How hard is the kindergarten test for kids?

How hard was it to test your child into kindergarten ? My son’s birthday is September 1st so he’s after the cut off date but I want to test him in but I have heard it’s hard to pass for the kids….

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Always give them the extra year! You’ll never regret keeping them home an extra year but most regret starting them early.

It’s assessments to see where they are in different skills…no pass or fail

My kids never had to test into kinder

There’s a test in Canada if your of age you go

Where I live, I think it’s like middle of September that’s the city off… Or depending when school officially starts. They just have to have a 5th birthday before school starts… My State doesn’t have any early test for getting in, if you’re birthday is past the cut off even by a day… That’s it🤷 but, they still have to meet a certain criteria to be able to go to kindergarten. And show they aren’t behind all the other kids. Which is why preschool is recommended. At least the year before.

The screening? My son was 5 when he started with his birthday at the end of march. They do have set things they need to know but not a test per say. You would know better than a teacher if hes ready so go with your gut and his readiness that you see

In my state they have to be 5 by August 31st and there is not a test to take to get in. Put him in a preschool program instead. That will prepare him for kindergarten. My state has the More at 4 program, free for all participants. See if you have something similar in your area.

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My area test the kids entering kindergarten,  but it’s more of done to see where they are at and how prepared they are for kindergarten.

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The cut off date here is September 2nd, so if you’re birthday is on September 1st you can go into kindergarten otherwise you go to TK. Which is where most of my daughters preschool friends are going next school year :sob:. My daughters birthday is 8/26 so she’ll be going into kindergarten

My son had to test. He had to know his ABC’s, numbers to 10, address, phone number, bw able to count objects up to 10, and that was 25yrs ago. In my part of Mi. they’re not doing that anymore, but they used to.

All they did for my kids was see how many letters and number they knew

Depends on your state and locale. Here the cut off IS Sept 1st so he’d be allowed in. We also have no test to get in early. People always suggest testing early but in my area it’s just not a thing.

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Its colors, shapes, numbers, and letters.

My oldest took the test in Washington state, she’s also a September baby and barely missed the cut off.

It was a 3 part test, and she made it to the 3rd part. And then the evaluator said she wasn’t ready because she got a 6 and a 9 mixed up. Which she absolutely knew the difference. So when I asked her, she said she didn’t feel like talking to the teacher because her dress wasn’t pretty. :woman_shrugging:t3:

Now we live in VA, the cut off is in September and my daughter is the oldest and tallest kid in her grade.

My daughter’s birthday is September 11 and so we tried the early testing, she said it was really hard and the teacher was mean lol, so she didn’t pass. She started kindergarten at 6.

My daughter’s birthday is 9/11 with a 9/1 cut-off date and she had to test into kindergarten. She passed it no problem and she was technically only 4 when she took it. It’s mostly a test on if the can recognize colors, shapes, letters and numbers yet.

Its not a bad thing if they don’t pass though, they just get an extra year of prek to sharpen their skills.

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Where i am theyre very strict about the birthday cut off. No exceptions. Cut off here is sept 15. My 9 yr old had a test to see which class shed be best in and bc she had preschool she did pretty well i think. They wouldnt let me see the test. But idk which kindergarden? Fancy pants kindergarden or run of the mill kindergarden?

I’m a teacher in Indiana. I had 2 sons with late spring birthdays, and although they met the cut off date to enter kg, I held them out for a year. Boys typically mature later and the extra year would help a younger child. You won’t be sorry to give them another year.

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Not really hard (US) but there is a large amount of things they want them to know before even starting. All basic colors, number to like 50, write their own name, and a good start (if not all) on the first 100 sight words. If they’ll allow you to test for early admission then try it but honestly unless your child is really advanced then I wouldn’t push it. Honestly I wish I would have red shirted both of my boys and allowed them an extra year at home.

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My daughter had to test in but didn’t make it. Here they took children a bit behind, whether it’s educational or behavioral. Good luck

I got in and I’m an October baby. I started kindergarten at 4. I don’t remember the test but I remember getting in and being so tiny compared to everyone else lol

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It’s to his benefit to hold him back.

Don’t push your kiddo. Give him the year to grow and develop. He will soar the next year.

Besides the test, make sure they’re ready to spend 6+ hours in a classroom, be able to eat a meal in 20-30 minutes and emotionally regulate themselves (well… kinda anyway).

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Our daughter tested in with no difficulty.

