Schooling Options

Early entry into school

Early entry into school occurs when a child is allowed to enter school at an earlier age than that mandated by education authorities.

Example

An example of Early Entry into School might be when a child in four-year-old kindergarten moves to Prep during the year, or a child who has just missed the age requirements of four-year-old kindergarten, completes the year in three-year-old kinder and enters Prep the next year.

When early entry into school is appropriate

This approach is most appropriate for moderately to highly-gifted children scoring >130 on an individual intelligence (IQ) test.

These children:

• want to start school early
• may already be reading or calculating
• have already exhausted everything the kinder or pre-school can offer them.

Key elements in the research

Researchers have found that as a group, students who enter school early, show no evidence of being more at risk for adjustment difficulties than students who enter at the ‘usual’ age.

Gifted and high potential children who are allowed early entrance display academic gains on average six months ahead in their achievement as compared to their age-peers. In addition, both the socialisation and self-esteem of the children improve slightly.

Teachers and principals may have limited knowledge of the literature on early entry of intellectually gifted children. Academically, such children are more than ready, but may need administrative support to cope with the length of the school day and the routines expected, as do many entrants of usual starting age.

The receiving teacher of an early entrant must have positive attitudes towards early admission and be willing to assist the young student to adjust to their new situation.