I posted online a while back asking for advice from anyone that had gone through the process to admit their child early to kindergarten in North Carolina. I didn’t find anyone that had done it. In addition to that, as a whole, people are not excited about this idea at all. Most of the advice was “don’t do it.”
Though I did get a great list of what to look for, which was helpful, so all was not lost from Facebook community wisdom!
Now let me provide some background, my child is one day, I repeat, one day, after the cutoff. I’m not heading into this process thinking that my kid is a genius, but one day shouldn’t stop me from inquiring, right? However, in North Carolina even one day after the August 31 deadline means that your kid does in fact have to be a genius to be admitted.
Photo by La-Rel Easter on Unsplash
I’m still learning about the process and frankly I’m still in the middle of it. Perhaps my judgment on this is too soon.
Many of the anecdotes I’ve received from parents is how grateful they were that they held their child back a year. Their child is now the [insert superlative here] in their class. Someone even told me that trying to put my child into school early is stealing their childhood from them. Yikes! So much pressure!
Do I risk my child being bored for the sake of not stealing away their childhood? Will one more year of coloring and playing with blocks really benefit him?
I think I’m most perplexed that I have failed to find anyone that has successfully admitted their child early to kindergarten. Two things are possible, either their kid was not a genius or they didn’t try because the rigor is so high.
For those that don’t know the North Carolina standards for early entry to kindergarten is that your child has to have an IQ in the top 2%, which means approximately 130 or higher. You have to have their IQ tested, which can start at $300 and go to $1,200 depending on where you go and how many of the tests you complete. Besides the IQ tests there is an achievement test which tells a school about the students’ knowledge (which the student also needs to score in the top 2%). If you clear those hurdles, you then have to submit a portfolio of their work (writing samples, math abilities, art, etc.), two letters of recommendation, and your student will need to be interviewed by the local principal. Here’s a link to Wilson County’s requirements.
Who knew that one day after the cutoff meant so many hoops to jump through? I’m exhausted.
The way I see it, I don’t know what I don’t know here. I personally think my child is smart and meets many of the requirements to enter kindergarten, but without the IQ and achievement tests I’ll never be able to cross that hurdle.
Even when calling the local psychologist to inquire and book a date for testing, the person I spoke with tried to talk me out of it. On one hand, I appreciate her thinking she’s going to save me some money for the test that is apparently impossible to pass. On the other hand, what else can I do? When my child’s teachers are saying that he will likely be bored another year in pre-K, do I have a choice except to test him? I mean he’s starting to spell words and read, so what’s a mom to do?
I understand the rigor desired by the state to admit a child early to kindergarten, it just feels excessive for one day.
Basically, if his classmate is born one day earlier, and is half as smart as my kid he/she is admitted to kindergarten. sigh
This process is far from over. I just wish it wasn’t so daunting. More to come on this, stay tuned!