policies and programs.
