咳咳, 這就意味著小學行政人員即將要開始精神鬆懈，於是我神經緊張的決定，最好還是趁早再打通電話去，確認一下沒啥別的事要做，兒子九月可以穩穩當當的開心上學去。
沒想到學校辦公人員放輕鬆的速度比我快，我從早上9點打到下午2點都沒人接。下午3點，總算有人接了電話，1分鐘內將我迅速打發，說一切都沒問題就等開學，在掛我電話之前落下一句「喔，八月份要考一個幼稚園學前考試，之後學校會再通知。」
什麼？我沒聽錯吧！「嗯，請問一下，這是什麼樣的考試？考試的用意是什麼呢?」「考試的結果要用來決定學生的班別，其他的我不清楚，請等學校通知。」就這樣，問不出個所以然來，我只好掛了電話。
一星期之後，學校通知來了，看完了還是一頭霧水。信裡不但沒有告知家長考試的內容，也沒有說明要給五歲小孩考試的用意，只說這是為了讓老師能準備更充分，讓小孩學習會更好，而且還用大寫字母強調學校很忙，請在被指定的時間報到不要囉嗦。
從家長的角度來看，我是一肚子疑問。這是國家的義務教育，連非法移民都可以讀的公立小學，不是私立名校，要大把鈔票，能力測驗，還要通過面試才能就讀。就算要測驗學生的程度，用來幫助老師因材施教，學校卻用這單一考試的成績做學前分班，對求學之路剛開始的5歲孩子來說，公平嗎？以做老師的角度來看，我也曾經在教幼稚園那年做過類似的評量，但那是在已經開學2-3星期之後，我對每個學生都有了相當程度的認識和了解，評量的結果也僅供我個人的教學參考，與學校行政作業或班級分發是完全無關的。
考慮了一下，孩子的爸和我決定冷處理，反正八月回台灣的機票早就訂好了，勢必是沒辦法按時去考試，開心度假回來再看著辦吧！
這年頭，要讓兒子上個學可真不容易啊!
After my son's name had been picked in the kindergarten lottery in February, I felt at ease that he can start school in September with no problems. However, knowing summer break has just started and school office will be closed shortly after, I got nervous again and decided I should call to make sure there is nothing else we need to do.
I was expecting the school office to answer the phone promptly since all kids are out. Instead, I called every hour from 9am-2pm but no one answered. Finally, someone picked up the phone at 3pm. The office staff on the phone said everything was all set and my son is good to go. Before I could say thank you and hang up the phone, she said, " Oh, he will need to take a test sometime in August before school starts. So we can determine whether he will be in the early or the late bird kindergarten class." (Early bird class is 8:30-11:50 am, late bird class is 9:30 am-12:50 pm, the same teacher teaches the two staggered classes.)
Wait a minute, I thought. "Can you please tell me what the test is about and when it will happen in August? " "No, I don't know. You will just have to wait for a letter from school. It will be mailed to you next week." I said thank you and hung up the phone. I knew I wouldn't get any more information from her.
This week, the mysterious letter has arrived.
I read it from a parent's perspective. The letter provides no information about the test. And it demands you to keep your appointment time because they are very busy. This is a public school, not a private school which children need to test and interview to get in. Even if an assessment needs to be done before school starts, should the result be used to determin which kindergarten class my son will be in? Does this mean the early bird class is full of immature dummies? Does this mean late bird class is full of beyond the grade level geniuses? Should we label 5 years old children based on a single test, which the content is unknown and unavailable to the parents?
Putting all the questions aside, I read it again with a teacher's mind. My first year as a teacher was to teach a kindergarten class. From what I remember, I think this is the inventory test which evaluate a new kindergartener's academic abilities. The assessment is usually done during the first two weeks "after" a new school year has begun. It helps the teacher get an overview of the students' academic levels so the lessons can be planned accordingly. However, I never heard of this inventory test being administered "before" the kindergarten year starts, nor did the result being used to determine class assignments.
Well, the big guy and I have decided to look at it this way: since we have already booked tickets to visit family in Taiwan for the whole month of August, we will not be able to make it on the assigned appointment date anyways. We will enjoy our vacation and worry about the test later.
Isn't it easy to get my son into a public school kindergarten!
(For more information about kindergarden in California, visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/kinderinfo.asp )
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