School employee here. The test includes color number recognition. The main element is maturity level.

  1. Can they stand in a line.

  2. Can they keep an attention span long enough to follow simple instructions.

Can they speak their needs.

There isnt a test they have to pass in my state… never heard of this.

Could put him into a young 5 or gsrp program. That’s what my kids did. My son had a January bday so he couldn’t start either.

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Idk about your state but in mine the age cut off is September 1st so your kid should still be able to start

It’s not a test whether or not they get in. If their birthday is before the cut off they go. Teacher told me the test was to get a baseline and make sure classes were “even” for the teachers benefit. So not all the kids who needed extra help were all in the same class kinda thing.

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Alphabet, colors, shapes, numbers, count to 10 or 20. Hop, skip, jump, stand on one foot. Use scissors. Bounce a ball. Some are dumb.

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My daughter’s birthday is in November. She had to test in order to enter kindergarten early. The test consisted of knowing uppercase and lower case letters, numbers, writing her name, all colors and all shapes.

I’m a pre-k teacher and have never heard of a kindergarten test. They generally do a screening but it has nothing to do with getting into kindergarten, It mainly is to see if your child will need assistance in any area and what skills your child knows…it doesn’t keep them out of kindergarten if they are low in any areas. I think the cut off age for turning 5 is different in different states, generally it is the end of Sept or mid Oct.

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Ask for him to be put in prek which most schools have if he can’t go into the kindergarten class yet.

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I’ve never heard of a test to get in kindergarten. My kids were spring babies tho.

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It would be to a younger boys advantage to wait. Boys develop more slowly. Let him be the advanced kid instead of the struggling one

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Didn’t know there was one

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It’s a child find screening. It’s not a test

It’s more of a baseline of what they know

The testing is very appropriate for the age of the child and kindergarten level. If your child would struggle to pass that test, they would struggle in kindergarten. It would be recommended to put them in a pre-K. That is what would benefit a child who can’t pass the kindergarten testing.

I’ve heard of the test before but it depends what state you are in. It’s usually for the kids who’s birthdays fall very closely after the cut off for sign up and the parents want them to get in and not wait another year. I was 4 when I went into kindergarten in VA and I took this test according to my parents. My birthday was Sept. 14th.and the cut off was at the end of August. It’s about knowing the basics like your name, recognizing shapes, colors, numbers and so on. It won’t be hard if the child is ready. No shame if they need to wait a other year!

My son turned 5 17 days after the cut off for kindergarten cuz they had to be 5 on or before September 1st so they kept him back in prek now he’s 6 in kindergarten. I’ve never heard of a test to get into kindergarten my 4 year old is turning 5 in April an all we have to do is sign her up for kindergarten starting this fall.

I have 2 kids and have never heard of a test

My oldest tested at 4 and started school the same week he turned 5. My youngest missed the cutoff by 2 months so he started when he was 6. He did so much better starting at 6 than his brother. They both tested great, but my oldest just wasn’t mature enough testing so young.

Never knew kids took a kindergarten test. None of my 4 kids did. I just enrolled then and that was it.

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I’ve got 4 kiddos none where in Pre-K or any early learning program. None where tested for kindergarten either. I just went and enrolled them that’s it

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California if they turn 5 by September 1 they are considered k. If they turn 5 September 2-june 2 they are considered T.k and yes state has a test to be able to test out and go into K instead of T.k

Idk where you are but kids dont fail in Ontario in elementary

Please don’t rush your child into kindergarten,most 5 yr olds arent emotionally mature enough,.
I never understood the big push .

I attempted for my daughter without a clear understanding, they were not very forthcoming until after we did it. If I would have known, I would never have done it. My daughter missed the cutoff for kindergarten by one day. August 1st cut-off, her birthday August 2nd. The teacher explained it to me that it’s kind of like having them skip a grade. They did an IQ test and cognitive testing. Even though she was very ready for kindergarten, she did not have the insane IQ they were looking for in order for her to start Kimdergarten.

My granddaughter birthday is 9/1 and my daughter started her in kindergarten last August, but she’s the youngest in the class.
Call the school district I believe they do free testing

Wait there’s test for kindergarten? I had 3 kids and all 3 is in elementary school right now and never heard about this :flushed:

I believe you just sign a waiver?

