Reasons Behind Kindergarten Testing

posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - February 14th, 2013

Many often see kindergarten testing as just a means for admission in a particular school. This is not true at all. If there’s one thing you can benefit from a kindergarten test it’s the fact that it helps assess your child’s readiness.

Kindergarten testing has many roles. One of the reasons why they’re strictly implemented is for assessment purposes. The results from a kindergarten test can help schools assign your child in a class with learners who are of the same level as he or she is. This way he or she won’t feel insecure and won’t have difficulty fitting right in. Additionally, it ensures that your child won’t get bored in class or feel in over her head when the going gets tough.

Aside from this, kindergarten testing must be conducted to ensure your child is now ready to learn new things and depend on you less. It won’t just test kindergarten readiness academically but also evaluate social and emotional readiness as well.

Most importantly, kindergarten testing can reveal your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Based on the results of a kindergarten test, teachers and parents can come up with effective strategies to help a child develop to his or her fullest potential. In this way, kindergarten testing actually provides a useful and meaningful baseline for your child’s academic and, eventually, career pursuits!

The following webpage lists some of the items your child is likely to encounter in kindergarten testing: http://mama-n-teacher.hubpages.com/hub/Kindergarten-Readiness-What-to-Expect-on-Kindergarten-Tests-and-Screeners. Broadly, those items fall into categories like verbal, nonverbal, “TEN” (which stands for “Test of Early Numeracy”), and “DIBELS” (which stands for “Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills”).

You can also use practice questions online and books available at bookstores or online to help get your child ready for the big day! The better prepared your child is, the more likely he will be to do well on the test.