If your child will be beginning school this year, you may be wondering exactly what is on the Kindergarten Readiness Test? While Kindergarten readiness tests can vary from school to school, the types of questions and tasks which will be presented to your child are generally very similar. Also called Pre-Kindergarten Assessments, Kindergarten readiness tests involve identification, sorting, drawing, writing, stacking, cutting, walking heel to toe, hopping, and other such activities.

Your child’s teacher will be assessing the level of knowledge and skill your child has in comparison to state standards and to the other children in the class. This is so that an individual lesson plan can be created; in other words, a set of goals for your child and an overview of the steps to be taken to reach those goals. Most children beginning Kindergarten already have some basic knowledge of the alphabet, numbers, and even writing or drawing, usually learned in preschool.

The identification category usually involves pointing to, or saying the names of, objects, emotions, and colors depicted on cards or in the test guide. Your child may be asked to identify drawings of familiar things, such as household items, animals, or activities. Color and shape recognition is evaluated as well. The teacher may ask about drawings showing children who are smiling or frowning, what is happening in the picture, and how the person in the picture feels. Often the question is posed, “What would you do? How would you feel if that were happening to you?”

Your child may be directed to write his or her name, and to copy simple drawings, such as a circle, a straight line, and an “x”. Proper finger placement, pressure with the pencil, and ability will be noted. Your child may be asked to recite the alphabet from memory, as well as count to twenty. The teacher may evaluate your child’s skill in cutting shapes out with scissors.

Sorting is a category which involves shape and color recognition, the ability to count, and the ability to recognize similarities and differences. Kindergarten readiness tests usually include sorting based on both objects and drawings. For example, the teacher may have a set of ten or twenty small plastic toys and blocks of different colors. Your child would then be asked to give the teacher six red toys, or nine bears as opposed to dogs. Separating the colors into groups, counting them, and stacking are normally included in the assessment tests. Cards or pages showing a group of items may be shown, and your child may be asked to identify which items are different, for instance, an apple, orange, lemon, and shoe.

Your child’s physical development is assessed through a few fun activities. Your child may be asked to jump, hop, stand on one foot, and walk touching heel to toe. Not all children can complete all of these tasks, with the most difficult being walking touching the heel of one shoe to the toe of the other. The teacher is primarily evaluating strength and balance.

It is important to remember that the purpose of the Kindergarten Readiness Test is to evaluate your child’s knowledge and skill level prior to the beginning of Kindergarten in order to identify areas which need improvement, and formulate a plan to help your child succeed in the coming year. Kindergarten readiness tests are useful tools for both teachers and parents.

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