Dec 21 2007
Kindergarten Testing and School Readiness
I have four children – two born in January and two in April. The cut off for school entry into kindergarten in NSW is 31st July – meaning that if a child turns five before the end of July, then they are eligible for entry into a government school. Children must start school by their sixth birthday.
Private schools often set their own guidelines regarding a minimum age. Some bringing this forward to the end of March (the earliest I’ve heard of, but there could be earlier) and others follow the government schools.
Over the years I’ve watched the trend to “hold back” children – especially boys. I’m not making a judgement on that trend, because it really is a decision that has to be made on an individual basis. But this leads to the potential situation where you have one child who turns six in January and another not turning five until July.
At that age, nineteen months is potentially a big gap in development. Add to that the difference in “mental age” (aka IQ), and you have a teacher who has to cater to a very wide ability level.
My five year old, who started kindy this year, has a birthday in January. She is the 3rd youngest in her class. The two younger have birthdays in January and February.
My youngest is starting school next year and she is turning five at the end of April. She sat a “school readiness” test a couple of months ago and was given the thumbs up. The principal rang me to advise that while she was “ready”, and they were happy to take her (despite an unofficial cut off at the end of March), she would be the youngest in the school and nearly 15 months younger than the oldest in the class.
The decision needs to be based on more than just academic readiness – you need to consider social, emotional and physical development as well.
But at the end of the day, she is very outgoing (probably more so than her older sister), co-ordinated (with both gross and fine motor skills) and she is reading and good with numbers. To hold her back because she is young would just not be fair to her.
What prompted me to think about all this was a piece I saw on the (Nine) news last night. The story was about how 400 NSW schools are introducing kindergarten testing, to gauge the developmental levels of each student as they commence. The idea is that teachers can develop learning plans based on individual needs.
The Telegraph mentions that it’s part of an $82 million dollar plan, which is rolling out to all schools over the next three years.
Two parents were interviewed, one saying this testing would be “too stressful”, and another “why bother when they have a whole [school] life of testing ahead of them”? I observed the test my daughter did. She had a great time, and not one of the children looked the slightest bit stressed. It’s not an “exam” – it’s a measure of early literacy and numeracy skills.
To me, this type of testing is critical. It allows a teacher to identify children that are “at risk” – perhaps requiring some form of early intervention so they don’t lag behind. And also identify the ones who have a good grasp of the basics and perhaps might need extra stimulation. Funding for this kind of testing will benefit all children.
The fact that schools aren’t equipped to do this type of testing prior to school entry is a shame. While I don’t have teaching experience, I have been a prac teacher in a kindergarten class and I’m sure every kindy teacher could identify very quickly the students who are just not ready to be at school. These kids are behind the eight ball to start and only serve to complicate the already difficult job of catering for the mental age spread (which can be around four years in the one classroom).
I once heard an educator say “you wouldn’t group children according to their shoe size, yet we insist on doing that with their chronological age”. Really it’s just as arbitrary a measure. I’d like to see this kind of testing evolve into ability based grouping, rather than chronological grouping, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.
It’s just a shame that coaching colleges are trying to get their hands on the test, so that kids can be coached into “passing”. No doubt this is fuelled by parental demand, or there’d be no market for it. Hot-housing is not a sound educational strategy, and the benefit is always short lived.
13 Responses to “Kindergarten Testing and School Readiness”
The problem with having kids who are behind the eight-ball (comparatively) is that it is very hard to get them ahead of the eight-ball. You have teachers trying to teach across a wide range of ability levels and many of the ‘support’ systems are only in place for those who have a learning disorder or disability.
Whilst the student isn’t ‘dumb’ per se, it’s just that they’re not as developed as everyone else, and kids develop at different rates.
So I do think it’s a good idea to have a basic level of basic skills (alphabet, counting, co-ordination maybe), but I wouldn’t like to see this turn into having a ‘top kindergarten class’ and ranking classes and the stigma associated with that.
Bryce’s last blog post..Blogging Hiatus
Oh, I am so not going to be ready for this in a few years. Here, the cut off is 30th April. My daughter is April 29. So, if she was born 2 days later I’d HAVE to keep her back (I think that’s how it works).
