Entrance Standards

At RCA, we want all of our students to flourish academically, socially, and spiritually. The below entrances standards guide our admissions process so that new students are fully able to integrate with our community of joyful rigor.

Pre-Kindergarten

  1. At least four years old by December 1
  2. Able to use the toilet with complete independence
  3. Able to be away from parents/primary caregiver for several hours
  4. Able to sit through an entire reading of a picture book
  5. Can speak in complete sentences and communicate needs

Kindergarten

  1. At least five years old by December 1
  2. Able to use the toilet with complete independence
  3. Count to twenty
  4. Recite all the letters of the English alphabet by their names
  5. Know the sounds made by all of the English consonants, not just their letter names (use Hard C and Hard G, examples below)
    1. Hard C: cat (“cyber” uses a Soft C)
    2. Hard G: grow (“giraffe” uses a Soft G)
  6. Know all the short vowels (examples below)
    1. Short A: apple, cat, ant
    2. Short E: red, Fred, bed
    3. Short I: bit, sip, win
    4. Short O: got, Bob, top (please note that this short vowel might be written “ah”)
    5. Short U: duck, up, run
  7. Hold and use a pencil correctly
  8. Identify and continue ABAB patterns
  9. Follow three simple instructions (e.g., Please go to your backpack, retrieve your snack, and return to your desk.)

Grade 1

  1. At least six years old by December 1
  2. Use scissors
  3. Fully dress themselves without assistance (button buttons, zip coat)
  4. Know 30+ English phonograms (One-minute video: What is a phonogram?)
  5. Read words of three and four letters
  6. Count to 100
  7. Write the numbers 0-20
  8. Understands and uses ordinal numbers
  9. Colors within the lines of a picture

Grade 2

  1. At least seven years old by December 1
  2. Read fluently and comprehend Frog & Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
  3. Write all uppercase and lowercase letters
  4. Know all seventy-two English phonograms (One-minute video: What is a phonogram?)
  5. Write a complete sentence
  6. Quickly add and subtract one-digit numbers from two-digit numbers (up to number 20)
  7. Count by ones, twos, fives, and tens to 100
  8. Identifies and draw basic shapes

Grade 3

  1. At least eight years old by December 1
  2. Fluently read Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White
  3. Answer written comprehension questions in complete sentences
  4. Add and subtract numbers with regrouping
  5. Identify and illustrate wholes, halves, thirds, and quarters
  6. Recognize and use standard measuring tools (ruler, scale, thermometer)
  7. Read an analog clock
  8. Count money

Grade 4

  1. At least nine years old by December 1
  2. Fluently read and summarize The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  3. Label parts of speech (subject, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, and conjunction)
  4. Master Grade 3 math concepts (Singapore Math Books 3A and 3B)
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