Early Kindergarten Entrance

State and Snoqualmie Valley School District guidelines require that students entering Kindergarten in the fall must be five years of age on or before August 31st. However, a child whose birth date falls on

or between September 1st and December 31st may enter kindergarten if he or she meets the early entrance requirements.

The early entrance process involves an objective evaluation of your child’s cognitive, gross and fine motor, visual-motor integration,

communication, and social/emotional development. To increase the likelihood that your child will have a successful first year of school,

he/she will be expected to meet standards approximately six months above his/her chronological age in all areas assessed.

Children meeting the early entrance standards will be recommended for a six-week trial period in kindergarten beginning

at the start of the following school year.

Kindergarten in the 21st Century

95% of children in the state of Washington attend kindergarten

Schools are moving towards full day K by 2016-17

Greater diversity of kids

Emphasis on Academic Achievement◦Common core standards

Age cut offs for Kindergarten

Birthdate cutoffs for kindergarten exist in 44 of the 50 US states with at 5 years old

SVSD cut-off is 8/31

Readiness

Implications for Kindergarten

Curriculum has become more academic

Many parents (up to 10%) opt to hold out their child until next year

Teachers are challenged with a greater range of diversity

Kindergarten Readiness

School Readiness No agreed-upon definition Many factors linked to readiness (e.g.,

SES, being read to) Children’s pre-K experiences vary Child development is uneven/sporadic Conclusion: Age is the only unbiased

criterion for kindergarten entry.

Predictors for Readiness

Developmental skills verbal skills (auditory memory, verbal reasoning)

persistence attentiveness emotional/behavioral regulation fine motor & visual-motor skills (drawing,

copying shapes, visual memory)

Skill Sets

Looking for kids to have a broad range of beginning academic knowledge as opposed to isolated knowledge in one area

This includes social skill development and maturity

Independence, self-help, and emotional maturity also considered

Academic Skills

Academic skills early math concepts (knowledge of numbers, ordinality)

early language & reading skills (vocabulary, knowledge of letters, words, beginning/ending word sounds)

general knowledge of the world (physical & social science)

Verbal Skills

Language

Preschoolers Has receptive vocabulary of several hundred

words Describes characteristics of objects

5-year-olds Has extensive vocabulary, incl. technical words

(e.g., pediatrician) Describes simple relationships between objects

Social Emotional

Preschoolers ◦Focuses on tasks of interest ◦Uses >2 strategies to solve a problem ◦At times, needs help to express strong emotions

appropriately

5-year-olds ◦Sustains focus until task is completed ◦Accepts reasonable challenges, continues through

frustration ◦Expresses self appropriately (e.g., without fighting)

Fine Motor

Preschoolers ◦Writes some recognizable letters ◦Copies basic shapes

5-year-olds ◦Writes at least first name◦Able to copy more complex shapes & designs

Research says…

4 y.o. kindies who are successful:

◦Have superior intelligence ◦Have parents and a K teacher who support early entry & are realistic in their expectations

◦Achieve as much as 5 y.o. kindies of similar intelligence

Early Entrance Testing

Parent input: skills, interests, & general development

Preschool teacher input (if applicable): classroom functioning & teacher recommendation

Assessments: intellectual, gross/fine motor, visual-motor, speech/language

Cognitive Criteria

To qualify your child must achieve a cognitive score in the High Average range (75%) compared to children aged 5 years, 6 months

This typically equates to a standard score of 110 or above

SVSD uses the Stanford WPPSI

Notification

Parents will be sent the testing results and notified of the team recommendation after the 20th of August

All Testing will be done in one to two sessions, depending on your child,

in mid-August

If you do not wish to wait until August, you can seek your own testing from a private licensed practitioner

Next Steps

If your child is recommended for early entrance:

◦Your neighborhood school will be notified by us ◦You will need to register your child for kindergarten

at your neighborhood school ◦The school’s multi-disciplinary team will monitor

your child’s progress. ◦The final decision for advancement will be made

based on student performance after first 6 weeks of school

Things to think about…

Pressure of kindergarten expectations Potential disadvantage for boys, due to

developmental gender differences Repeating kindergarten is usually not desirable Long-term issues (e.g., physical size, peers

driving or dating earlier) The challenge of greater disparity in

kindergartners’ age & readiness skills 13 year old high school student 17 year old college student

Alternatives to Early K

Preschool/pre-kindergarten

Enrichment (field trips, exploring interests & experiences, music/art/sports/dance)

Private kindergarten (please refer to district policy for Exceptions to First Grade Entrance-Age Requirement)

Expanded Gifted Program

Gifted Program ◦Newly expanded Gifted program◦Kindergarten students tested in January

CogAt and ITBS◦Placement in the Spring◦Once in, remain in program unless issues arise◦Testing opportunities in K and then again in 3rd

grade◦Test does not take into consideration age, so

young kindergarten students must meet same criteria as typical kindergarten students.

Articles

School Readiness School Readiness - by Mary Ann Raforth, Erin Buchenauer, Katherine Kolb Crissman,

& Jennifer Halko (2004). Network for Instructional TV. Source: Teachers and Families website. http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/open/parent/schoolready1.cfm

When to Start Kindergarten? Suggestions for Parents – by National Association of School Psychologists. Source: Teachers and Families website

http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/open/parent/kg1.cfm

Gifted/Highly Capable Children Parenting the Very Young, Gifted Child (RBDM 9308) – By Nancy M. Robinson (1993).

The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut. “This report provides research-based answers to questions facing families of young, gifted children, and to questions often asked of preschool teachers, physicians, psychologists, and other professionals who deal with young children.”

http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/nrconlin.html Books and Other Resources for Parents of Highly Capable Children – Compiled by Dr.

Nancy Robinson (2008). http://depts.washington.edu/cscy/

Resources

Illinois Early Learning Project http://illinoisearlylearning.org/

◦ oOne-page “tip sheets” on wide-ranging topics such as language arts, math and science, health, and parenting skills

http://illinoisearlylearning.org/cgi-bin/iel/searchiel.asp?st=ts ◦ National Association for the Education of Young Children oResources for parents and families—including

information about early literacy learning, childcare standards, and play http://families.naeyc.org/

National Association for Gifted Children

◦ http://www.nagc.org/ Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Washington Early Learning and Development Guidelines

http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/guidelines.aspx Of Highly Capable: Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.k12.wa.us/HighlyCapable/FAQ.aspx •Robinson Center for Young Scholars

http://depts.washington.edu/cscy/