If a 5-year-old can't hop on one foot, does that mean kindergarten is a bad bet?
That ability--along with identifying colors, repeating numbers and drawing pictures--is among those measured in kindergarten readiness tests to determine whether children have the skills to enter kindergarten.
May can be a stressful month as the deadline for kindergarten registration looms. And as two bills wend their way through the state Legislature that could markedly change the entire process, parents--especially those with children born in the latter half of the year--are struggling with the confusing arguments over when children should start their 13-plus years in schools.
The debate--along with parents' worries--has given birth to a cottage industry of kindergarten readiness testing at $35 or more a pop, testing that some experts scoff at as unscientific and virtually worthless.
"This is a fad. People are inventing this worry," said Lorrie Shepard, a researcher in early childhood education at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
"The differences between a 4 1/2-year-old and a 5-year-old are very significant," countered Bonnie Bruce, owner of a Huntington Beach testing service. "Those few months in between are very crucial in helping them mature and develop."
Kindergarten is optional in California and parents can choose to wait a year to enroll their children in school. As many kindergartens become more focused on academics, the issue of when children are ready for school can be a wrenching one.
If parents hold the child back, will he be ahead of the pack when he enters the next year, or just a kid who's a year older? If they put a 4 1/2-year-old in school now, when she still finds it hard to hold a pencil, will she turn into a pint-sized stress case?
As parents seek expert advice, the education establishment offers little guidance; kindergarten readiness is one of the most hotly debated topics in early academia, right up there with phonics versus literature-based reading.
Bruce defends the practice of holding back children who seem unready, and applying tests to determine school readiness. For one thing, she said, California is one of four states that has a December-birthday kindergarten cutoff date, rather than the more common September-birthday cutoff. That means more California children are starting school before they are ready, she said.
According to Dr. Stanley Walters, a child psychologist, the answers parents are given often depend on who profits.
