vent/rant about phone call I just received

I guess about a year ago we found out from our neighbor that our neighborhood is zoned in a really bad school district. Even though we are physically closer to a good school, the school zoned for our neighborhood is rated a D-. So not an option. Our governor has passed this new voucher plan for kids who live in D or F school districts, you can use the voucher to go a private school for free, but with me working we don't qualify for that.

Ever since I found this out I've been so stressed about school. My mom was talking w/some of her coworkers about our situation and one of the doctors told her about a new foreign language immersion program. So about a year ago I took a tour of the school. The lady who gave me the tour (a former teacher and I don't know what her job is now other than the tours) told me that if I sent the girls there for Pre-K I would have to re-apply for K and they may or may not get in for K. She said that if they got in for K they'd have to be tested, but if they'd gone there for Pre-K that they would pass the test. It's just a test to see if they are ready for K. My girls are so shy I was afraid if they didn't go there for pre-K but got in for K they wouldn't even be willing to take the test.

The school is a long way from our house, but we took the chance of them not getting in for K and sent them there for pre-k even though it adds an hour on to my drive to work to get them there in the mornings. They love the school and so do we. It's very diverse and just an awesome environment. About a week ago we received their acceptance letters for french immersion K and I was jumping for joy, until I got a phone call from the guidance counselor just now. She called me to schedule their testing, and one of the first things she said was "well you know, since you have twins, if the first child takes the test and fails you can cancel the test for the second child". Then she said something else about failing, I don't even remember what it was but I questioned her about if the test was to see if they are gifted or simply ready for kindergarten and told her what the lady who gave me the tour said.

Now I am so nervous about the tests. I scheduled them for next Friday, Feb. 1. I have to sit outside the whole time they are being tested, each 1 hour. What in the world are they going to do to test two preschoolers for an hour? Anyone know?

Does she not have any confidence in their pre-K teachers at that school? B/c I would hope their teachers have them ready for kindergarten.

Thanks for listening/reading.

 

First of all Aimee, they'll do fine, I just know it!! :good:
I'm sorry that phone call ruined your excitement-she doesnt know what she's talking about!!
:hug:

 

Ah man, this sounds so weird. Sorry you have to go through this. If I were you I wouldn't tell the girls. Just bring them in like a regular day and don't stress them with the idea of a test. I am sure they will do fine, I guess they will test them to see if they know letters, numbers, if they can read small words or something similar, right? I have no idea since my kids are 2, but I just wanted to let you know I am annoyed for you. I hope they pass the test and it's not a big deal.

 

I was talking to a mom at dance a few weeks ago. They kept her son back in preschool one more year-he didn't pass the Kindergarten screening.

One of the questions?

The largest ocean. He turned five in June.

That's all I know. I wouldn't sweat it. Like Monica did, treat it like a regular day. If they know there is a test, they might clam up. Any way you could talk to their teachers?

This is coming for us soon I know, but I'm dreading it already!

 

LOL! Why in the world would you need to know that to be ready for kindergarten?

I won't know what they are asked b/c I won't be in the room with them. I just have to be there to sign the consent and then she said she will give me the results at the end. They have to score at least 80% to pass.

I have no idea what I'm going to do if they don't pass the test. There would be no point in them continuing pre-k there.

 

Ok maybe I'm naive, but that sounds very bizarre - the biggest ocean? I don't even know that.
I can see them testing things like letter and number recognition, sorting by sizes and colors - but not a test of knowledge.

Meghan, are you sure this person was telling the truth?

 

Ya. The mother was p!ssed! He got a big F on his paper for it. She was irate. Saying he hadn't even entered school and they labeled him a failure. Dad is a counselor in the school system too. Our boys are in the same class and our daughters are in the same dance class. So I've gotten to know her a bit over the last year.

Guess what I'll be quizzing my kids on this summer?

I know when my nephew went into a private school, they asked him to name various animals, etc. I can't remember exactly, but it was more than regular academic knowledge in the sense of letters, numbers, etc.

 

Well, this isn't a school of geniuses they just don't want kids who will be removed right away. Once you get in you have to maintain a 2.5 GPA or you are "kicked out" - I'm putting that in quotes bc I went to the magnet highschool and I remember it being harder to get kicked out than they lead you to believe.


