Please review all information provided below regarding Early Kindergarten Assessment before scheduling online. When you decide to schedule, please note our two different office locations. Current openings are for Davidson location only. If there are no openings, we are full but will add more options as we head into April. Please check back. Most of our openings will be in June-August.

Early Admission to Kindergarten Assessment

Full Fee: $585 ($60 due when scheduling, balance at end of assessment appointment. All forms of payment accepted)

Assessment Includes:

• Ability/ IQ test with the WPPSI-IV (Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence)

• Achievement testing in reading and math with the WJ-V (Woodcock Johnson test of Achievement)

• We block more than an hour for the session to allow for any breaks. Typically it takes around one hour for both assessments. Parents wait in our waiting area while we work with the student at a table in our office.

• A report with scores and an explanation of scores

Parents often inquire about requirements to have their child begin Kindergarten early. Children must be 5 years old by the stated cut-off date for any public school in North Carolina. Sometimes when there are extraordinary circumstances and a child is identified as intellectually gifted, schools may consider letting a child who has not yet turned 5 by the cut-off begin Kindergarten. The initial requirements are that the child be assessed (Intellectual Testing and Achievement Testing) and must obtain scores in the 98th percentile on BOTH assessments to be considered. Regardless of scores, the school administration makes the decision about early admission. We are available to provide these assessments to preschool age children and have years of experience working with this age group. Ideally, testing should occur in the spring or summer prior to the school year the parent is attempting to begin.

Testing for school admission purposes is not covered by insurance. These are all inclusive fees, not including a face to face follow up session. If you would like a face-to-face follow up session, the fee is an additional $75. Otherwise, we will send you the report and can answer quick questions via email or phone.

The link to the CMS guidelines for early K is provided below. These guidelines are generally state wide and will work for any NC public school. Please look at your own county guidelines for full application. As the parent, you are responsible for understanding the criteria and testing process. These guidelines are state wide; however, if you are in a different school district or working with a private or charter school, you should consult with them on their criteria and process. It is your responsibility to inform us of specific school criteria and deadlines. The criteria are not really about “readiness” for Kindergarten. The child must score exceptionally high to be considered by their school for early admission. Final decisions, regardless of scores, are always made by the school.

FAQ’s for Early Kindergarten Testing

Do I need to prep my child? NO! Please do not provide any kind of prep for testing. You can tell them they are meeting with Ms Jayme or Ms Holly to do some activities and they should try their best.

What will the tests be like? Both assessments are preschool friendly and use blocks, pictures and puzzles as well as basic verbal questions. For achievement, we are assessing knowledge of letters, numbers and any reading or math the child is able to complete. Most preschoolers love the process and enjoy their time with us.

When do we get results? After the appointment, we will not have scores for you right away. We take our time and score and write a full report. You will receive it by email within 5-7 days unless stated otherwise. Then you can ask any questions you have via phone or email. You can then decide if you want to share the report with the school.

Please do not tell your child that this will decide whether or not they go to Kindergarten! That is not our decision.

The testing process is not subjective. We are trained to administer these assessments and provide an objective report. We do not change our report or scores after the report is completed.

If my child does not score high enough does that mean they are not ready for Kindergarten? No, not necessarily. There are many preschoolers “ready” for Kindergarten but for Early Admission, these specific criteria set by NC have to be met.

Can we re-test? No. This is a psych testing guideline. A child cannot be retested until one year has passed. You cannot take them to another psychologist for retesting.

If my child is sick on the date of testing, what should be do? Reschedule! Just email or call us and we will happily reschedule. We do not want to work with your child if they are sick or there is an emergency.

Why is testing so costly? It takes specialized training and licenses to provide psychological testing and the testing materials, systems etc are costly. After our face to face time, we spend at least another hour or more scoring, writing reports and doing follow up.