Federal and State Efforts in the Implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessments (2011-2018)

ABSTRACT

Research Findings

In this study, we examined states’ kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) policies between 2011 and 2018 and the possible impact federal funding policies may have had in their implementation. Between 2011 and 2018, 31 states received federal Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge awards and/or Enhanced Assessment Grants to support the development and implementation of kindergarten entry assessments focused on all five domains of child development. Through the use of nationwide data sets, as well as a review of individual state policies, findings revealed that 41 states and the District of Columbia implemented a KEA for at least 1 year between 2011 and 2018. In the fall of 2018, 35 states out of 51 (including Washington D.C., 68.6%) assessed children’s learning and development during kindergarten entry. However, 15 out of 34 states and Washington D.C. (42.9%) fell short of requiring a comprehensive tool covering all five domains of child development. Practice or Policy: Our findings suggest that federal funding is correlated with a state’s development of a KEA. With the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and movement of education decision-making to the state level, states assessed children during the first few months of kindergarten using a wide variety of assessment tools. However, there was an overall decrease in states implementing a comprehensive assessment with the primary intent of assessing children’s readiness beyond literacy.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our colleagues at the National Institute for Early Education Research as well as those who served as external reviewers including Debra Ackerman and Richard Lambert, Guest Editors for this special Early Education and Development issue. The views expressed in this report are the authors’ alone.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Ten states (Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) at some or all points (2011, 2014, 2016, and 2018) did not have a state-funded pre-K program, and therefore were not included in some or all of the Yearbook analyses.