How Can Kindergarten Screening Provide Useful Information?

If your child's school or district conducts pre-kindergarten screening, request that your child participate so that the school can evaluate his or her readiness skills. Ask the following questions to learn about the screening program:

• Will the screening results be used to exclude some children from Kindergarten, or will the results be used to help determine the child's level of readiness and need for any special help?
  
• Who will conduct the screening (teachers, other professionals or volunteers)? Are they familiar with the resources in the school and community?
  
• What sources of information will be used as part of the screening? (Is a single test used, or is information collected from parents or preschool teachers?)
  
• Is the screening completed at a single session or appointment, or is information collected at several different points in time? (Remember that young children can have an "off day!")
  
• What skills does the screening program measure? (Good screening is comprehensive-including reading readiness, counting, motor skills, language and social skills.)
  

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