Testing for Pre K

Yep, you read that right.  Testing for Pre K.  Here in the New Orleans area, the public school system leaves quite a bit to be desired.  Check out the test scores online and you'll see why. 

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/LA/schoolrank.aspx

There are only two public schools we will consider sending Cassidy to here in Jefferson Parish ... Metairie Academy or Airline Park Academy (This one is relatively new, so there isn't much data on it.  But its supposed to be good).  Both are Advanced Study Schools and their test scores are in the 90-100 percentiles as compared to the 50-60 percentiles for the other public schools.  Obviously that means that demand for these schools is high.  Between the two schools, there are approximately 80 spots for PreK (4 year old kindergarten).  This drops down to 24 spots for K (5 year old).  To put things in perspective, last year 780 kids applied and tested for preK.  Hmmph.  That's not good odds.

To add insult to injury, the cutoff date  for Jeff parish public schools is Sept 31.  (That means she needs to turn 4 on or before September 31) With a birthday of September 11, Cassidy will be almost a full year younger than some of the other kids testing for the same class.  I'm not going to claim that my kid is the smartest one out there, but I know she's bright.  Realistically though, 6 months to a year of further development at that age is HUGE.  I'm hoping that they take that into account when they evaluate the test scores... but I'm betting not.

We took Cassidy for her test today.  We told her last night that she was going to visit "a big girl school" to get her excited about it.  She's been talking about wanting to go to "big girl school" for a few months now.  We told her she'd get to meet some teachers and play some games, but only kids could go in to play games with the teachers ... grown-ups weren't allowed. 

When her name was called, she sprinted up to the teacher waiting for her with a giant smile on her face, politely held out her hand and shook the teachers hand.  (I did a quick inner cheer--- that certainly couldn't hurt our chances!)  We watched her walk out, holding the teachers hand, and sat down to wait.  20-25 minutes later, they came back and we headed for home.  We tried to get Cassidy to tell us what she did, but she couldn't really tell us.  She did say she had to write her name (drat!  she's not too good at that yet...  her fine motor skills aren't too great yet).  Hopefully they asked her to spell it or recognize it too!  She said she either had to draw or recognize a triangle, and we suspect she did something with numbers on a clock, but we aren't sure what.   At least they didn't come out and tell us she'd have to retest because she didn't/couldn't do anything they asked (like one teacher said when she brought another little girl back out to her parents.)

Today was the first test date, so it'll be awhile before we hear anything.  The plan is if she doesn't get in this year, she'll stay at CP (her current early developmental preschool) for another year and we'll try again next year.  If we don't get in next year, then we'll be choosing a private school and paying a whole lot of money for the next 13 years.