Start of the learning adventure

Morgan Frisbie-Jones checks out the look of his school uniform. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Morgan Frisbie-Jones can count up to 15 and write his name "almost perfectly", says mother Leanne Frisbie.

The 5-year-old has been to preschool, knows most of the alphabet and is looking forward to his first day at Marist School in Herne Bay.

He is fairly typical of the estimated 59,000 youngsters who will head through the school gates for the first time this year.

After just six weeks they will have their first formal assessment to give the teacher a solid idea of what they know and are able to do.

In the one-on-one "exam", children will be asked to identify a book, letters, pictures, numbers and left and right. Their performance will form the basis of their education over the coming academic year.

By December next year, the new school-goers will be able to read some text and count forwards and backwards. Most importantly they must have progressed, according to Mary Chamberlain, senior manager for curriculum and learning at the Ministry of Education.

"Giving absolute measures of what a child should be able to do is risky because parents worry that their child is not meeting those," said Ms Chamberlain.

"The key thing is helping that 5-year-old see themselves as an effective learner and that is the job of both teacher and parents."

Youngsters must begin school by age 6, the same as in the US, Japan and most of Australia.

Dr Cathy Wylie, chief researcher at the Council for Educational Research, said international studies showed the age at which a child started school had no important impact on their academic performance in later life.

"It's the social differences of the children and the quality of teaching that is far more important."

Research from Waikato University shows children themselves have three main concerns about their first days at school: what to eat and when, where and how to hang their bag, and using the toilet.

Ms Chamberlain said today's new entrant teachers needed to be highly skilled to help children with these issues as well as introducing them to maths, art, English and other core skills in the world around them.

Ms Frisbie said she hoped Morgan would expand on what he knows and learn to read, write and do "basic sums". "As long as he is building on the knowledge he has, and is happy, I will be happy."

Testing time

* After six weeks new entrants will undergo a one-on-one "exam". Children will be asked to identify a book, letters, pictures, numbers and left and right.

* By the end of their second year school-goers will be able to read some text and count forwards and backwards.