Omniseek: Education: Kindergartner Study Finds 4 Sectors Starting Far Behind the Pack

The vast majority of children enter kindergarten knowing the alphabet and numbers, well behaved and in good health -- but their poorer classmates start from behind, the Education Department said today in its first report card on a national sample of the nation's youngest students. The department also said today that for six more years it would follow the progress of the national sample of 22,000 youngsters who entered private and public kindergartens in fall 1998 in hope of finding out how to help those who are behind.