What is the Early Entrance to Kindergarten Application Process?

The early entrance process assesses a child’s readiness for Kindergarten and the child's intellectual and developmental progression relative to future success as the youngest student in class in subsequent grades. The comprehensive process evaluates the aptitude, achievement, ability, interpersonal skills, and developmental maturity of the child. Early entrance is considered a grade-level acceleration and impacts a student’s entire academic career. Please familiarize yourself with the process of evaluating your child for early entrance to Kindergarten. Very few children qualify for early entrance to Kindergarten. Please make sure you proceed with childcare arrangements as a contingency. If you are selecting a preschool or pre-K program, please understand that those programs routinely fill up quickly; we recommend you register your child for your selected daycare or preschool program. If you are applying for Early Entrance to Kindergarten, you DO NOT register or enroll your child as a Kindergarten student using the online Parent Portal but must get a paper application from the elementary school building your child will attend.

The steps are as follows: 

1. After the early entrance application has been accepted by the building principal, the student will be scheduled for a Kindergarten screening. This screening typically takes between 20 minutes and one hour. The child must pass this screening to continue in the process. The building principal will notify parents/guardians of the results.
2. If the child passes the Kindergarten screening, the child will be scheduled for an IQ test. This screening typically takes 30 minutes to two hours. The child must score 115 on the IQ test to continue in the process. The building principal will notify parents/guardians of the results.
3. If the child passes both the Kindergarten screening and the IQ test, the early entrance testing coordinator will contact parents/guardians to schedule academic assessments and to complete the developmental scale. These assessments typically take 30 minutes to two hours.
4. After all testing is completed, an early entrance meeting will be set up by either the early entrance testing coordinator or the building principal to discuss the results of the child’s entire evaluation. This meeting will include the parent/guardian, building principal, early entrance coordinator, and a Kindergarten teacher. The Iowa Acceleration Scale will be used to evaluate all assessments and information and obtain a recommendation related to whether the student will be accepted for early entrance.
5. Decisions related to early entrance are not usually finalized until later in the summer. The entire process, from application to the committee meeting, can take between 30 to 90 days, depending upon the availability of assessment appointments.

My Child Has Been Accepted for Early Entrance to Kindergarten. Now What?

Students who are accepted for early entrance to Kindergarten spend the first semester of the school year in a transitionary period to determine if Kindergarten is truly the best fit for their social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs. During this time, the student will be required to pass additional Kindergarten beginning-of-the-year assessments per their written acceleration plan. Exemplary attendance during Kindergarten is necessary so that early entrance students can transition into the academic school environment with as few disruptions as possible. At the end of the first semester, the final evaluation of their readiness for whole grade acceleration is determined.

At the end of this transition period, a final placement decision is made. If a student is successful in this transition period, he/she becomes a general education kindergarten student. If concerns arise during the transition period, the Kindergarten teacher will communicate with and work with the parents/guardians to resolve any issues in an effort to support the student.

Parents who are considering applying for early entrance are strongly encouraged to secure a position in a pre-K program simultaneously in the event the student is not accepted for early entrance. Additionally, parents should be aware that early entrance students are placed into classes on a space-available basis, so most receive seats in the afternoon session of Kindergarten. The Kindergarten morning session is from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and the Kindergarten afternoon session is from 1:05 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.