Early language skills must be measured before a child starts kindergarten. Your child's teacher will ask your child initial questions such as his first name, his birthday and how old he is. She may also ask his address, telephone number and his parents' first names. During this conversation the teacher will also be listening to see how well your child speaks. She will ask him to count as high as he can and to say as much of the alphabet as he knows.
Your child will be asked to identify basic shapes, colors, letters and numbers during his assessment test. He should recognize shapes like a circle, square, triangle and rectangle as well as basic colors like blue, red, green, yellow and orange. He should recognize his printed first name, identify the letters in his name and know several other numbers and letters by sight. The teacher may also read to your child, and ask which way you read the words on a page and how you turn pages of a book as you read.
Your child's teacher will read him a story, then give your child three choices and ask what happened at the beginning, the middle and the end of the book. If the story was "The Three Little Pigs," the teacher would ask, "What happened at the beginning of the story? Did the wolf blow down a house, did the pigs build houses or did the wolf go down the chimney?" She would then ask what happened next and what happened last. The teacher will give your child a word and ask what word it rhymes with: "Does the word 'cat' rhyme with 'log,' 'mad' or 'fat'?" She may also ask your child to match initial word sounds: "The word 'mouse' starts with the 'mmm' sound. What else starts with that sound?"
Several motor skills should be proven at your child's assessment. Your child's teacher may ask him to draw a picture, different shapes or a straight line on a sheet of paper. He will be asked to cut paper with safety scissors, catch a ball and hop on one foot. He may also be asked to try and skip or gallop. Your child should also be able to put on his own coat, socks and shoes and use a fork correctly.