My Daughter Misses the Sep 1St Cutoff for Kindergarten

Updated on May 03, 2010
M.F. asks from Humble, TX
14 answers

Does anyone know if my daughter can go to kindergarten via testing into the program. My four year old daughter is very smart and wants to go to school next year. She misses the Sep 1st deadline and I was wondering if anyone has knowledge on how you navigate the school system in Texas. Should we put her first into a private school or can she test into a public school?

Thanks for your help.

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answers from Houston on

Many daycare centers are accredited for kindergarten. My son attended private and then public kindergarten and I think it gave him a big advantage.

Continue teaching her at home and start her on reading. Get her into a pre-school or private kindergarten. Don't worry about having her in public school too early. She will be a leader and straight A student next year when she goes! She is ahead of the game! Keep her in the lead.

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answers from Houston on


I taught in the Midland and Conroe school districts for several years, but I've been a stay-at-home mom for three years now, so I'm not sure if the information I have is still valid. Advancing a child beyond the age-appropriate grade is done differently by different districts, I believe. I know that in CISD, children could test into an advanced grade. (I'm not sure if that was true for starting kindergarten early, though.) Your best bet is to contact the administration office of your child's school district or the counselor at your local school.

A friendly word of caution----I had a few students who were extremely bright and were moved ahead. One did very well, but the others had a really rough time socially/emotionally/maturationally even though they were able to keep up academically. If your sweet one isn't SUPER mature for her age, you might look into a good preschool program (if financially possible) or an appropriate home-school curriculum for this coming school year.

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answers from Anchorage on

i don't know specifically about the Texas system, but I teach in Louisiana and the cut off dates are pretty much not up for negotiation. I am almost positive that is pretty much the way it is across the nation. The reason for it is that a line has to be drawn somewhere. However, many public schools have pre-k programs that your daughter would probably qualify for and would probably enjoy. A lot of parents don't realize how tough kindergarten actually is. Really it has become the new first grade. Keep in mind even if your daughter could academically handle kindergarten, she may not be able to socially. Some of the kids will be 6 in her class and the maturity difference in a 6 year old and a 4 year old is huge. You could put her in a private school kindergarten program for a year, but it is likely they may have the same rules for age as public schools. Also, keep in mind that even if she does a year of kindergarten in praivate school, to switch her to public for first grade she will still be to young for the cutoff and may have to do a year of kindergarten in public school. My advice would be to wait until she makes the cutoff for public school, and in the meantime check out some pre-k programs. Also, pre-k isn't what it used to be either. They still learn mainly through play (which is age appro[riate for 4), but they learn their numbers and letters which gives them a great jump start for kindergarten. Good luck!

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answers from Houston on

I was up against this myself with my own daughter. She completed the pre-school course in her daycare at age 3 and they had nothing for her to do when she was 4. The public school system would not take her early, even though she was very ready for the curriculum. I was told that in order for her to start Kindergarten, I would have to pay to have her in private school. The next year, I could pay to have her evaluated and then tested to see if she could "place out" of Kindergarten, or I could just wait and transfer her after 3rd grade when it was pretty obvious that holding her back would be a mistake. Either way, they would not allow her to start a public Kindergarten early.

Unfortunately, I couldn't afford private school. She did enjoy her daycare very much and had tons of friends, so I just left her in daycare and worked with her teacher to give her more work. She is advanced in her school work, and if she continues to excel, she can "test out" into a higher grade if SHE chooses to. So you do have options.

Good luck!!!!!

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answers from Minneapolis on


I used to live in Texas and know people there who started their children in Montessori Kindergarten a year early and then transferred to first grade public school when they were Kindergarten age. The catch is that it is very expensive and hard to get into if you don't enroll them when they are very little.

My daughter started Kindergarten this year and although I was going to try to get her in a year early, I am so glad that I put her in on schedule. She is bright (started Kindergarten reading on a 2nd grade level and doing 1st and 2nd grade math.) She is also very mature for her age. I was worried that she would be bored. Although a lot of the material is a review for her, she always comes home exhausted because of the long day and rigorous schedule.

She also complains about being one of the youngest ones in the class. (She has a March birthday and many parents held their children back a year to give their children an advantage. Most of her classmates are 6-7 years old.) Her complaint surprised me because she loves to socialize with children older than she is.

Growing up, I had several friends who skipped grades because they were so academically advanced, but they struggled being smaller and younger than the others. They were also frustrated by milestones like getting a driver’s license later than everyone else.

If your daughter barely misses the cut off, you may want to try private school or contact the district directly to have her tested out. But if it doesn't work out, she will probably be fine going in a year later.

Best wishes,



answers from Houston on

when my daughter was 4 she was refused to join kindergarten and her birthday is september 2nd. there really isn't anything that can be done about that unless you want to pay for private school...



answers from Houston on

I'm not sure if the cutoff date is negotiable. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I just wanted to add, as a child that started school early. I had NO struggles academically, and excelled in school. I did, however start to have problems socially once puberty came along. Well, it came along for everyone else a year or two before me. That was very difficult to deal with...especially when all the girls started 'developing'....kwim? I was immature compared to my classmates, and had a hard time fitting in. Most of my friends were a couple of grades younger.

Just 2 cents from someone that has BTDT.

