Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Kindergarten Cutoff

That's exactly what I was considering doing - making a 26 into a 2. It seems *so* much easier than having him in preschool another half a year and then desperately looking for a school that will take him when he turns 5. We live in a rural area with very few schools to try.

But... we want him at the same charter school as his sister, and I wouldn't want to ruin our relationship with them if/when they found out.

And, my husband was horrified by the idea of him not knowing his real birthday. (Although, as I also have a right-after-Christmas birthday, I think a pre-Christmas birthday is much better! I have changed my celebration to 4th of July because I love fireworks. And warmth. )

Thanks to everyone for talking me down from my criminal delusions.

I don't like in your area, but I did alter my childs birth cert to get him into school. Where I live, a child can only qualify for public school pre-k program if they are 4 years old and from a low-income family. I am not rich, but i am above the income guidlines. Also, my children are all advanced for their ages... I taught them all of the basics at home. So, I changed my child's birthdate on his birth cert from 2/18/06 to 2/18/05 so that he could go to pre-k last year. So, he is really 4, but has passed pre-k with flying colors and is now in Kindergarten at age 4. I have not been found out. I'm thinking that the worst thing that can happen is that the child be tested to see if they "should" be in the higher grade if you're found out. I look at the situation like "why should my child who is above average not be given the opportunity to excel because of some generalized age guideline?" But my suggestion to you is that you not only look at the academics that your child knows, make sure they are ready socially and devlopmentally before altering the certificate. But it will give your child a head start on education, it did for mine. Hope this helps.

Aside from all the reasons already mentioned, I would hesitate to do this because many standardized tests are normed to age (year and month). I'd want to have accurate data based on correct information...

DeeDee

Nikita, I too have a right-after-Christmas birthday and have contemplated moving it to July--I'm glad to see someone else actually do it! For years I swore that I was going to give someone half a present for Christmas and the other half for their birthday and I didn't care a bit if their birthday was in July!

Just out of curiosity, was your child also advanced physically? Was he tall enough to fit right in with everyone else?

Also, when you say "make sure they are ready socially and developmentally", what are some key things to look for? (So-called kindergarten readiness checklists I found online seem too basic, in a "that's it?"-sense) and tend to focus on academics (child should know colors, some letters, etc.)

Baby Rocket,

Kindergarten screening instruments are "too basic" by design, as their usual purpose is to identify children in need of additional support. (North American public schools have government-mandated child-find requirements for identifying and offering remediation to at-risk students.) With regard to social readiness for kindergarten, the bottom line is whether they can make it through the school day (whether half or whole day) without feeling distressed--by the expectations for managing their behavior, sitting still, paying attention, following directions, etc.

And while height is on many protocols for grade acceleration/early entry, I view it as a relatively minor consideration (probably biased by my own, more efficient, length!). In any case, weighting height too heavily in grade placement would result in many entering high school students (especially boys) being held back for three years, as well as in systematic discrimination against other protected classes, since height is sometimes distributed somewhat differently by ethnicity/national origin.

Welcome, Baby Rocket JJ!


Your post may indicate the potential for your child to experience a future grade acceleration, so I thought you might enjoy reading a roundup of acceleration PROs and CONs.
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....ration_Roundup_grade_ski.html#Post248163

Other parents have also wondered about the ability for an accelerated child to blend physically among classmates 1 or more years older.