Did your child take the early entrance test for K, and did they pass?

[Anonymous]

I have a DD with an early September birthday, and we'll likely have her take the test. I keep hearing how tough the test is, and how most kids aren't allowed early entrance to K. Could you share whether your child "passed" the test and what school it was? Also, what kind of skills did they look for? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My DD did not pass. The test is comprised f seven subtests and kids have to pass each of the subtests. It's not an overall score. The expectation is that early entry kids perform at the level of an end of the year kindergartener - in other words have the academic skills for entry into first grade.

My DD did, however, get accepted into every private we applied to, so we went that route instead. In the end, it was a better fit and offered more academically, but I would have loved to save the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD did not pass. The test is comprised f seven subtests and kids have to pass each of the subtests. It's not an overall score. The expectation is that early entry kids perform at the level of an end of the year kindergartener - in other words have the academic skills for entry into first grade.

My DD did, however, get accepted into every private we applied to, so we went that route instead. In the end, it was a better fit and offered more academically, but I would have loved to save the money.

I'm a K teacher, and this is generally not true, though I've seen it referenced here several times. To pass the tests, the student needs to be about mid-year kindergarten level, not end-of-year. They are difficult for your typical not-quite-five-year-old. I've been at my current school for seven years, and I've seen only one or two students accepted. This year we had four applicants and none passed.

[Anonymous]

My DD did pass (2 years ago). I don't know what was on the test, because she didn't want to tell me. All I know is that it was long. When she took it, she could read at the Cat in a Hat level and was solid on math basics like one-to-one correspondence and simple addition and subtraction by counting on her fingers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD did not pass. The test is comprised f seven subtests and kids have to pass each of the subtests. It's not an overall score. The expectation is that early entry kids perform at the level of an end of the year kindergartener - in other words have the academic skills for entry into first grade.

My DD did, however, get accepted into every private we applied to, so we went that route instead. In the end, it was a better fit and offered more academically, but I would have loved to save the money.

I'm a K teacher, and this is generally not true, though I've seen it referenced here several times. To pass the tests, the student needs to be about mid-year kindergarten level, not end-of-year. They are difficult for your typical not-quite-five-year-old. I've been at my current school for seven years, and I've seen only one or two students accepted. This year we had four applicants and none passed.

This is exactly what we were told in our post test meeting. And, from the examples we were given of questions on the test, I actually believe it. When I talked to a k teacher friend about our post meeting, she was extremely surprised at the information early entrance kindergartener a were expected to know.

[Anonymous]

Check if your school is at or above capacity. May factor in, but you won't gear that directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check if your school is at or above capacity. May factor in, but you won't gear that directly.

Other posters who say they work for MCPS have said that this does not factor in.

[Anonymous]

Why would it matter if the school is at capacity? She would end up there for K one year or the next regardless, right?

[Anonymous]

Yes ds took the test and passed at RH. I was told to pass I had to show a mastery of most of the k curriculum already. Around 10 took it at our school last yer and 2 passed. He just finished k this year and so far so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check if your school is at or above capacity. May factor in, but you won't gear that directly.

I have heard this from others as well. A neighbor is a MCPS teacher and mentioned that if the school has low enrollment in a particular year, and are at risk of losing a class, they would be more inclined to take an early entrance K student.

[Anonymous]

My daughter took it (her b-day is 9/5) and she passed. I was not in the room and not told about the test but she came right out and told me she passed. She was reading at a 2nd grade level at the time. We really debated even after the test if we should push it but starting her early was great. She is still one of the top of her class and is 2yrs above grade level in Math.

I wouldn't prepare them for it or tell them it could get them in. Just make it a meeting to see how your eventual school can be.

[Anonymous]

My DS took it and passed. He was in a Montessori school for 2 years before that and I really wanted to save the money by switching to public. This was a route all his classmates took from the Montessori school. There was no additional prep for getting in - but I think he was reading well and could write too. He could do Math - counting and addition and subtraction etc.

It was suggested to me that it is better for boys to be held back a year, so that they are not the smallest in the class. I was not worried because of his personality. But I kept an eye out for that the first year. He has done well the past 4 years in all grades. He will start HGC ES in September.

[Anonymous]

Don't know about the early entrance exam, but I can tell you that enrollment issues can be nightmares for schools to figure out, so even though it is taboo to mention it to parents, that year's enrollment for that particular grade is ABSOLUTELY taken into account!

[Anonymous]

Be careful OP with redshirting, your kid might not be as advanced as you think as there will be kids two years older. Also if you are thinking of a gifted program in the future wouldn't you be disappointed if your child missed the cut off by like 2 point. One of my friend's had a child that started early and missed the highly gifted program cut off by two points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS took it and passed. He was in a Montessori school for 2 years before that and I really wanted to save the money by switching to public. This was a route all his classmates took from the Montessori school. There was no additional prep for getting in - but I think he was reading well and could write too. He could do Math - counting and addition and subtraction etc.

It was suggested to me that it is better for boys to be held back a year, so that they are not the smallest in the class. I was not worried because of his personality. But I kept an eye out for that the first year. He has done well the past 4 years in all grades. He will start HGC ES in September.

+1 My DS could also read quite well by then and knew his numbers up to 1000. But, we did not prep for the test. If they're ready, they're ready.