Not that I was kicked out! Lol. I just know several who were put on academic probation and then just messed around and left on their own. It's probably different in highschool though.

I didn't have to be tested to get in. I got in based on my grades for k - 8th grade. No testing.

Maybe your friend meant that as a figure of speech like "they might as well have asked him which ocean is largest"

 

Can you talk to their teacher to get his/her opinion on how they'll do on this test and what's on it?

And by the way, speaking of oceans, they added one since I went to school. Blew my mind when my kids told me that!

 

I suggested that to DH, he sees their teacher every day when he picks them up.

 

I just found that out the other day myself! So weird. :wacko:


Aimee, I just know they are going to do fine. Good luck to them & to you! :hug:

 

I suspect they will do just fine!

As they said- if they went to PreK, then I am sure they gave them adequate exposure for K. If not, I am fairly positive the PreK teacher would say something!

But as for testing : They likely test EVERYONE (from that PReK program and not from the PreK program) that gets accepted for the sake of fairness and equality. That way a parent cant say " Well you did not test so and so....." . Also it would help make sure that kiddos are ready for the K program. It sounds academic in nature and some kids just arent ready at that age or that kind of program is not a good fit for them.

Chances are, unless it is a specific gifted school, that the test is likely the Denver, Lollipop, or Dial. All three are screeners....not IQ tests. Rather they look at skills needed for K and look at the kids age and then take an educated guess if that child will do well in K or they might need more time or need remediation in a specific area.

Mostly they are a few basic questions (do you know your name? Recognize your name? Your parents name? Phone number? ), a few life skills questions (what do you do in a bed? Who do you ask for help?), gross motor skills (can they stand on one foot, walk a straight line, catch a ball, etc), fine motor skills (cut out a shape, use scissors, draw a circle- cross-square, lace small beads, maybe write name), academic skills (do they recognize some letters/numbers/shapes/colors/animals,etc). Sometimes they will do a DIBELS or simple literacy assessment that tests if they can read a few words or recognize lower/upper letters.

Mostly, the assessment it to make sure that they dont accept anyone that might really struggle with the pace the school sets. It helps to balance classes as well (if there is more than 1) and let the teacher know where the kiddos are.

Dont worry too much- most assessors are familiar with shy children and are aware that it is developmentally normal to be unsure and/or give some 'interesting' answers!

 

Personally, that kinda high pressure attitude about KINDERGARTEN would make me re-think the school. Studies show that starting school early really has NO effect on the end result of success.
Effects of school starting age
Therefore, to be overly concerned about the knowledge a child has to START kindergarten seems ridiculous. IMHO a childs attitude toward learning and their willingness to work within the rules of the class should be far more important. Neither of those things should require a test.

I would do some investigating into the attitude of the school and teachers. If she stressed you out about that test imagine what that kind of influence would have on your children.

 

THEY ADDED AN OCEAN? How do they even do that??

Testing can be really odd, it depends on the school. When I was tested for TAG in northern Va (entering third or fourth grade?) they asked me how many inches were in a foot, a yard. They asked info about presidents and US History. It was tough because I was coming out of the DoDDSS program and the curriculum was totally different. They weren't testing comprehension, it was content based.

Aimee, I like the idea of asking the teacher for input. Don't stress! Your ladies will do just fine.

 

They already go there, we love the school. They love their Pre k teachers and so do we. It's truly an awesome school. Our other choices are me quitting a job i love and homeschooling, parochial school when I'm not religious, or moving.

Hopefully I'll have a happy update next Friday.

And KC tank you for your post! That makes me feel better. That's sort of how it had been explained to me before.

 

They also make informal notes on ability to pay attention, ability to follow directions, ability to stay seated for 5 minutes, and motivation (thought his is notably difficult to assess in a testing environment). This helps know if emotionally/socially a kiddo is ready regardless if they know all the oceans or not!!

Some kiddos are just not ready for K or are borderline age. A formal assessment gives the school a way to alert parent who may or may not be aware of options or know appropriate developmental levels. It helps take (some of) the subjectiveness of admission.

