| May and Kundert (1997) espouse the view more commonly held today that development is not based solely on biology, but that learning depends on experience and the learning environment. Therefore, the school must accommodate to the child, no matter what his or her developmental stage. One approach used by some schools has been to place children who are found to be unready for kindergarten or first grade in modified classes. This creates an extra year of schooling for children as it becomes either an extra year of pre-kindergarten or a half step between kindergarten and first grade. However, the evidence does not support the practice (both in terms of academic skills and achievement and social, emotional and behavioral outcomes) and suggests that developmentally immature children benefit the most from being in regular classrooms (May & Kundert, 1997). This shows that the definition of school readiness should be broad enough to include children at varying stages of development. Because all children are ready for school, except for those with extreme developmental disabilities, it is necessary for schools to have in-depth, careful screening programs and individualized services for children with serious problems. This raises another pressing concern about school transition practices—assessment. |
