The Scholastic Kindergarten Readiness Screening is used to check an overall readiness for kindergarten. There are several topics that are addressed in the screening – Letter Recognition, Visual Discrimination, Phonemic Awareness, Listening Comprehension, Vocabulary, Numbers and Operations, Measurement, and Geometric Concepts. During this 30-minute screening, the teacher is interacting with the child and observing their responses, both physical and verbal.
While these are all areas that are taught in kindergarten and beyond, it’s helpful to know a child’s readiness for learning in these areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important to understand that all children are seen as unique individuals?
No two children are alike. Even those in the same family or of the same chronological age differ remarkably from one another, each experiencing growth and development in a unique way and at an individualized pace. Many important factors contribute to a child’s individuality including his or her developmental pace, heredity, temperament, intelligence, health, cultural and environmental influences, etc., and these all affect the way he or she grows and learns. When parents, teachers and others view and respect each child as an individual, with unique abilities, competencies, and needs, they can better support healthy growth and development.
Is my child ready for kindergarten?
Much has been written about school readiness. Although experts cannot agree on an exact definition of school readiness, most agree that all schools should be ready for all children who are age eligible to start kindergarten. Unfortunately, it is the child who most often has to be “ready” for school.
Typically a child must be chronologically 5 or close to five to begin kindergarten. However, not all 5-year-olds are behaving in a manner that is fully five and may not be ready for the rigors of an increasingly academic and demanding kindergarten curriculum. A child may have an above average knowledge base, but to be successful in school, especially in the early years, a child also needs to be ready physically, socially, and emotionally and exhibit adaptive behaviors that will support school success. In addition to a child’s cognitive development, their language, motor, and social development and the proficiency of their self-help skills are essential to school readiness.
Some signs that the child is developmentally ready include that he or she:
- Is comfortable away from parents for several hours
- Can express ideas and feelings to adults other than parents
- Takes care of toileting needs independently
- Puts on sweaters and jackets without help
- Takes care of personal belongings
- Enters a new activity without fear
- Accepts minor disappointments or limits without tears
- Listens to and follows directions
- Speaks in complete sentences
- Uses and understands many words
- Asks a lot of questions
- Says and notices words that rhyme in stories
- Makes up and shares personal stories about his or her interests
- Selects familiar books and tells why he or she likes them
- Can retell familiar stories, nursery rhymes or songs
- Holds a book upright
- Recognizes letter sounds
- Uses a pencil or crayon with a relaxed and controlled grasp
- Recognizes, copies and prints his or her name
- Draws simple recognizable pictures.
- Recognizes and counts up to ten items
- Recognizes the symbols 1-10
- Describes and talks about objects that have different sizes, colors, shapes and patterns
- Sorts objects from smallest to largest and from shortest to tallest and lightest to heaviest
- Repeats a series of four numbers without practice
- Understands and participates in conversations
- Stays involved in a directed activity to its completion
- Follows routines and directions
- Works together with other children
- Finds ways to resolve conflicts with peers independently
- Can work independently without adult supervision
- Makes simple decisions given a few choices of play activities
- States their own full name and age to the teacher
