Re: study of red****rting (late entrance to kndergarten)

"Donna Metler" <dmmetler@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:u4WdndgGSce2_x_VnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> You mean to say that the first thing they did on the first day of K was
to 
> take the kid in, sit them down, and hand them a test? At least here, the

> first week or so is usually K. "boot camp", and they learn how to handle

> the cafeteria line, sing some songs and listen to some stories, find
where 
> everything is (often via looking for a runaway gingerbread man), and so 
> on.

No, they don't hand out tests, but they do get them up and started right 
away with serious work and they do hand out a week's worth of homework in
a 
packet that is pretty much in line with what they do the rest of the
child's 
education there.  It's serious paper/pencil work from day 1.  The first 
week, they were writing words and their address/phone numbers, names.  The

second week, they started writing sentences.  I still remember my shock at

that.

> They might do some coloring and crafts, but it's not exactly heavy 
> academics. Not day 1. And yes, there are, every single year, children
who 
> cry and have a very, very hard time the first few days who ARE ready for

> K. But would they have been ready to do for a stranger, or to sit down
and 
> take a paper/pencil test or a formal *****sment with mommy out of the 
> room, when they went in for an hour or so visit and orientation? It
seems 
> unlikely. Warming up to strangers and strange situations is a
personality 
> test, not a measure of intelligence or academic readiness.

I agree to some extent about the personality thing, but I didn't see a 
single crying kid in DS's school.  They have all been to preschool and the

arts/crafts/ not heavy academics more describes my children's preschool. 
Kindergarten is serious business, perhaps not so much where you are (which

is more like what I think it should be) and maybe the reason we differ on 
what should qualify a child.

>
> At my DD's private school,  they do have a test that is used for K-2
(STAR 
> early literacy, plus some general readiness performance things), and
they 
> try to test all children before admission, but it was stated at open
house 
> that if your would be K student doesn't cooperate with the test or just 
> has a bad day, it doesn't mean that your child won't be accepted, just 
> that the teacher has less information on hand about that child when they

> enter.

FWIW, I am not suggesting testing for kids to start kindergarten unless
they 
are trying to start early or get red****rted.