Formal assessment for admission to preschool?

[AnnaLiza]

I had a chat with an acquaintance today and she was telling me about the entrance assessment that her DDs had to take when they were 3 (!) to be admitted to preschool in the best private school in my area (which goes from nursery to 18). I'm seriously put off now. Apparently her DDs were shown cards and asked to identify actions (to test reasoning and quality of vocabulary I'm told) then they had a full one hour "chat" with a teacher. WTF?
What can anyone tell from how a 3 year old "performs" in a formal assessment? Do they have a crystal ball or something? And what about the fact that we speak different languages at home so that my DS will probably not have a great vocabulary in English at the age of 3 but he'll know another language. Isn't that more valuable?
I was considering this school for DS (only 9 months old) but I'm really reconsidering now. I suppose if they have too many applications they have to filter them somehow. Still a formal assessment at 3 seems bonkers!
What do others think? I'm really interested in hearing other people's perspectives.

yes this is normal for some private preschools

I guess it depends on what sort of pre school environment you want for your child.

Personally I want a fun, no pressure to learn but with plenty of chances to learn through fun type environment. The need to have any sort of assessment to get a place would put me off, but I would judge it based on the whole place not just that part.

the best private school or the one that gets the best results, that what you need to be thinking of

It shows them nothing. There is no correlation between children who do well in these young tests and children who do well later. It is bollocks. In fact, children who are told they are 'gifted' young often develop a fear of failure that actively hurts their learning.

They're checking the DCs don't bite and that the parents don't stink of booze.

I wouldn't let my son anywhere near a school like that.

At least one of our local private schools does this. They do it because the school is a high achieving school and children require to be able to achieve well to go. The children who attend the pre school are pretty much guaranteed a place in the secondary so they need to assess the children in order to ensure they'll do well at exams in secondary school.

That is the theory. I don't believe for a second that it is possible to predict secondary exam results from flashcards at age 3!

This is more common than you think. They often turn away children with poor speech, poor number recognition and verbal reasoning. Theyve aldo been known to turn down children showing any sign of special needs. Well they do in our area anyway!

YANBU formal assessment at 3 is bonkers. But then, I think private schools should be abolished so I'm probably a bit biased!

I think it's not for me either. I find the idea of testing 3 year olds for future exam potential repulsive. Actually I'm not even sure why I feel so strongly about it, but I do.

I am glad you added that last sentence JollyJock! What a barmy idea!

DS is 3 I wonder if a place at Oxford could be reserved for him now because he knows his numbers?

Any good private school will ask on their form, or give you an opportunity to mention, that the child speaks another language at home, and will take that into consideration.

If you don't like assessments, don't apply for that school. There are very good non selective schools.

Whether or not you agree with selective schools, this is going to be fairly standard for any highly selective academic school.

There wouldn't be much point admitting a child to the pre-school if they were then going to turn round and say "actually, we don't want him in the actual school".

They are going to assess at whatever level a child joins the school.

But why would they not want him or her in the actual school panda? Because they think he's thick? How on earth can you judge how smart someone is going to turn out at that age?

It is not testing whether a child is bright and will pass exams. Cynically, it tests two things... Whether they can rule out your child because they have SN. Whether you are a parent who will jump through hoops to get your child the best.

Considering they have 20 spaces and over 50 applications for preschool, even if they do rule out SN and the parents they don't like that still leave a lot of children being ruled out of what criterion?

I don't think they are assessing the children as much as they are assessing the parents. They want parents who are actively engaged in the children's education and who will support their learning, and they want families that will 'fit in'.

They will be checking that the child isn't below average.

I've never heard of it for per-school, but it's the norm for p1 entry into independent schools here. It gives the school a chance to deny a place to any child they feel won't fit in. Yes, they screen for any special educational needs and no doubt 'undesirable' parents too. Basically, it's a convenient insurance policy for the school.