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Public Schools are
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Page Links:
- HOW TO HELP
- HAWAI'I LAW
- HIDOE POLICY
- RESEARCH DATA
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Public Schools are Everyone's Business |
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LATEST UPDATES
Click here to read revisions in the last couple years to the law regarding Junior Kindergarten.
Click here to read 2/16/11 letter to State Superintendent: Are we providing Jr. Kindergarten or not?
| Note: At the 3/10/11 Na`alehu Elementary SCC meeting, it was announced that we are going to provide Jr. Kindergarten next year. As of 3/10, Superintendent Matayoshi has not yet responded to the letter which contains four outstanding questions regarding this issue. |
| Hawaii's Students Struggle When Placed in the Wrong Grade |
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There are many interrelated factors that affect academic proficiency in Hawaii's school students. One element setting us up for failure is the lack of a sound admissions policy that enables our students to succeed. In 2004 Hawai'i changed state law so that beginning in 2006, students would be at least five years of age by August 1st in order to enter Kindergarten. If born August 1st to December 31st of the school year, they should be placed in junior Kindergarten. Prior to this change, the cutoff date for Kindergarten entry in Hawai'i was 5 years old by December 31st. The reason for the change resulted from research presented to the State Senate proving that a disproportionate number of those born in the latter half of the calendar year (July through December) account for a disproportionate number of students who are retained at their present grade level, have school adjustment problems, or are certified as learning disabled. Comparisons between Hawaii students and students in other states on national achievement tests in later grades are likely to be more equitable if the entry age of Hawaii students is more closely aligned to that of most other states. In light of these and other findings, the legislature changed the minimum age requirement for entrance to kindergarten to provide a more level playing field for students born in the latter half of the calendar year. The new law also established the formation of a junior Kindergarten program, which is the appropriate placement for students born August 1 to December 31 of the school year. However, there are still Hawai'i schools that routinely place students in Kindergarten who are 4 years old up to December 31st, or skipped from junior Kindergarten to Grade 1 without demonstrating the skills that warrant an exceptional placement. This easily can happen if a school doesn't have well-established criteria or funding for proper assessment. With the rigorous curriculum of No Child Left Behind, the average student who is a "late year birth" (LYB) has a much greater probability of being placed at a disadvantage for the rest of their lives because of this ongoing administrative practice. Why is this happening? The Department of Education has relegated the duty of setting admissions policy up to the discretion of each principal. Some principals are unwilling to change. Some may not be aware that the law has changed. Some may be aware, but not know the DOE expects each school to revise its own admissions policies. Some may know that this is supposed to happen, but not have the resources to accomplish the task. The solution to all these possible reasons for stalled progressive change is for one entity, the top-level DOE administration, to create an admissions policy that is clearly defined, yet flexible enough to work for everyone. Then, simply deliver it to all of our schools. Based on my research, I have a draft all ready for their review (see sample letter below). What can we do to make it right? |
| HOW YOU CAN HELP |
| Advocate for Sensible, State-Wide Policies for Grade Level Placement |
Contact Those In Power Find out what your school's admissions policy is and what percentage of the students may be assigned to an inappropriate grade level (i.e., born 8/1 to 12/31 and younger than the rest of their classmates). Contact your local and state news agencies and ask them to help investigate how pervasive the problem is. Contact the Board of Education and the State Superintendent and ask them to create a simple, sensible policy that supports the law, and not make every school reinvent the wheel. Ask the DOE to follow the current law regarding age of entry.You may also want to contact your state legislators. Current contact information can be found here: www.capitol.hawaii.gov Click here for a Microsoft Word copy of the following sample letter that you can send to the following addresses: Superintendent Kathryn S. Matayoshi Hawaii Department of Education P.O. Box 2360 Honolulu, HI 96804 State of Hawaii Board of Education P.O. Box 2360 Honolulu, HI 96804 SAMPLE LETTER Dear Board of Education and Superintendent Matayoshi,I believe it is the Department of Education’s responsibility to create and implement well defined admissions policies. This should not be left up to each school to reinvent. Not only is that approach inefficient and costly, it is too prone to error and omission. Therefore, I request that per BOE policy 4145 and HRS 302-411A the DOE establish the following:
