Exception to the kindergarden acceleration test (Dallas, Howe: 2015, how much, private schools)

[Daddykhool]

Hello all,

We recently moved from Canada to Dallas and I wanted to know if there are any exceptions made to those who missed the Kinder acceleration test deadline? My son will be 6 in December and we missed the deadline.

The vice principal of the school seems to think that there COULD be a remote chance something can be done, hoping to hear back from the folks here if they've gone through something similar.. Any advice would be appreciated.

[jennifw]

if you push him ahead, be aware that you run the risk of him being significantly younger than his class. There has been a movement in recent years to "redshirt" kindergarten students and not starting until they are already six. your son could end up nearly 2 years younger than his class.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You cannot start him early in public school. You can start him early in private schools and after 1st grade, transition him to public.

[PlanoGirl]

Like Southern Belle said, I believe that is the only way...private for Kinder & First, then move over to public in 2nd.

But I will second what jennifw said, it is very common for people to start their kids late. My daughter made the cutoff (turned 5 at end of summer, but was one of the younger in her class. We ended up repeating kinder this year, partly due to academics, and partly due to how much older all the kids were than her. Her best class BFF turned 7 half way through the year...while my little one still had months left of being 5!

[cordata]

What is the "Kinder acceleration test?" Is this a test given in public schools in Texas ?

[Big G]

As far as I can tell, the OP is NOT trying to get his kid started in kindergarten early. If you look at the kid's age, he/she would qualify for public kindergarten as-is.

I'm going to guess that the OP's kid started and finished kindergarten last year in Canada, where presumably the cutoff is the end of the calendar year, as it is in several US states. So the "redshirt" debate is slightly misplaced, as it appears that ship has already sailed.

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Perhaps the OP will come back and clarify, but I'm imagining the scenario as follows:

2014-2015: OP's kid goes to kindergarten in Canada, and completes the year.
August 2015: OP's kid goes to 1st grade in Canada, and begins the year.
October 2015: OP moves to Texas. OP's kid goes to school, expecting to pick up where he left off, in 1st grade. Instead, he is told to grab the crayons and repeat his kindergarten experience.

There would be no reason for the OP to think that there would be a problem with the move. Yet there is.
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If this is indeed the case, the OP is in a tight spot.

1) There's a specific clause in the school eligibility regulations that gives a pass to kids who complete public kindergarten in another state. They are allowed into 1st grade, even if they are not age 6 by Sept. 1. Problem is, Canada is NOT a state, so the district is under no obligation to let him into 1st grade - just into kindergarten.

2) There's a procedure to set out a "hoops course" for kids who want to skip kindergarten - the kindergarten acceleration test. Problem is, that testing is done before the start of the school year. It appears the OP has missed that window, perhaps having to move on short notice.

3) Yet another problem is that this test is set at a level much higher than standard kindergarten achievement - more like 2nd or 3rd grade level. So even if the OP's kid successfully completed kindergarten in Canada, and could easily test out of kindergarten-level material, he may not be able to succeed on THIS test.


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It's not IMPOSSIBLE to get the kid moved to a different grade level. The school admin can convene a "grade assignment committee" or some such, consisting of relevant teachers (K & 1st), principals, parents, maybe the school counselor. But that's pretty rare, and usually done to justify holding a kid back, not pushing a kid ahead.

[DallasG]

I have an acquaintance who moved from Israel and they tested his kid and denied acceleration. He had to do KG again but now parents are happy that school didn't listen to them as it was a bigger adjustment than they anticipated. I guess schools may be more accepting of Canadian standards.

[cordata]

Interesting discussion - many previous threads say it's impossible to accelerate.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by cordata

Interesting discussion - many previous threads say it's impossible to accelerate.

The difference between this case and those earlier threads is that those generally involve people trying to start kindergarten early. The public schools don't have to do diddly squat for any kid who isn't 5 years old by Sept. 1. They aren't eligible for free public education.

In this case, the kid IS 5 years old as of Sept. 1 of this year, so they DO have to let him in and educate him. The issue is simply the grade placement.

In the event of an age-grade mismatch based on previous education, Texas DOES recognize public kindergartens of other states, but does NOT recognize private kindergartens (in-state or out-of-state) or foreign kindergartens, public or private.

[DallasG]

Originally Posted by cordata

Interesting discussion - many previous threads say it's impossible to accelerate.

It is impossible to get in KG if you didn't turn 5 on or before 1st day of September but if you already studied and passed a grade at another school then you are allowed to test to get in next grade.

I'm not sure but I've been told that some districts let their own students to take test for skipping a grade if family wants to and teachers recommend that student is capable of handling it. However, usually schools don't encourage it as studies show gaps in knowledge can effect student's future progress.

I do know that many tiger moms make their kids take CBE to skip math, science and language courses to play GPA game. Teachers say that 90% of these kids see consequences of cramping whole year of class lessons into a month or two of self study or tutor guided study.