One of my most anxious moments as a parent came while waiting for my middle daughter to complete an assessment to determine if she qualified for a kindergarten seat in one of Chicago’s most celebrated elementary schools.
It wasn’t a written exam. Instead, an evaluator tested her on a range of basic reading and math skills until they reached the limits of her knowledge. I sat in a large waiting room with two to three dozen parents who were also waiting for their children. Essentially, the longer the child remained with an evaluator, the better he or she performed. The assessments typically lasted 15 to 45 minutes, parents were told.