Good luck!



answers from San Francisco on

HI !
Please, as a Kindergarten teacher for over 20 years, please know that the Sept. deadline is for the benefit of the child. School and life move much faster and with much more stress thian when we went to school and we need to give our children time to just be children and grow.
You child may be bright and love to learn and that is wonderful...use every opportunity to enhance her learning . But you can't force maturity. If we are not willing to give our children the time at 4 and 5 to just be and grow, when (and if)they start haveing problems keeping up in 3rd &4th grade, are you going to be willing to hold them back and give them the time then? It's very hard.
I know you only want what is best for your child, so as her parent and primary teacher in life, enjoy the time you have with her and allow her to grow and start Kindergarten the following year.



answers from Fort Smith on

Hi. I'm an elementary teacher in Oklahoma, so I'm not sure about Texas school policy, but I faced the same situation with my daughter when she was four. Her birthday fell 9 days short of the cut off, so she was unable to being kindergarten when I thought she should. I ended up placing her in a four-year-old headstart program. She was in school daily, she loved it, and thrived! She is now in the third grade, a leader among her peers, and a straight A student. I don't believe keeping her back that year was a mistake. It gave her time to mature and grow, and now instead of being one of the youngest in her class, she is one of the oldest which has given her an advantage (in my opinion). I've seen this often, and the students who were given that extra time, even though they were so close to the cut off to begin school, are the ones who really seem to do well.
It's just my experience... hope it helped a little. Good luck!



answers from Houston on

Yes, she can test into Kindergarten. Sometime around April, she can take the benchmark test. And again directly before school starts. Call your elementary school and find out what the dates are. My daughter falls into this same category and she waited a whole year before going to Kindergarten. EVERYONE kept telling me it's better for the child in the long run to keep them where they are. As it turned out, she ended up testing into Gifted and Talented for 1st grade the next year. I have a friend who had her child tested before the Kindergarten year started and he went straight into first without going to Kindergarten. Give it a try.



answers from Beaumont on

I am a kindergarten teacher in Texas. It sounds like most of the advice that you have gotten so far has been right on the money...especially those people who have mentioned the 5 yr old child as a whole--socially, emotionally, physically, etc.
Here's what I believe and know to be true...
1. Kdg is is not just for fun and socialization anymore. Its beyond an "introduction into school" too. Its academic, its regimented, and its all day work. Dont get me wrong, 5 yr olds still continue to be 5 yr olds BUT the state of Tx demands a lot more out of them than some of them are ready for. I dont agree with some of the curriculum that I have to hold these kids responsible for but a lot of elements (like standardized testing) play a big part in today's kdg.
2. I have never heard of anyone testing out of kdg. Yes, occasionally you hear of kids who were "home schooled" or went to private kdg and then come into public school in 1st gr, but it isnt very often.
3. (this is my most important point) I have never seen it "hurt" a child to hold them back a year. I have seen great things from it, in fact. The confidence it can give, along with the maturity and knowledge of being "older" has always contributed to the child being a better student, in my years of experience.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.



answers from Beaumont on

I don't know much about testing them into kdg, but I keep my child in a private school. They do pre school starting at 2 and it works so well for her and they go all the way to kdg. If they do offer a test you should try it, never hurts to try, especially if she seems ready for school. If it turns out she isn't I'm sure there wouldn't be any problems about taking her out for another year.



answers from Fort Smith on

I don't know about testing into kindergarden, but my brother had the same problem and he had to wait until the next year to start. That was years ago though so something may have changed since then. I live in oklahoma, but i would think texas would have the same thing, they have a four year old class in the headstart program, you might try enrolling her in that. She would get to go to school next year and meet some of the kids she would be going to kindergarden with. My little sister(I was 18 when she was born) did both the 3 and 4 year old program and loved it, but you have to get in early they only take so many kids per year. I hope this helps you.



answers from Lafayette on

I would suggest that you do not push ahead too quickly. I am an early childhood consultant for the state of LA and am the mother of 5 children ages 33-14. Two of my children had Sept. birthdays and one had a Nov. birthday. I kept the Nov. son back a year and it was the smartest thing I have ever done. He was mature enough to make excellent decisions concerning his career and at age 27 he is very successful. Whereas, my 33 year old son, whom I did not hold back, is still floundering with his career. My 16 year old daughter in now a Junior in High School and is struggling due to her immaturity in some aspects of her life. Her prek teacher said she was ready for Kindergarten so I put her in at age 4 (She turned 5 before the cut off of Sept 30 by 7 days) and it was the biggest mistake of her life. She, like my oldest son, has struggled in school since 3rd grade. That is the year the age seems to catch up with them. They are both capable academically but their immature attitudes have kept them from being successful. My 14 year old daughter who has a May birthday is moving on ahead quite successfully as well. No matter what anyone says, maturity, just by a few months, makes all the difference.

I read an article at some point that made a lot of sense. It stated that such a decision should be based on all areas of the child's development - physical, emotional, social and academic maturity. My 16 year old was ready socially and academically to start Kindergarten early, however, physically she was not able to handle the demands of the day. As a Junior, she still has trouble meeting the demands of the day. She was a very tiny infant and had a soft trachea that delayed her physical activity for the first six months of her life. She is fine now physically but that six month delay effected all of her motor development needed in learning to read and write. So my advice to you is to take a very, very close look at your child in all areas and be sure she is ready to move forward. If there is the slightest doubt in even one area, I would keep her back a year. As one of the other respondents said, one more year of maturity does not ever hurt. Picture her graduating at age 17 - will she be ready to make the necessary decisions for her life. I graduated at age 17 and was very mature and level headed but I wish I had had an extra year of growth. Maybe then I would not have made as many mistakes in my decisions for my life as I did.

Preschool has proven to be a very effective measure of success in our children here in LA. Those children attending preschool score much higher on standardized tests at the end of fourth grade than those students who did not attend preschool. So, yes, put your child in a good program, but make sure it is right for her. Let's let our children be children.

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