My son, he is 5 and will be 6 in May started Kindergartten this fall 2010, and his prek teacher said taht he was ready for it. He knew all lettes, sounds, shaped, ect, but he also has to repeat next yera bec they say that he is not mature enough, and not able to follow 3 step instructions yet. I know how you feel it was very hard for me, but the hardest part was explaining it to my son. He goes to a Catholic school, so it is very small, and he will know that he is repeating, bec will have same teachewr again, ect. I just told him taht he was doing so well, and that he is so smart that he has to stay one more year to get better at it, and help the other kids. But I was really upset by it too. I talked to his pediatrician, and my sister who is also a teacher about it, an dthey both said to hold him back, whats one more year, and it' kindergarten. Plus, my son was and is really struggeling to keep up. So I think taht it is the best choice for him. Am just curious if you are in a private or public school system. would get another opinion, from a pediatrician, and also, I had my son assesed at the Sylvan Learning Center, and they agrred. I am getting him extra help this summer through Sylvan to get him ready for next year. You might want to try to something similar, with an outside party such as them Good Luck! I know that that is a crappy thing t o hear!