Why do so many people have their 4-year-old's tested to start kindergarten early?

Question

Everyone knows that you aren't supposed to start school until you are 5. I know in some states, the cut-off is well into the school year, which I've always thought to be quite ridiculous because then kids can start when they are 4. These are the same states that have massive behavioral problems with a lot of students (immaturity could be an issue), like California. In other states, where the cut-off is way earlier, like in August or September, parents still have their child tested because they want them to start school when they are 4. Do they want to get rid of them so soon? Or do they really think their child is beyond grade level at the age of 4? (Note: my child was reading before he was 4, but he started kindergarten when he was supposed to. Does that mean I didn't recognize his ability? No, I just wanted him to be already 18 when graduating from high school instead of only 16 or 17)

Answer 1

I was surprised by your question.  Where I live, most people who have kids with late summer or fall birthdays hold them back so they will be almost 6 by the time they start kindergarten.  Both of my kids missed the cutoff to start kindergarten.  It is Sept. 1, here and my kids have Nov and Dec birthdays.  I would have loved to start them in kindergarten when they were 4, but they wouldn't let them. (No one ever said we could test them.  Both of my kids would have been ready academically and emotionally.)  I know lots of kids with Sept birthdays who started school when they were 5 only to turn 6 within 2 or 3 weeks.  

Answer 2

They must want to get rid of them. A decent kindergarten teacher can teach to all the different levels in the school and if their child is REALLY that advanced, they can take either math or reading with the grade ahead. Starting in first grade, I went to second grade for reading/ spelling/ language arts and so on up through eighth grade when about six of us did independent study, reading high school and college level books, with the talented and gifted teacher.

I was only three days shy of the cutoff dates, so I could have been with my reading classmates for everything if my parents had pushed it (they were both teachers/counselors in the district. SURELY they could have pushed for me to get in). I'm glad they didn't, and I had the luxury of making friends in two different grades all through school that continue to this day.

Answer 3

I started school a year early and skipped a grade.

When I ask my parents about it, they've told me that they wanted to give me an advantage.  Two years under my belt gives me time to attend additional school and be more qualified than co-workers my age.  It also let's me get into the workforce earlier and make more money (not the best idea, in my opinion, but there's something to it)

Answer 4

Get rid of your child? By sending him to school?  I started school a year Early, I graduated at 17. I graduated from University. I'm healthy , well adjusted, and happy. My parents were involved with my life.

Sending your child to school early is not trying to get rid of them. If they are ready ( and a good parent can make that decision), then why not give them a head start in their emotional, social and acedmic development?

Answer 5

All parents think that their children are above average.  Mathematically, of course, this can't be true, even in Lake Woebegone.  But about half of all kids really are above average.

I wanted to skip a year of high school. I'd really already finished everything. My folks wouldn't let me do it.  They may have been counting on an extra year of income before sending me to college.

What we did with our 4 year old is start him in violin.  Now that he's 11, he's really very good.  And he'll graduate high school with the ability to serenade the girls, if he wants to.  He already can.  And maybe he'll do good in orchestra this year.  He's brilliant, but started slow in math, and very slow in reading.  He has no attention span to speak of.  But now that he's reading for enjoyment, he's jumped ahead.

Answer 6

What does the age matter if the child is indeed ready? I started when I was 4, because my birthday is in October, and like you said, the cutoff in California is in December. My parents wanted me to start because I had already been in pre-school for 2 years, and I had all my friends that were starting Kindergarten and they didn't want me to fall behind. And in most situations like this, the child turns five in the first 3 months of school anyways, so I really don't understand what you're getting at.

Answer 7

Sometimes it's because the kid is actually ready. I started at 4 and always made straight A's, never had any behavioral issues and graduated from high school at the top of my class. I never minded being younger than my peers, either so I'm not sure why you would think graduating at 16-17 is a bad thing. Even now at the age of 25, most of my friends are older than me- I don't see why that's a big deal. Other times it's because the parents don't want to pay for another year of daycare. Where I live there is no 4-K program so if you work you have to pay for private childcare which is EXPENSIVE. You're not supposed to use school as a daycare but people do it anyway.  

Answer 8

I don't know anyone who's done this. However, don't be so quick to judge.  In Illinois, the cutoff is September 1st.  Some kids birthdays are in September and maybe this is why.  Maybe they think they are ready, and they probably are.  However, our school district does not allow this.