PARENT CHECKLIST - TESTING / SCREENING
Each year, hundreds of thousands of preschoolers nationwide take cognitive ability tests, readiness exams, skills tests, intelligence scales, nonverbal ability tests and intellectual assessments for admission to kindergarten. These measures of cognitive and language ability may include but are not limited to: the OLSAT, the BSRA, the CogAT, the ITBS, the Stanford-Binet, the WPPSI-III, the WISC, the NNAT-2 and the GATE.
The practice guide you purchased is designed to target preschoolers preparing for individual verbal cognitive, language and skills ability testing sessions required as part of the kindergarten admissions process. These sessions are usually administered from October through February at Hawaii’s top private schools and may coincide with or be followed by a group observational session. During the ONE-TO-ONE screening session, the private school admissions representative may test your child in the following areas:
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Child is able to HOLD a PENCIL properly with a MATURE GRIP.
Child is able to USE a PENCIL to TRACE letters, numbers and shapes (Square, Triangle, Circle).
Child is able to HOLD a (safety) SCISSORS.
Child is able to OPEN and CLOSE a (safety) SCISSORS.
Child is able to USE a (safety) SCISSORS to CUT along a STRAIGHT LINE.
Child is able to USE a SCISSORS to CUT OUT a CIRCLE (or other simple shape), turning the paper.
Child is able to BUILD a STACK of BLOCKS ( 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5+ ) blocks high.
Using a PENCIL, child is able to COPY a FORM (Shape, Letter or Number).
Child is able to WRITE his or her NAME.
Child is able to WRITE RECOGNIZABLE LETTERS and NUMBERS.
Child is able to COPY simple WORDS (from “Preschool Dolch Word List”).
Child is able to DRAW simple SHAPES ( Square, Circle, Triangle, Rectangle ).
Child is able to DRAW a PERSON with 5 BODY PARTS ( Head – 2 Arms – 2 Legs ).
Child is able to HOLD a SPOON and FORK properly.
Child is able to USE a SPOON and FORK properly.
Child is able to POUR WATER from ONE CUP into ANOTHER.
Child is able to PUT TOGETHER a 5 to 10 PIECE PUZZLE.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Child is able to SPEAK in COMPLETE SENTENCES.
Child’s SPEECH is UNDERSTANDABLE to ADULTS.
Child is able to USE DESCRIPTIVE WORDS in SENTENCES. ( good, bad, hot, cold, big, small, fun )
Child is able to IDENTIFY LOWERCASE and UPPERCASE LETTERS. ( 5 – 10 – 15 – 20+ )
Child is able to IDENTIFY the SOUNDS of LETTERS.
Child is able to RECITE the ALPHABET in ORDER.
Child is able to IDENTIFY the CORRECT ITEM in a GROUP of PICTURES.
Child is able to ANSWER PERSONAL QUESTIONS.
Child is able to ANSWER WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY and HOW QUESTIONS.
Child is able to IDENTIFY OBJECTS and PICTURES.
Child is able to IDENTIFY GROUPS of ( 2 – 3 – 4 – 5+ ) ITEMS.
Child is able to PLACE ITEMS using POSITIONAL WORDS.
( Left – Right | Above – Below | Inside – Outside | On – Off | Front – Back | Top – Bottom | Next To )
Child is able to RETELL a SIMPLE STORY.
Child is able to RECOGNIZE RHYMING WORDS.
Child is able to GENERATE WORDS that RHYME with each other.
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Child is able to JUMP or HOP ( 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5+ ) time(s).
Child is able to SKIP.
Child is able to THROW a medium-sized BALL.
Child is able to CATCH a medium-sized BALL.
Child is able to KICK a medium-sized BALL.
Child is able to STAND on ONE FOOT for ( 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5+ ) second(s).
Child is able to HOP on ONE FOOT ( 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5+ ) time(s).
Child is able to RIDE a TRICYCLE.
Child is able to WALK in a STRAIGHT LINE.
Child is able to WALK on a BALANCE BEAM.
Child is able to CLIMB STAIRS with ALTERNATING FEET.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Child is able to TELL FULL NAME when asked.
Child is able to RECOGNIZE FIRST NAME on sight.
Child is able to ORALLY SPELL FIRST NAME.
Child is able to STAY on TOPIC during a SHORT CONVERSATION.
Child is able to READ his or her OWN WRITING.
Child is able to follow ONE-STEP DIRECTIONS. (“Put your right hand on your head.”)
Child is able to follow TWO-STEP DIRECTIONS. (“First, stand up. Next, put your right hand on your head.”)
Child is able to IDENTIFY BODY PARTS by POINTING to them.
Child is able to ORALLY COUNT to ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ).
Child is able to VISUALLY IDENTIFY NUMBERS up to ( 5 – 10 – 15 – 20 ).