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Share Your Stories Let me know of your efforts: msott_teacher@yahoo.com |
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| LAW & POLICY |
| HRS 302A-411 |
Hawai'i Revised Statutes (State Law) This recent change in law (enactment of HRS 301A-411) established a junior Kindergarten program for Hawai'i public schools, and changed the age of entry into Kindergarten from five years old by December 31 to five years old by August 1 of the school year. www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0302A/HRS_0302A-0411.HTM In the past couple years, the law was revised to set more stringent requirements for moving students from Jr. Kindergarten into Kindergarten or Grade 1. It also eliminated the practice of blended Jr. Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes. Unfortunately, it does not set a class size limit for Junior Kindergarten. It is my understandng that our school began the 2010-2011 school year with a Junior Kindergarten that had 40 four year olds and one teacher with no aid. The work load and expectations placed on that one teacher are inhuman. As more young students arrived, instead of creating another Junior Kindergarten class, students were put into a blended environment which is not permitted given the new law. Also, parents of Junior Kindergarten students never received something in writing making it explicitly clear that their child will move from Junior Kindergarten into Kindergarten the following year, unless the child was capable of moving to Grade 1 based on formative and summative assessments, and progress data showing that the child was capable of making the leap forward. Read a comparison of the old law versus the new law at: HRS_302A_411_OldLaw_NewLaw.doc |
| SB 2315 |
Senate Bill 2315 The Senate Bill that lead to the enactment of HRS 302A-411 includes a summary of research on the statistical probability that late year birth students will struggle academically and emotionally.www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2004/bills/SB2315_.htm |
| BOE POLICY 4145 |
Hawai'i Board of Education Policy 4145 This BOE policy states that The Department of Education shall establish procedures for the admission and attendance of students in the public schools of Hawaii in accordance with laws, rules, policies, and administrative regulations.http://lilinote.k12.hi.us/STATE/BOE/POL1.NSF/85255a0a0010ae82852555340060479d/f86a3acf52b25c7b0a2566a3006807e4?OpenDocument |
| HIDOE POLICY |
It took months of hard work and seemingly endless emails to Hawai'i Department of Education officials to find out what DOE policy is regarding a student's age, birth date, and grade placement. Is your school following policy?
www.freespeech4us.com/PublicEducation/GradeLevel/AgeEntryCorrespondence/ |
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| DATA |
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STATE DATA COMPARISONS
Age of Entry into Kindergarten
versus 4th Grade Performance in 2007 National Assessments |
Compare Age of Entry from State to State with NCLB State Assessments This spreadsheet compares data on State Scores (2007) for Grade 4 in Reading and Math with the age of entry cutoff dates for each of the states.2009_StateComparison_Grade4Scores_GradeEntryPolicy.xls The data shows that of the schools in the top one third of the U.S. in Reading, only 12% still have policies where late year births are standard practice. Compare this to the 24% of the schools in the middle one third of performance, and 24% of the schools in the bottom one third. (Hawai'i came in at #44 out of 50 states in Reading in 2007 - Washington excluded and the District of Columbia included.) In Math, 0% of the top performing states have policies where late year births are standard practice. Compare this to the 35% of the schools in the in the middle one third, and 24% in the bottom one third. (Hawai'i came in at #41 out of 50 states in Reading in 2007.)
Scores from: |
| National Center for Education Statistics |
NCES State Data Comparisons The National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences, has a great web site where you can access and compare state scores in Reading, Math, Science, and Writing for Grades 4 and 7.http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/statecomp/ There's also a wonderful in-depth section of the NCES web site called SPECIAL ANALYSIS 2000 -- Entering Kindergarten: A Portrait of American Children When They Begin School. Read the section on age readiness for school entry at: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2000/essay/e03d.asp |
| KINDERGARTEN PERFORMANCE BASED ON AGE |
Percentage of first-time kindergartners in highest quartile of assessments, by age at entry and type of assessment: Fall 1998 
NOTE: Based on those assessed in English. Excludes 19 percent of Asian and 30 percent of Hispanic children. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, NCES. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, "Kindergarten Class of 1998-99," Fall 1998. downloaded from: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2000/charts/fig04.asp?popup=true |
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