And my boy? He’s miles ahead socially so while he’s a march baby he may well be ready for school before her. So while they’re 2 years apart, they may end up being only 1 year apart in school.
I’m confused
This is such a huge topic now, isn’t it? Rightly so, but still…
…like I said: I’m confused
Karen (Misc Mum)’s last blog post..A Christmas Miracle
My oldest daughter is born on the 1st of May and here in Victoria the cut off is 30th April. She was so ready to go to 4 year old Kinder this year, social, emotionally and educationally. But she had to go to 3 year old Kinder.
To get her into 4 year old we would have had to visit a private psychologist to have her assessed (at our own cost). Once that assessment was completed and submitted to the powers that be there was to be another psychological assessment by the council shrink. Plus all the extra paperwork. It was just too many hoops to jump through when we were already going through other dramas with our youngest.
My youngest as we’ve discovered this year has Autism (Aspergers) and she is enrolling in 3 year old kinder but we’ve been told on all fronts that she will be doing two years of 4 year old Kinder prior to starting primary school.
Confusion indeed.
Marita’s last blog post..Annie Camera
Hi! In relation to the parent who mentioned it would be “too stressful”, they may be reliving their days at school. Yes, exams were stressful but for a five year old it could only be fun for them. God love’em.
I would image if large numbers of children were found wanting as a result of this new system, it could open up a whole new market for industry to start training the little ones to be smarter – all the best for Christmas!
Peter McCartney’s last blog post..Fallen and Forgotten
My eldest was born in early May and I’m sure we will have issues when we go back to Australia (I think the cutoff in WA is 30th June). I think she will be more than ready (she will be 5 next year) as she’s starting to read, writing and counting well and she’s very sociable, but will there be pressure on us to hold her back because she’ll eb one fo the youngest? I don’t agree with holding kids back just because they will be the youngest, unless there really is a good reason to do so. I read about the practice in the states of “redshirting” in kindergarden just so kids will be the oldest in their class and be more likely to be the top students – academically, in sports and socially. Crazy!
I agree that the testing is probably useful for the teachers to determine the level and spread of skills in the class, but the problem is that there is an assumption with any kind of test that your kid needs to be the best performer. Everyone wants their kids ot be above average – but someone’s got to be the average! It seems to bring out the worst in some parents, like with the coaching classes. There’s seems to be so much pressure on the kids (and parents) to come top, and it’s a shame it starts so young.
guera’s last blog post..A Canadian Spanner in the Works
I would’ve thought that standard tests would be a good thing. We had this in the states and for instance I was shuffled around to try and find a good match (was a geek back then too, socially behind but academically ahead). The problem of coaching as you’ve noted seems to put a plug in the works though. Seems like every common human activity these days needs to be engineered to prevent abuse. If the coaches were to get good enough, they’d be forced to go back to age as a meter to prevent abuse.
Mike Macgirvin’s last blog post..Lakota Nation
I have 3 kids. The oldest 2 (next year in Yr 9 and the other VCE) were ready socially but not as advanced academically as some of the other kids. Now they are in gifted programs and accelerated.
Boo on the other hand was reading, writing, spelling, counting far beyond his years before kindergarten. Assessed at a 9yr old level at 4. But we held him back. For social reasons.
I truly believe a kid needs to be ready socially and emotionally for school. If that is achieved the academics will follow.
Kelley’s last blog post..Tears.
I’m nowhere near the stage of worrying about this but I agree with you wholeheartedly about the importance of this early testing. If only we could shift that idea too many people have that testing (IQ, social skills, whatever) provides a measure of a person’s worth.
I, of course, believe that my son is the most “gifted”, wonderful human being to walk the earth. I reserve the right to continue to do so regardless of the stage at which he reaches particular developmental milestones. I’m not concerned about him being behind or in front, I’m concerned about him being given the appropriate experiences and lessons at the appropriate time – for him. And the same for every other child. I hope the program really can help with that.
As for the hot-housing – don’t even get me started. There is more and more research (including neurological studies) coming out that not only does it not speed up development, it is detrimental to it. When we shift the goal of teaching our kids to the goal of getting our kids to pass tests well, that’s when I say, “Count me out”.