Child is able to COUNT OBJECTS up to ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ).
Child is able to SORT or CLASSIFY pictures. (“Is a tree a plant or animal?”)
Child is able to RECOGNIZE 8 BASIC COLORS. ( Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange, Brown, Black, Purple )
Child is able to IDENTIFY and NAME SHAPES. ( Circle – Square – Triangle – Rectangle )
Child is able to ANSWER SIMPLE QUESTIONS about CONCEPTS.
( Happy or Sad or Angry | Big or Small | Hot or Cold | Tall or Short | Young or Old | More or Less )
Child is able to RECOGNIZE and REPEAT a SIMPLE PATTERNING SEQUENCE. ( A B A B A B A B / 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 )
Child is able to CREATE a TWO-PIECE PATTERN with THREE REPETITIONS.
Child is able to UNDERSTAND BASIC CONCEPTS of TIME. ( Morning – Afternoon – Night )
Child is able to DISTINGUISH between LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN.
Child is able to “READ” a FAMILIAR STORY to an ADULT.
Child is able to USE WORDS to MAKE COMPARISONS. (words ending in “er” or “est”)
Child is able to USE SPECIFIC and VARIED VOCABULARY.
Child is able to TALK ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING USING DESCRIPTIVE WORDS. (“I see a big blue house.”)
Child is able to TALK ABOUT EVENTS, ADDING SOME DETAIL.
(“My mom brought me here in a car. After this, we are going to eat lunch at McDonald’s.”)
During the GROUP Observational Session, the private school admissions representative may test your child in the following areas:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Child is able to ENGAGE others SOCIALLY (or MAKE FRIENDS).
Child has RESPECT for others.
Child is able to SHARE and TAKE TURNS with others.
Child is able to CONFORM to others.
Child exhibits TRUSTWORTHINESS.
Child is able to FOLLOW a CLASSROOM ROUTINE.
Child is able to PARTICIPATE in a GROUP ACTIVITY.
Child is able to EXPRESS OWN FEELINGS CONSTRUCTIVELY.
Child is able to DISPLAY SELF-CONFIDENCE and MANAGE OWN EMOTIONS.
Child is able to IDENTIFY FEELINGS of others.
Child is able to RESPOND APPROPRIATELY to others.
Child is able to TELL others about THINGS HEARD.
Child is able to LISTEN during GROUP TIME.
Child is able to SIT THROUGH an AGE-APPROPRIATE STORY.
Child is able to FINISH ONE ACTIVITY BEFORE STARTING ANOTHER.
Child is able to WORK INDEPENDENTLY.
Child is able to INITIATE OWN LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES.
Child is able to CONTINUE TRYING WHEN THINGS ARE HARD.
Child is able to MANAGE BATHROOM NEEDS WITHOUT ASSISTANCE.
Child is able to DRESS himself or herself ( Jacket – Shoes – Socks – Buttons – Zippers )
Child exhibits HYPERACTIVE BEHAVIOR.
Child exhibits STEREOTYPICAL BEHAVIOR. (Repetitive or ritualistic movement.)
Child exhibits DISTURBING INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR.
Child exhibits SELF-ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR.
Improving Cognitive and Language Abilities Your Child May Be Tested On
FLASHCARDS FOR PRESCHOOL DOLCH WORD LIST
Improves Memory, Language, Comprehension
These words are difficult to learn through the use of pictures: a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you
LISTENING MEMORY
Improves Memory, Language, Comprehension
This is a good listening memory game. Parent says: “Repeat after me. I eat.
Okay, now say, I eat apples. Good!
Now say, I eat red apples. Very good!
Now say, I eat red apples at home. Great!
Now say, I eat red apples at home for lunch. Wonderful!
Now say, I eat red apples at home for lunch on Saturdays. I’m so proud of you!
Now say, I eat red apples at home for lunch on Saturdays before my nap. You’re so smart!”
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
Improves Language, Knowledge, Comprehension, Memory, Mathematics, Cognitive Thinking
Ask your child to name as many items in a category as he or she can in one minute. These categories include: colors, foods, drinks, fruits, vegetables, land/water animals, plants, what people wear, things that are tall – short – hot – cold – round – flat – hard – soft – red – blue – sharp – loud – liquid / begin with the letter a, b, c, d… begin with the digraph bl, br, ch, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, sh, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, th, tr, tw
AUDITORY ATTENTION
Improves Memory, Fine-Motor Skills (Pointing)
Turn on the television, go to the kids’ section of the library or sit next to someone talking on the phone to create a noisy background. Say a word and then ask your child to point to the picture of that word. You may want to pick words that sound alike so your child really has to listen.
PICTURE IDENTIFICATION
Improves Language, Knowledge, Comprehension, Visual-Spatial Reasoning, Memory
Show your child a group of pictures then ask him or her to identify each picture as quickly as possible.