Early Entrance into Kindergarten

For children who turn 5 between September 1 and September 15, and miss the deadline for regular enrollment, the Longview School District provides a process where students who demonstrate readiness for Kindergarten can enroll.  The process takes about 1 to 2 hours and includes an evaluation of cognitive abilities, communication skills, gross and fine motor skills, academic skills, and social-emotional development.  Sessions include play breaks, motor activity, and snacks if needed. Students must meet the minimum criteria to be considered for early entrance to kindergarten.

Applications for Early Entrance are due by August 1^st.  Testing will occur in early August.

Children must turn five between September 1 and September 15 to participate in the Early Entrance screening.

Students must perform very high (superior), or extremely high (very superior) of the normal distribution on the assessments provided. The child’s performance on the standardized developmental inventory is compared to performance of a national sample of children of the same age. The child must also demonstrate age appropriate (five year range) emotional and social development.

Approximately 15% of students tested qualify.

You may download an application here, or you may pick up an application at the district office, 2715 Lilac St, Longview.

The testing is done by a professionally certificated staff member.

The testing process takes approximately 1 to 2 hours. Parents will not be allowed in the testing rooms.

• Cognitive— an assessment is used to evaluate the child’s

- Ability to attend to visual and auditory stimuli and to retrieve information

- Critical thinking skills

- Ability to conceptualize, discriminate, and draw relationships among object features (such as size and shape).

- Basic academic readiness skills

• Communication—an assessment is used to evaluate the child’s

- Receptive language (ability to discriminate, recognize, and understand sounds and words, and understanding and use of conversational skills)

- Expressive language development (use of words to relate information to others, knowledge of and ability to use simple rules of grammar, and use of language as a tool for social contact).

• Motor— an assessment is used to evaluate the child’s to assess the child’s fine muscle control and coordination, particularly the small muscles in the arms and hands that allow performance of increasingly complicated tasks such as tracing, cutting, tying and general gross motor skills.
• Social/Emotional— The child’s readiness is assessed by information provided on the Parent Questionnaire and the Preschool/Daycare Questionnaire, by behavior observed on the testing date, and a standardized assessment tool.

Early Entrance evaluations will be scheduled and completed before mid-August. Families will receive an email informing them of the date and time of their student’s evaluation.

Test results will be sent to parents approximately two weeks after the evaluation. If your child qualifies, the neighborhood school will also be notified.

We charge a $175.00 non-refundable testing fee, which covers the costs of the testing. This fee may be changed by the Board of Directors. If your family qualifies for Free and Reduced Lunch, you may request a reduced testing fee; submit a copy of your free/reduced lunch application with your early entrance application for review.

You may not take the test unless you live in the Longview School District attendance area and have current proof of residency.

You may not register your child until he/she has passed the Early Entrance to Kindergarten testing process.

The standardized developmental inventory includes tasks that assess the use of a pencil and early literacy skills; however, students are not expected to be proficient in reading and writing.

The district does not accept private testing results in the early entrance process. All students must go through the district’s identification process to be eligible for Kindergarten Early Entrance.   Appeals for matters related to problems clearly identified with the testing conditions will be considered. Appeals must be in writing and received by the Early Entrance office within fourteen days of the date of the letter notifying parents of results. The findings of the appeals review committee are final and will be sent to the parents/guardians within thirty days.

A child must have a verified record of an identified disability, such as vision, hearing, motor etc. that impacts the testing environment and the test must allow the modifications and/or accommodations for testing.

There is no studying for the tests; they are developmental readiness tests.

The test will be given in English, as our kindergarten classes are in English, an interpreted test will not help us determine if the child is ready to enter the English only environment early. For an adult in the family who wishes to be able to understand a conference, we will provide a translator.

Our district policy states that underage children who have previously been enrolled in a state approved private school which encompasses at least a kindergarten through a grade 3 program for a period of not less than four consecutive months, may request transfer into a similar placement in Longview School District. The school principal/team will assess the student’s readiness.

The Longview School District started a transitional kindergarten program called Kinder Bridge. This program is an early learning kindergarten prep program for 4-year-olds and is designed to provide an equitable start for children to have not previously been able to access early learning experiences.  Students must be 4 years old by August 31^st.

• Student has to be 4 years of age – and NOT eligible for Kindergarten based on their birth date
• Space will be prioritized for students eligible for free and reduced lunch
• Assessment screening with the Kinder Bridge teachers

Applications for Kinder Bridge are due by mid-August and will be taken until the classes are full. 

The program will start in September.

No, students must live in the Longview School District attendance area to be eligible for the Kinder Bridge program at this time.

The district will provide your child’s information to the Early Childhood Education Administrator and Kinder Bridge team for access to an early learning programs in Longview.

Applications can be found here! 

To enroll in kindergarten, students must be five years old by August 31 of the entrance year.  Since classes fill up, parents are encouraged to register early.  Kindergarten spots open on a first-come-first-served basis.

Families must register students in their home district first. 

Learn more about Kindergarten Enrollment here!