In general, students must be 5 years old by September 1 to enroll in kindergarten. Oregon Revised Statute 339.115(9) states that "A child entering kindergarten during the fall term shall be considered to be five years of age if the fifth birthday of the child occurs on or before September 1.

Copied from Google. My daughter was two weeks before sep 1st and they asked if I felt she was ready or not I said yes and that was it.

My kids never got tested…they just automatically were enrolled into once prek was completed

What is your cut off date?

I had my son tested because he barely missed the cut off. In my experience they separate your child from you. They question parent(s) then test the child alone. Then they have you come back when there’s a small group of kids & test/evaluate how he interacts in a group/school setting. My son was declined entry not based on his academic knowledge but his social development. Teacher seemed to be wanting him to come back until I said this would be his first school experience. It came down to no preschool= no kindergarten. I found that stupid because they just changed the date the year he would’ve gone to preschool so he couldn’t go to preschool that year. If he was a year older he would’ve started preK the year he turned 4 then started K when he turned 5. He’s 10 now. His social skills are worse than they were before preK. So it obviously didn’t make a difference. It was just an excuse to exclude him.

Never heard of this and I have 6 children

I’ve never ever heard of a test for kindergarten and I’ve had 3 kids :woman_shrugging:t4:

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I teach preschool in Indiana. They will be tested on the following:

Knows full name
Spells first name
Writes first name
Knows address
Knows phone number
Knows parents names
Counts to 30
Recognizes numbers 1-20
Writes 1-5
Recognizes all upper case letters
Recognizes all lower case letters
Knows all letter sounds
Knows basic colors
Knows basic shapes
Knows left and right
Ties shoes

That is just off the top of my head. They all need to be able to put on and zip coats. Open lunch/snack items independently. Toilet with absolutely NO help. Must be able to button and zip pants, wipe, etc.

I recommend to all parents that if you can wait an extra year, wait. Especially if they haven’t had any preschool. The skills will be easier to master after the additional year.

In Illinois, they have to be 5 by September 1 to get into kindergarten. My son’s bday is September 11. So he JUST missed the cut off date to get in.

I’m glad though because it’s given him an extra year of pre k to catch up and get ready for kindergarten.

If I were you, I’d just let him have another year of pre k.

As a kindergarten teacher, I have a lot of little kiddos (boys and girls) that squeezed in just at the end of the cut off. My own son’s birthday is end of June.

The amount of being academically ready but not being socially, emotionally, and physically ready for kindergarten has me in a position that if I was ever faced with a late summer or early fall birthday, I would 100% wait a year.

In a class of 20-25, often times without any help from an assistant of some sort, it means that someone is not going to get as much attention and development as they need. During these foundation years, that sometimes means only checking in on the ones who weren’t quite ready whereas preschool may have lower ratio caps, dedicated assistants, and more opportunities to help the younger ones negotiate the rigors of kindergarten.

The days of K being all play or play based are for the most part gone. K is the new first grade (or so it seems). We do standardized testing, and in some schools a lot of paperwork. In my classroom alone, we are writing every single day and have these huge expectations put on by the state to hit standards that for the younger crowd may not be developmentally appropriate.

Such as sitting for long stretches of time. My class, as a whole, with so many very young kindergarteners, can not physically do it. Since I’m special educationally trained, I have had other kindergarten teachers ask me “is this possibly a disability or is this immaturity”.

My own son, end of June, was academically ready but lacked the emotional and social awareness and maturity to be in a work-based kindergarten all day long (he started in a half day program and even that, sitting and working quietly was just too much). I wish I’d given him one more year in preschool to mature and we probably wouldn’t still have some of the behavioral issues we are dealing with (at least not to this degree).

Remember it might not matter when they’re young that they’re the youngest, but when they get to middle school and the boys are bigger, more mature, and maybe even :sparkles:romantically​:sparkles: active with other boys and girls… you’re going to likely be in a situation where you are constantly reminding them that not everyone subscribes to the same belief systems, and even then… older kids do tend to sway younger ones without you even being aware.

My daughter’s bday is Sept 5, & the cut off was Sept 2. She was already reading on a 3rd grade level & would’ve been fine. Our county wouldn’t budge on it. There was no test she could take. She had to wait another whole year.

I’d do an extra year of pre k to give a bit more confidence and school experience

I have not heard of a test. But it is only kindergarten. What test and if there is one why

No reason to have a cut off date if your gonna have a test to get around the date. Let him be a little boy for another year. I know school is free and daycare isnt right :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: