Early Entrance to Kindergarten Experiences (Montgomery County)

[Anonymous]

Hello! My child turns 5 on Sept. 3, right after the Sept. 1 cut off for entry into Kindergarten. He's currently in a private pre-K school and seems pretty academically prepared. He still has another year of pre-K ahead of him but my husband and I are trying to decide if we should have him take the early kindergarten entrance assessment for Montgomery County and try to start kindergarten next year. He'll be 5 next Sept. 3rd.

Also, could anyone share experiences with that assessment? The types of activities they have the kids do. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I want to share my experience. I started K a little younger than your son would (my birthday is in mid-October). I was academically prepared, but ended up being socially behind. PE was a struggle, as was making friends.

When we moved after I finished 3rd grade, I actually ended up repeating 3rd grade at my new school, in order to be more aligned, age-wise, with my classmates.

Not saying that would happen with your son, but I wanted to just share my experience. My daughter has a mid-October birthday and she will be starting K this fall, just before she turns 6.

[Anonymous]

Lots of threads about this topic. There seems to be lots of discretion on the part of the school and if it is over crowded your chances are smaller. They look for a kid to be way ahread of the beginning of K to let it happen. But...why not try who know.

You will get lots of poster who will disuade you from doing this but as the mom of an 8/30 kid who went on time...was always ahead of her peers and in the competitive magnets...some kids are ready.

[Anonymous]

Are you ok with the other boys being 12-15 months older? Or will you be here complaining that there's such a huge age gap, your kid can't play sports and shine, and other parents are the worst for bending the rules like you are?

[Anonymous]

I am an mcps k teacher. I will not give details regarding the assessment. I will say that in order to pass your child needs to demonstrate end of kindergarten proficiency levels. In addition he will need to show that he is emotionally and socially ready. He will need to separate from you with ease during the assessment. He will need to engage with the teachers and other children. He will need to begin, sustain attention to and complete a non-proffered task.
If you believe he can do these things, or you’re not sure and want him assessed, make an appointment with the homeschool in the spring.
If the team agrees that he is ready, great. If they don’t, he does another year of prek.
Good luck.

[Anonymous]

When did this even become a thing? I have a late August birthday and no one ever questioned me being one of the youngest in the class - I even had a friend in high school with an October birthday!

[Anonymous]

I had a friend try in Loudon County, the child had to essentially be at near first grade levels in order to start K early. Even though the child did very well on the evaluation he was given, the friend reported missing one or two questions, he was not allowed to start K early. They enrolled the child in a private K and then moved him the following year to first grade in LCPS. I have had friends do the same thing in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Since redshirting has become a thing, I would not purposely start a kid early. it isn't a race to get through school.

[Anonymous]

I am pro-redshirting (did not do it myself, just supportive of parents who do) and also pro-early entry. If you feel your kid is ready, trust your instincts. Go ahead with the assessment. You don’t have to take it if it’s offered but you will learn something from the assessment.

There was a kid who did early entry in one of my kid’s classes and she did fantastic. Her parents were right that she was ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a friend try in Loudon County, the child had to essentially be at near first grade levels in order to start K early. Even though the child did very well on the evaluation he was given, the friend reported missing one or two questions, he was not allowed to start K early. They enrolled the child in a private K and then moved him the following year to first grade in LCPS. I have had friends do the same thing in FCPS.

In MCPS there is no automatic admission by grade level until second grade. There is an assessment if you do private for kindergarten and want to have your child who does not meet the age cutoff into first grade.

[Anonymous]

I just made the cutoff and would have been one of the youngest in my grade, so my parents held me back a year. My bff just missed the cutoff and her parents enrolled her a year early. We have a 13 month age difference, but we were supposed to be 2 grades apart. I’ve thanked God many times that we ended up together. We both turned out great.

If you start your son early, you’ll pay for one less year of private kindergarten, have him living at home with you for one less year, and he will enter the workforce one year earlier. He will drive later than a lot of his friends. He’ll be more likely to go through puberty later than classmates.

If you stick to the cutoff, he’ll live under your roof longer. He’ll be among the first of his friends to drive. He may have facial hair before his classmates.

If he’s really strong academically, he’ll be bored in school no matter what you do. If he’s immature, it may be better to stick to the cutoff. If he’s very mature, it may be better to send him early.

The odds are that he’ll probably be just fine either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just made the cutoff and would have been one of the youngest in my grade, so my parents held me back a year. My bff just missed the cutoff and her parents enrolled her a year early. We have a 13 month age difference, but we were supposed to be 2 grades apart. I’ve thanked God many times that we ended up together. We both turned out great.

If you start your son early, you’ll pay for one less year of private kindergarten, have him living at home with you for one less year, and he will enter the workforce one year earlier. He will drive later than a lot of his friends. He’ll be more likely to go through puberty later than classmates.

If you stick to the cutoff, he’ll live under your roof longer. He’ll be among the first of his friends to drive. He may have facial hair before his classmates.

If he’s really strong academically, he’ll be bored in school no matter what you do. If he’s immature, it may be better to stick to the cutoff. If he’s very mature, it may be better to send him early.

The odds are that he’ll probably be just fine either way.

There is such a wide range of when kids hit puberty. My son was young for his year but hit puberty early. Thank goodness we did not wait. He would have been shaving in 6th grade. He was totally fine for sports and social..in fact his best firend for all the years was an October b-day and almost a full year older.

[Anonymous]

I've heard the assessment process is challenging and there's not much transparency about why kids accepted or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an mcps k teacher. I will not give details regarding the assessment. I will say that in order to pass your child needs to demonstrate end of kindergarten proficiency levels. In addition he will need to show that he is emotionally and socially ready. He will need to separate from you with ease during the assessment. He will need to engage with the teachers and other children. He will need to begin, sustain attention to and complete a non-proffered task.
If you believe he can do these things, or you’re not sure and want him assessed, make an appointment with the homeschool in the spring.
If the team agrees that he is ready, great. If they don’t, he does another year of prek.
Good luck.

It's bizarre to me that the early entrance assessment is based on end of year meteucsm if you have an almost 4 year old who is testing at the end of kindergarten then by that logic they'd be readyfir first grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an mcps k teacher. I will not give details regarding the assessment. I will say that in order to pass your child needs to demonstrate end of kindergarten proficiency levels. In addition he will need to show that he is emotionally and socially ready. He will need to separate from you with ease during the assessment. He will need to engage with the teachers and other children. He will need to begin, sustain attention to and complete a non-proffered task.
If you believe he can do these things, or you’re not sure and want him assessed, make an appointment with the homeschool in the spring.
If the team agrees that he is ready, great. If they don’t, he does another year of prek.
Good luck.

It's bizarre to me that the early entrance assessment is based on end of year meteucsm if you have an almost 4 year old who is testing at the end of kindergarten then by that logic they'd be readyfir first grade

We (k teachers) don’t set the requirements. My team was surprised when the metrics were changed a few years ago. But they are what they are.
However, a 4 year old who scores proficient is absolutely not ready for first grade. There is a lot more to kindergarten than academics. In reality, the social emotional and life skills aspect of k are just as (some would argue more) than the academics.