 

The ocean that is added is the Southern Ocean. My best friend and I went over this because her son was being quizzed about the oceans at school and he was the only one who knew there were 7. His teacher said, I never heard of that so there must be 6.

Aimee, I would not sweat what the guidance counselor said...I think she thought she was helpful by giving you an option since you do have the twins but she could have been more sensitive as to how she said it.
I am curious, what kind of test do they do to prove that children are ready for kindergarten? I've never heard of kindergarten testing. There is a private Catholic school around here that does testing for first grade and I still wonder how you test a child that young?
Like Meaghan said, I would treat it as a normal day and just tell the girls that they will be asking them questions and to answer the questions the best they can.
I totally understand you about living in a failing school district, we live in one too and the one thing I do agree with our governor about is giving families in failing school districts the opportunity to send their children to a better school.
Keep us posted on how your girls make out!
ETA:KCMichigan answered my questions too...thank you!

 

in our district they do a K screening - basically what KC said...it was funny, during the K screening, Ian read her the protocol paper, not the "see dog" paper LOL...

 

Just wait---- yes there are 7 oceans and now debate on the continents. My DDs had a debate last night if Oceania or Australia was the correct terminology for that continent. Are those islands part of Asia or Australia?

Some textbooks/references state they are a collective of Australia (they have books that label them both ways) With Australia being the island/country and Oceania being the continent of islands and countries. Most references still state the Australia is its own continent, but you can find some dissent on how to classify it all!

 

Ok, at the risk of sounding stupid, where are y'all getting seven oceans? Aren't the oceans the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Artic, and Southern (aka Antarctic)? Where are the other two? Are you splitting the Atlantic and Pacific into north and south?

 

Atlantic
Arctic
Pacific
Indian
Southern


Sometimes they subdivide in to 7:

Pacific : into Northern & Southern Pacific

Atlantic : into Northern & Southern Atlantic

Depends on the Map. Officially there are 5- but geographically they often label 7 (and kids often learn all 7 to label maps)

Now if you are talking seas.....there are a lot more than 7!

 

OK, glad to know I'm not missing out on something. I've never taught 7 oceans and have never asked my students to divide the Pacific and Atlantic into northern and southern and am not aware of any other teachers doing that during my many years of teaching. I wonder if it depends on where you're from? I do know maps label it that way, but just assumed they did it that way so people wouldn't wonder if it was still the Pacific "way up there", or "way down there?" Does that make sense? Anyway, glad to know I didn't miss the memo on two more oceans! :laughing:

 

There are only 5 oceans. Some try to split the Pacific and Atlantic due to what they term "basins" which can make it confusing. And some oceanographers still claim there are only 3 oceans. They think the Artic and Southern are to small to qualify.

The 5 recognized oceans are: Pacific, Artic, Indian, Altantic and Southern (Antarctica).

I also double checked and there are 5 per our government and other reputable sources.


Technically when asked how many oceans the real true answer is 1. We just like to divide everything up.

 

Well the tests are tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I've been feeling nervous all day. I hope the girls won't pick up on it.

 

Good luck to them!! I'm sure they'll do great! :good:

 

Good luck!!

 

Good luck! I am sure it will be fine .

 

Good luck!

 

They will be amazing.

 

Break a leg!!

 

Just reading this now... I hope everything went well. This sounds VERY stressful. I'm sorry you are having to go through this.

 

Good luck to the girls today!!! :good:

 

They both passed.

What's funny is as their mom I know which girl is better at school. Amelia has had better report cards, she is able to keep her attention on a task for longer, and all around as their mom I know Amelia is going to have an easier time at school. I'm not saying anything bad about Lily, she's a lot more outgoing than Amelia. But Amelia has an easier time with school tasks.

Since Lily is more outgoing, she scored higher on the test. Only by 1.5 points, but still.

 

:woohoo: :woohoo: Glad you dont have to worry anymore!!!

My two do the same thing......on screeners, it appears on twin will do better due to more solid social skills, but academically-- the other twin is more focused!

I am sure they will have a great year next year- now you can relax and just look forward to next fall!

 

Yes!! And enjoy a margarita tonight...