Prep reception assessment problem

[Janetsky]

Hi,

DS has another assessment for a prep school coming up. What can I do if I feel the tasks they set him may be too basic to challenge him or elicit a good response from him? I am worried that they will assume he just cant do anything. He will also be the youngest of the group.

DS is 3 yrs 4 months. So far he can read basic books with 10 word sentences. He can do simple maths such as 2 plus 3 is 5. He can complete a 50 piece picture puzzle by himself.

At his last assessment I sat in with him. They asked him to identify shapes and colors. He picked out the basic ones and could also identify pentagons and hexagons. But they stopped him midway and told him not to bother as it was too difficult to identify ovals, pentagons and hexagons. They also asked him to complete a 6 piece puzzle, which he did. They didnt test for reading or maths skills though. They were surprised that he could read the words 'left' and 'right'.

For his next assessment I wont be sitting in with him. I am worried that the tasks they set him will not get much of a response out of him. He wont be very keen to try a 6 piece puzzle on the assessment day when he normally does 50 piece ones at home. Especially as I wont be there to tell him to just do it. He complains when something is too easy and shows no interest.

What is the best course of action, to talk to the examiner beforehand? Or will that put them off.

Thanks

And you want your child to go to this school exactly why?

You are joking, surely?!?

Just for your information, I have been through the 4+ assessment procedure with mine and I can catagorically state that the schools do not take the 40 children who can perform best on the day. They are looking for the 40 with the most potential and who will be the most rounded. They may take a child who 'only' knows initial sounds over a child who is reading because they see 'something' special in that child whether it be drive or meerly enthusiasm for learning.

They are very experienced at this and are far more likely to take the child who can only count to 10 but has great awareness of the place value of those numbers over the child who can 'count' to 100 forward and backward.

You cannot prep for the 4+. It is not really about what they already know,rather what they have the ability to learn.

merely

I'm sure they are accustomed to the typical behaviour of their "interviewees", and will make allowances for children this young simply not wanting to do the activities. If they don't, then they shouldn't be working in a pre-prep school, should they? I don't think speaking to them beforehand will do anything except convince them you are over-anxious.

Just leave him to get on with it. If he has the sort of potential they are looking for, then they will recognise it. If they don't feel the school is right for him, then they won't offer him a place. Nothing you can do or say will influence this.

Please don't try and speak to them beforehand. You will come across as pushy and controlling which is far more likely to influence them negatively than your ds not being very keen to complete a 6 piece jigsaw

And don't forget to leave them your credit reference file. Speaks volumes!

I second what the others have said - just leave him to get on with it. He sounds like a lovely little boy and I'm sure he will make an impression, even if they just scrape the surface of his accomplishments so far.

Many prep schools aren't looking, at this stage, to find out what the child can do in terms of academic ability. They are looking at whether the child is ready for school and likely to fit into their way of learning, and if they are social children, etc. They may well be looking at the mix of children they are getting too and seeing how they think the children will gel.

It sounds like they will have seen his academic ability stuff on his last assessment anyway.

These teachers are used to doing assessments on children f this age. Your DS will not be the first child they have seen who can read, write and do maths before starting school. trust them to decide whether your DS is right for their school or not.

I would not talk to the teacher about it beforehand. It would, IMO, come acrosss as a bit OTT, a bit "competitive mummy" and a bit precious TBH. I doubt they have an "examiner" - it'll be one of the reception teachers.

Please try to stop worrying about this - chances are he really will be fine. They'll see he's bright and if they can't, it wouldn't be the right school for you and him anyway.
Definitely don't talk to the examiner about how he's doing all these things at this stage as they will just think OVERANXIOUS PARENT.

he sounds like a bright kid. these assessments are designed to find brught kids and have done so pretty successfully for years. not sure why they would fail your son??

definitely do not talk to the teacher beforehand - while this shouldn't be an interview of the parents, an obviously pushy mother will not help her child's case...

there was a documentary a couple of weeks back about pre-school age reception tests.The thing they looked at most was the parents attitude towards the child and then the childs attitude.

Sorry but if you talk to the assesor/teacher you are likely to come across as a pushy nightmare and scupper any chance he has - especially if you try to suggest that your child is so intelligent that he will defy the testing process...

Katiestar which channel was that on?

Bu**er I meant a couple of YEARS ago not a couple of weeks ago (IN my defence I have bumped my head and think I am a bit concussed !)

It was very interesting though.They were selecting children as young as 2.5.And the really sad thing was that parents were hot housing them for these tests.The kids that gor selected seemed to be bright jolly little things with jolly likeable parents.