Monique B. reviewed Testing for Kindergarten: Simple Strategies to Help Your Child Ace the Tests for: Public School Placement, Private School Admissions, Gifted Program Qualification on + 27 more book reviews
It's interesting because here in Columbia, SC, in the city public school system, my 5-year old was not tested prior to entering kindergarten. However, there is a K4 program for which children must be tested in order to enter it, and from what I've been told from other parents, you must fail the test in order to get in. I guess this prepares children who are behind in specif areas for kindergarten. But since testing for Coco won't be until August sometime, I don't have any first-hand experience to impart.
I like the fact that the book is NOT geared toward teaching to the test. That is one of my pet peeves. It was when I was in school, and it is now that I'm in the working world and have trained other people, have been trained by others, etc, I believe it serves no purpose to teach people only enough to pass a test. We need to teach concepts as well, so that people can get an understanding of what they're learning, instead of simply teaching them how to memorize a specific thing that ends up never translating to the job well.
This is a parent-friendly book. Karen Quinn describes the different types of IQ tests, what they test for, and how they test. She explains the types of test questions. If you sign up on her website, she will also email you sample test questions for you to review with your child. My 4-year old was excited to review the puzzle questions I had for her. They take hardly any time. And I could hear her talking to her big sister (age 6) and big cousin (age 10) in the other room and explaining what she knew. It was cute.
She describes other ways to incorporate the skills a kindergartner should have before kindergarten. It makes it really easy to learn. Obviously, this isn't a book to read in one setting, and then put it back on the shelf. This is the type of book you'll skim the first few times, then sit down and read word-for-word, over the course of several months, as you help to prepare your little one for school. This is definitely a keeper.
I like the fact that the book is NOT geared toward teaching to the test. That is one of my pet peeves. It was when I was in school, and it is now that I'm in the working world and have trained other people, have been trained by others, etc, I believe it serves no purpose to teach people only enough to pass a test. We need to teach concepts as well, so that people can get an understanding of what they're learning, instead of simply teaching them how to memorize a specific thing that ends up never translating to the job well.
This is a parent-friendly book. Karen Quinn describes the different types of IQ tests, what they test for, and how they test. She explains the types of test questions. If you sign up on her website, she will also email you sample test questions for you to review with your child. My 4-year old was excited to review the puzzle questions I had for her. They take hardly any time. And I could hear her talking to her big sister (age 6) and big cousin (age 10) in the other room and explaining what she knew. It was cute.
She describes other ways to incorporate the skills a kindergartner should have before kindergarten. It makes it really easy to learn. Obviously, this isn't a book to read in one setting, and then put it back on the shelf. This is the type of book you'll skim the first few times, then sit down and read word-for-word, over the course of several months, as you help to prepare your little one for school. This is definitely a keeper.
