Educate Yourself!

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction requires that children must be 5 years old by August 31st of the enrolling school year to attend kindergarten. Many parents are frustrated by this cut-off date and wonder what to do. The state does allow children who turn 4 years old by April 16th to apply for early admissions if they exhibit “an extraordinary level of academic ability and maturity” (State Board Policy ID Number: GCS-J-001). In order to qualify the child’s aptitude or intelligence and academic achievement must be assessed. The child must score at the 98th percentile on a measure of intelligence, such as the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Third Edition (WPPSI-III). The child must also score at the 98th percentile on a measure of achievement in either math OR reading. Other factors such as maturity, motivation and behavior are taken into account. Parents often wonder if their child is bright enough to score at the 98th percentile on these measurements. It may be helpful for parents to understand that this percentile is based on a nationally normed measurement where Average is the 50th percentile. In order to score at the 98th percentile the child would have to score better than 98% of other children their age. With regards to academics this means that they are able to perform academic tasks such as reading or math well above their peers.

As an educational specialist at Child and Family Development I help complete evaluations to help determine early admissions to kindergarten as well as kindergarten readiness.