Posted ByWendy Griffith on May 29, 1999 at 07:21:15:
In Reply to: school readiness posted byGina Easterly on May 27, 1999 at 13:03:15:
As a parent and educator, I am opposed to any sort of "testing" or "evaluations" for kindergarten readiness. I have a personal experience where five of the preschool teachers felt my daughter was ready for kindergarten. They tested her and the end result...she missed the cut off date for her birthday by two weeks, so we will not accept her. What was the point of testing?
When children are five (or the age your state mandates) then they begin kindergarten. Why should someone get these children "ready" for kindergarten? Who will do it for those without access to preschool or Head Start?
Let's work on getting the school districts ready for the students. Get rid of these purchased curriculums and encourage developmentally appropriate practice and child centered learning. Kindergarten seems to be very academic now. What happened to developing social skills?
There are adults that do not test well under pressure. How can we expect to get optimal results from children?
What about the children who "fail" these tests? How long do they continue to be tested for readiness until they are permitted into that classroom that needs them to be "ready"? Will we have preschool readiness testing someday?
As a preschool teacher, I want to form my own opinions about the children and their strengths. I can do this much more effectively by observing them over a period of time, than by reading a printout of test scores or even an evaluation by a trained tester.
Gina, I would love to hear about any new developments in this area. I have watched so many changes evolve in the ECE field and I am paying particular attention to this thread.
Wendy Griffith
: Hello,
: I'm interested in your input as educators, parents, policy makers, therapists...regarding school readiness (Goal 2000 - All children will enter school ready to learn). What should be the outcomes? How should they be measured? How often should the child be assessed? What constitutes readiness? What is the criteria? Should assessment be looked at from an academic standpoint without any regard to social emotional development? What are the best standarized assessment tools (valid and reliable) to measure development across domains?
: Your advice, recommendations, questions, and comments are greatly apprecialted.
: Gina Easterly