Extra help necessary?

I read in a Child magazine article last year that students get ahead in school only if they have additional outside tutoring. As a parent, I find it somewhat disturbing that public schools aren't cutting it and that I would have to pay money in order for my child to excel in school. I am lucky to have a very smart girl who has taken very well to her first years in school, but I know many children who have trouble acclimating to school and since they learn so much even before kindergarten (we had daily homework assignments in pre-school!), if the child doesn't figure it out then, he is held back for another year.

There are programs available like the Innovative Tutor at Score that works with children as young as four, all the way through the beginning high school years to make significant academic progress. Many children benefit from the more personalized attention that tutoring gives, but I still believe the schools should have small enough classes to be able give the children all the one-on-one teaching they need.

Also, children are expected to complete two years of pre-school before entering kindergarten, which is a big change from when I was a child. The standardized testing also starts in kindergarten now. Remember the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills)? I do, but only starting around third or fourth grade. It just seems like children are forced to grow up so fast today. And then we wonder why they have so many psychological problems and are so stressed - we are putting the pressures of the world on them too young! I say, let kids play while they are young and just enjoy the everyday pleasures of being a kid.