I’m really struggling with this at the moment. My 4 year old turns 5 in October next year, and due to the cut off age for Prep (Qld equivalent of Kinder in NSW I believe) being 30 June, she has to wait another year. All her kindy teachers (at daycare) are stunned that she’s not going to school. She is emotionally and academically ready. In fact, she has achieved on her Kindy report this year all the outcomes expected at the END of prep, and still she spends another year in daycare because of an arbitrary cut off age.
I do suspect that when it comes time to look at my now 3 year old, I will be grateful for the age cut off, as I doubt she will be ready, either emotionally or academically, at the same age her sister is. Not because she’s dumber, or not as smart, just because she learns differently (apart from being left-handed) and has such a different personality.
Kin’s last blog post..Christmas Menu Planning
Its one of those things that has to be looked at on a kid by kid basis. My oldest and youngest really benefited from an extra year at home, my middle child just didn’t need it at all.
I think some kind of “school entry” testing would probably be a very helpful tool to teachers for getting all the kids off to a good start for their schooling lives.
I agree with the comment about grouping kids by age……….. One of the things I LOVE about my kids school is that while they have a home room based on their year age groupings, their english and maths class groupings are ability based.
Bettina’s last blog post..Prank Calls
I was born on July 31st, the cut off day. My mum sent me to kindy when I was 4.5, and I’ve never had a problem. In fact, I’ve enjoyed being the youngun, all the way up to high school. Just think, I finished uni that little bit earlier than my peers! 😉
Being a primary school teacher now though, you can definitely tell it’s all about the individual kids. Some four year olds are just that bit more socially ready to adapt to school, and learning – and some would benefit from an extra year before they head into school. As a parent, it’s got to be a tough decision to make!
alyndabear’s last blog post..Miss Independent.
[…] And her backpack – about half the size of her. I don’t know why, but I am reminded of an upturned turtle – perhaps be cause she looks like she will topple over from the sheer wait. Not that a lunch box and pair of runners is all that heavy. She just seemed so little, and I was momentarily questioning my decision to send her to school early. […]
My children are in their mid twenties now and it is time to think of the grand-kids. My oldest son was born April 30th and went to into Kindergarten at age 4 and a half. He never had any trouble at school and because he had already taught himself to read and write by the time he was 4, he was helping his classmates with their reading etc when they had trouble, which in turn helped not only him, but also his teachers. Personally, I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to start earlier despite the fact that he passed all the testing they had put him through to find out if he could start earlier with flying colours academically and socially. I hated the fact that due to government regulation and bureaucratic B.S., this very bright kid had to be kept home for another year, being very bored until he reached the “required” age. My younger son was born October 14th and started school about 3 months later at the age of 5. He too was more than ready but again due to regulations, he was not allowed to start a year earlier. He skipped year 5 and finished year 12 just after he turned 17. Now my granddaughter has just turned 3 on January 24th and I dread what she will have to go through to be allowed to start school a year early. She began reading and writing last year has been using past tense in her sentence structure etc, as well as correct pronunciations even words like ‘something’ without lisping, for about 12 months now, without ever having been force I should add. She, like my sons before her, simply have this ability. This, as well as being socially outgoing, should allow her and others like her, to start school whenever their parents determine their readiness, not some childless bureaucrat, whose only desire it seems is, to have every kid in Australia pigeonholed and stuffed into some preconceived box to make everyone the same. It is difficult enough to find enough material to keep these children occupied without trying to cut through all of the bureaucratic garbage, to give these children the best start without resorting to taking out a second mortgage to send your child to a private school, ordinary people such as myself, simply can’t afford. So how about looking at each kid as an individual and letting parents have a say when they think their children are school-ready. By all means, lets set a latest-date limit, to ensure that by a certain date all kids are in school, but please allow parents some freedom to decide when their kids are ready, even before the required age limit. Allowances are always made for children with learning difficulties, how about turning the table and helping the kids at the other end of the scale out a bit, too. Or is it because of the Australian tall poppy syndrome that we can’t allow anyone to do anything, (dare I use the word “better”, perhaps I should use “different” instead), than anyone else. We are after all individuals and should be treated as such.