Credit by Exam 1St Grade Testing

I am a first grade teacher in a Texas public school and in all my 20 yrs have only had one child that successfully skipped kindergarten and enrolled in first a year younger than their peers. I am in fact retaining a child that started first this year as a five year old and turned 6 the end of August.
Alot of times it is not that the child is not smart enough or can not do the academics but it is a maturity thing. School is so stressful now I can not imagine even if my child could do the work wanting them to be a year behind everyone else in age.
I also am unaware of any "first grade test" that they can take and start a year early.
My own first child who is now grown turned 6 in Aug before beginning school and I regret not holding her back. The children who are the oldest in the class are usually more secure and ready academically and socially. My third child had an Oct birthday and was then one of the oldest and she is the one who did great academically and socially, having the highest average in her class all the way through elementary, being president of her student body in Jr High and then homecoming queen her senior year. Her experience was hands down better than my daughter who was the youngest in her class. With that in mind I would want to give my child that advantage.
There are parents who put their children in advanced classes in Jr. High where they then advance through High School in three years instead of four, but I have not seen that to be a great advantage for anyone either. They are still too young to really handle going away to college. I agree with the moms who say let them be kids and let them be the best one in kinder and enjoy all the security that comes with that. They are not bored despite what their mamas think, they are all busy and learning how to handle themselves in the world which is a big enough task especially after being home schooled.

You don't say about the maturity level of your child, but I have a few reservations about why you would want to push her along in school. As my mom (an educator for over 30 years)has always said, "You only have 18 years to be a child. Why make them become an adult so soon?"

I am a Sept. birthday (14th) and am so glad that I was always one of the oldest kids in my grade. And, I am old enough that school didn't start until after Labor Day when I began school.

There are things to consider...
Physically, she may not have been ready for kinder last year. How is her stature, tall, short? Is she well coordinated walking, playing? Before I became a parent, I never thought much about age ranges printed on toys, etc. Now, I see why they are there, children have developmental stages where they learn to do certain things, mentally and physically.

My son is a May birthday (later in the school year), and I know boys mature slower than girls. But, you can tell in the spring when he catches up mentally, maturity, and physically to some of the earlier birthday kids in his class.

Again back to my mom, she taught 1st grade most of her career. She has told me that lots of times kids with spring and summer birthdays, when they come back from Christmas break, you suddenly see a change in their school work and what they are able to comprehend.

Think about when she gets older. When kids in her grade start dating, she is going to be a year younger than most of them. Are you going to let her go along with those kids, or are you going to make her wait until she is of certain age.

When everyone is getting their driver's license, she will have to wait another year.

When she goes off to college, she will just be turning 18 instead of almost 19.

She may have done great 1 on 1 with you teaching her. But, how is she going to do in a classroom full of other kids?

There are a lot of things to consider. Another year of "kindergarten" may be great for her. Wouldn't you rather she do well with her grades, her maturity level, and physically, than her always have to struggle because she is potentially the youngest in her class?

You may want to go to the Education Agency for your state and see if they have their released state tests. Then print off and give her that as an indicator of material.

I give you credit for homeschooling your daughter, but hope you don't get so hung up about grades - remember what is important is the learning, not the testing (even if the state of Texas relies solely on testing!) For her it is also about being sociable and having self control. Also think about the fact that there will be children a year older in her class if she gets into first grade now. This was a deciding factor for me in waiting to enroll my cut off date child - it turned out better for her to be one of the oldest in her class all through her school career than being the youngest. I know it's hard to think about high school now, but that one year makes a big difference!

G., I did something similar with my second son (Sept 29) birthday. He was reading at 3yo, and I didn't want him to "waste" a year because of a cutoff date. He's 11 now and about to go in the 7th grade.
The school district we are in (Northside) does not have testing to allow younger children into K. When I enrolled him for 1st grade, they didn't even look at his birthday.
BTW, I started K at age 4 (November birthday) in California where you have to be 5 by Dec 1. The cutoff dates are pretty arbitrary.
Good luck with your daughter. I'm sure that she'll do fine on her exam.

We're in the same boat! My youngest is also a Sept. birthday and she'll be ready to enter Kinder at 4 (almost 5). Our plan for her is to do private kinder and then enroll in 1st the next year. BTW, my older brother is also a Sept. birthday and he enrolled in kinder at 4, and graduated at 17. He never had any problems being one of the younger ones in his class. Have you looked at the TEA website or your local school district web? They'll probably have the minimum standards. Also, on the TEA website they'll have the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) for Kindergarten and you'll know exactly what she'll need to know to be successful in 1st. Good luck!

I will be in the same situation in a few years with my daughter and the cut off date for kindergarten enrollment. Please keep me posted on what happens. Thank you!

Hi - I am in a similar boat right now with my daughter. She is in preschool, though, not homeschooled. Because my daughter is hearing impaired, we had her tested for special ed services to prepare her for any needs she'll have next year in kindergarten. Not only does she not qualify for special services (unless it's something like an FM system), the school psychologist recommended she take the kindergarten CBE. Apparently she scored off-the-charts on whatever test the psychologist gave her. We knew she could read very well, but we were surprised that the school was recommending she skip kindergarten. She is a September birthday, so if she were three weeks older, she'd be finishing kindergarten now anyway. I skipped a grade myself (I am a November 30 birthday) and did everything a year later than my friends. It was never an issue for me socially or academically -- but I don't want to be biased just because I did not have a problem.

Bottom line: I am very much on the fence about how to handle her situation. She will take the tests in late May, and if she scores 90% on all four parts (reading, math, science, and social studies), she MUST enter first grade according to our school district. The chances of her passing are slim from what I understand. Has anyone seen the test questions? What is the test like?