we are in Fairfax County and had to do the same thing at Fort Hunt Elementary last week. I actually thought they did a really good job with it. They turned it into a scavenger hunt type came with different stations that assessed math, letters, numbers, and other preschool concepts. There were probably 8 kids during our time slot and parents waited in a nearby office and could watch through the window. They had coffee and cookies for parents and several parents brought along younger siblings while they waited. My rising K-er thought it was "fun" so we didn't feel like it was done in a stressful setting.

Anonymous wrote:Wakefield Forest does this. From how my son described it, he went to different stations for 10 min or so where they assessed him on different things -- numbers, letters/reading, can't recall what else. I think it is, as PPs have noted, to balance classes and get the assessments out of the way so they can hit the ground running.

I think it's great. And I really don't understand why the OP thinks it's such a burden. It's your local school; how much of a problem is it to get there for one appointment during the summer? DH and I both WOH, and it's really not that big of a deal.

This sounds great! My kids are older and only had an assessment as part of the spring open house/registration way back when they started Kindergarten.

OP here - thanks everyone. I understand the importance but I guess I felt burdened since I have two younger ones at home and now all the kids are home on break. I ended up getting a sitter and taking my child. It was fine. Son said he said some letters and read a book. The reading specialist mentioned looking at pictures.. That's all I could gather!

It also helps the teacher measure progress during the year. If you don't know where they are when they start, how do you know how much they have improved?

rising kindergarteners are all over the map in terms of academics. A good chunk attend preschool, and generally will be ahead of the curve. But a large number did not. So, by assessing where everyone is, they can probably get a sense of where to begin and how to group kids.

The good news is by the end of the year, everyone is basically on the same playing field. The pre-school kids don't remain advanced.

Wakefield Forest does this. From how my son described it, he went to different stations for 10 min or so where they assessed him on different things -- numbers, letters/reading, can't recall what else. I think it is, as PPs have noted, to balance classes and get the assessments out of the way so they can hit the ground running.

I think it's great. And I really don't understand why the OP thinks it's such a burden. It's your local school; how much of a problem is it to get there for one appointment during the summer? DH and I both WOH, and it's really not that big of a deal.

On the website, it states that the purpose is to provide a profile of the child's abilities and readiness, and that the process helps teachers plan to meet individual needs.

I wish they'd all do this in June or August. PP is right. They waste a month or more just figuring out where the kids are.

Anonymous wrote:We are at mosby woods and they did not do this. Which school do assessments?

I have seen the sign up sheet for the elementary school in Vienna. If someone has attended one of these sessions, I'd like to hear what it was like and what types of questions they ask. From what I remember, it was only 20 minute slots for the appointments so I don't know how useful the session will be.

We are at mosby woods and they did not do this. Which school do assessments?

They likely use it to group kids into classrooms. They don't want all of the kids that need extra help, or all the kids who are way ahead, or all the kids with behavioral issues to end up in the same class.

My FCPS did not do any sort of K assessment.

I think that is great! Lets the school know the needs of all kids so they can hit the ground running instead of waiting a month to see where everyone is before the kids can start learning! Lucky you.

Ours is in August - I am not 100% but I think the teachers are just trying to evaluate where the kids are (like you said). Doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal to go to the school for one assessment... they gave us several dates in August to choose from.

Our school had all the rising kindergarteners sign up for a kindergarten assessment in June.

Can anyone tell me if all schools do this and the purpose of the assessment? I assume it's to get an idea of where all the kids are in terms of letter recognition and reading. It seems like a big deal to make a trip to the school to do this assessment. Do some schools opt to do this during the school day once the school year begins?

We are new to the school system.