Document Type
Issue Area Four
Abstract
I believe the questions for this issue on readiness should be: Should we assess and screen children from school attendance based on the results of readiness testing? Should schools accept all age eligible children?
I believe readiness testing should not be utilized to deny access to children. Schools should be prepared to provide an appropriate education to all age eligible children. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) stated it best in their appropriate practice statement:
In public schools, there is a place for every child of legal entry age, regardless of the developmental level of the child. No public school program should deny access to children on the basis of results of screening or other arbitrary determinations of the child's lack of readiness. The educational system adjusts to the developmental needs and levels of the children it serves; children are not expected to adapt to an inappropriate system. (Bredekamp, 1987, p. 57)
Peck, McCaig, and Sapp (1988) stated that in any testing of young children one needs to take into account the rapid changes in skills, abilities, and understandings. Furthermore, they believed that at best a test can only approximate the child's current level in each of the above areas.
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
4
Issue
2
First Page
97
Last Page
100
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1993 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Amendt, Bruce C.
(1993)
"Assessing Readiness of Students to Start School: How Do We Know When Kids Are Ready To Learn in a School Setting?,"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 4:
No.
2, Article 26.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol4/iss2/26
