What kind of questions are asked for the early entrance testing for kindergarten

[Anonymous]

Hi fellow moms

My daughter was born sept 10, so I was asked to fil the early entrance kindergarten forms. The school said that she will be tested to evaluate if she can join kg this year.

I want to know if anyone knows what kind of questions can be expected for the testing, so I can try and prep her accordingly.

Many thanks
Samantha

[Anonymous]

They look at basic academics and social but are generally looking at full reading, decent writing, etc. They hold the kids to a much higher standard. Some schools don't believe in early entry so it doesn't matter how well you kid does and will be denied. Good luck. There is some information on the MCPS website.

[Anonymous]

My DC took the EEK test for the same reason. She came from a Montessori pre-school so knew her phonics and numbers and was an early reader.

However, DC was not really tested for all for academics. So if you can recite your alphabets and some counting (1-10) that was all that was needed. The main thing they looked for was ability of child to be polite, follow directions, sit quietly and raise hand before speaking and answering. They are looking for maturity of the child. Will they be ok in the classroom? Do they know how to share? Do they raise their hands and wait for their turn? Do they follow directions?

They made the kids go from classroom to classroom and wanted them to form a queue/line without being told. Mainly they want kids who are not going to be a pain to the teacher. There was some question and answer session about the child's favorite color and food etc. THey want to see that the child is social and not overly shy.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

1 more thing - they asked for favorite shapes and colors too. So know shapes, colors, numbers, alphabets and maybe some phonics.

[Anonymous]

They make the child write their own name. They asked the address and phone number. They asked for the full name of the parents. Sorry but my kids EEK was a number of years ago and so I am remembering things in bits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC took the EEK test for the same reason. She came from a Montessori pre-school so knew her phonics and numbers and was an early reader.

However, DC was not really tested for all for academics. So if you can recite your alphabets and some counting (1-10) that was all that was needed. The main thing they looked for was ability of child to be polite, follow directions, sit quietly and raise hand before speaking and answering. They are looking for maturity of the child. Will they be ok in the classroom? Do they know how to share? Do they raise their hands and wait for their turn? Do they follow directions?

They made the kids go from classroom to classroom and wanted them to form a queue/line without being told. Mainly they want kids who are not going to be a pain to the teacher. There was some question and answer session about the child's favorite color and food etc. THey want to see that the child is social and not overly shy.

Good luck.

So it was a group test? Maybe it is different by school. I have heard it was 1:1 and very academic with some social skills too.

[Anonymous]

I’d work on multiplication and fractions. If I’m remembering correctly, there was an essay question about the Industrial Revolution.

[Anonymous]

My friends kid did it last year and had to read a book and then say what the book was about. So comprehension as well as knowing the words. She also had to say how she was feeling. So she said happy. Then she had to articulate why she felt happy, which she couldnt. She did not get in. I think there was more to it, thats just what I remember.

[Anonymous]

It's done 1:1 at the school I work at and there are definitely academic components including math. The teachers who do it sign a non-disclosure so I don't know specific items. I just wanted to share that it's more than just if Jane can be polite or stand in a line.

[Anonymous]

I would send the kid in cold. If they have to prep they’d be better waiting a year IMO. Idk if this post is a joke.

[Anonymous]

I have heard MCPS makes it purposefully hard because they don’t want people doing it. A friend of mine used to administer the math component. My recollection is that they basically test them on end of K skills and without prep it is really hard for kids to pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would send the kid in cold. If they have to prep they’d be better waiting a year IMO. Idk if this post is a joke.

Agree with this. This is not a test you can or should prep your kid for.

[Anonymous]

MCPS needs to do away with this. Move the deadline to Sept 30 for all, and make it a hard deadline. No early entrance exceptions for anyone. This is what’s done in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS needs to do away with this. Move the deadline to Sept 30 for all, and make it a hard deadline. No early entrance exceptions for anyone. This is what’s done in Fairfax.

Why should they move the deadline? Before school start approximately seems the most fair.

[Anonymous]

There is a test plus observation. The test has a number of sections and the child has to pass each section, not just get an overall passing score. The standard is that the child has to be performing at the level a child entering first grade would be expected to perform. So it is more of a first grade readiness test, not kindergarten.

If you child fails there is an appeal process but when I researched, I did not find any cases where the decision was overturned. Also I’ve never heard of anyone not getting in based on the observation portion - it’s because they didn’t pass the test.