Catholic School Kindergarten Testing

Hi J.,
My children go to catholic school, and at our school the Kindergarten testing is not based on academics. I believe it's more to guage where they are developmentally and socially. Also, it's not unheard of for some kids to be retested - sometimes a couple months later near the end of the school year, or even later near the end of summer - as they can develop and mature quite a bit in those few months. Granted, I have no idea what kind of testing is done at any of the other schools, that's just my experience with our school. I have a third grade boy, a 1st grade girl, boy/girl twins that will be starting Kindergarten in the fall and a boy that will be in Kindergarten the following year. We absolutely love the school and HIGHLY recommend it! (Let me know if you want more info, I'd be happy to provide it.) Also, I work there part time and my sister is the full-time Kindergarten Aide. She and I have been there for a combined total of over 20 years, so you can tell we're very happy there. I wouldn't send my kids anywhere else! Good luck to you and again, let me know if you want more info on our school, I'd be happy to hook you up! Best of luck to you!!

My son started kindergarten last fall and the testing we went through was letter recognition, letter sounds, number recognition, a couple of questions regarding money, adding, subtraction to see where he was at, story sequencing, cutting a straight line, colors, shapes, etc. While they were doing all that they also watched how he sat in his chair, how he made eye contact during the questioning, what kinds of questions did he ask the teacher, etc. I would call back and ask (if you weren't there) what did they test on, what areas did he test low on and what are they looking for. Also, call the other 2 schools to see if he tested low there too. Good luck!

Hi J.,
I would not fret about the test. Things to consider are what time of day did he have the test? Was he tired or close to lunch meal? Did he understand it was a "test"? I homeschooled all but one of my 6 children and there is way too much emphasis placed on testing. Get outside of the box re: "testing". He is just a little boy and will soon have a new sibling to share Mummy and Daddy with. Also.....boys lag behind girls developmentally and that is widely known. Do you live in McKinleyville? I do. Call me anytime @ ###-###-####
Sincerely,
E.

Were you present during the testing? It is possible that your son simply got shy, and refused to share what he knew. Kids can be funny that way.

I am not sure how much weight the testing has towards admittance, since our local Catholic school admits students of all abilities, using the testing only to gauge maturity/readiness, and to know what to expect once the children are enrolled.

As others have noted, it is probably worth getting additional information about the circumstances of the test, which areas raised the concerns, and how the information will be used.