Kindergarten ??????????

mckayleesmom wrote: Do they have to take a test to get into kindergarten if they are already 5 before kindergarten starts?????

I already called the school to find out when registration starts and they haven't even picked a date to start yet.....but lately Ive been reading alot of posts about people getting their kids tested.....

skinkybaby replied: Different states have different rules

mckayleesmom replied: Is there a website or something where I can find out if my state is one of them?

skinkybaby replied: Try googling [whatever state you live in] kindergarten requirements.

Or try your school district's website!

mckayleesmom replied:
Thanks...I just tried the school one, but it was useless. I found one for another county that said there wasn't there, but Im not sure if thats for just that city.

paradisemommy replied: Brianne, i think they'll do like a preliminary screening on your child just to see where they are at in their learning but i don't think i would necessarily call it a test - at least that is how they did it here.

Nina J replied: 5 years old is to old to be in kindergarten, isn't it? Where I live, you go to kindergarten when you are 4, and then you are in Preparatory class (prep) when you are 5 (which is like the first year of 'real' school), then grade 1, 2, 3, etc.

And you don;t have a test for kindergarten.

jem0622 replied: Yes, they do test them. Whether it is ahead of the start of the year, or schedule it with you at a later time.

This is the case for my county, so I can't speak for all.

My youngest boy will start kindy this Fall (missed the cutoff last year). We are excited! :-D And I am so glad he didn't start sooner. He will be almost six, and far better off from a maturity level and ability to comprehend. As the principal asked me when I talked about early enrollment 'would you rather have an average kid, or an above average kid?' She feels that by waiting that extra year, I am giving him the best start possible. And I couldn't agree more!

GL!

sparkys2boys replied: They don't test here, but it's Canada right..lol. They do test for Grade 1 though

luvmykids replied:
Same here. They just use it to have an idea where all the kids are with the basics b/c our school divides them up into reading and math groups based on their screening tests.

MommyToAshley replied: I think it depends on the school system. Our public school tests as a screening just to see what level the kids are on. Some of the private schools will use the test to decide whether to start them in kindergarten or recommend a year of k-prep. In Ashley's school, they move really fast and if the kids don't have some basic concepts down then they will be really lost. The K-prep gets them ready for the next year.

My3LilMonkeys replied:
Here too! They call it an evaluation and they do it when you register them for kindergarten.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Not here if they meet the cutoff, but they do have a testing/orientation date no matter what, where the teachers assess where all the kids are at. Our cutoff is about a week before school starts or something like that. They have to be 5 by that cutoff. They will do testing if a parent thinks their child is ready earlier, but they are pretty strict about sticking to their cutoff.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
We have pre-k: 4 years old (not all school systems and states offer public school pre-k and it's not required)
Kindergarten: 5 years old (K isn't even required in many states either)
1st grade: 6 years old
2nd grade...and so on

Cece00 replied: Usually when a school says they are "testing" kids, its just a sort of screening to see where the kids are at. Generally all schools do this, and they use that, and evals throughout the year, to see how the kids are learning, making sure they are learning certain things, concepts, etc. Usually a state says a K child must know X number of letters, numbers, this concept, that concept. Some schools will group classrooms together of kids who have similar scores in certain things.

I wouldnt worry about it too much, they just want to see what the kids know.