Kindergarten represents a pivotal milestone for children and their families. The transition to kindergarten is exciting and may evoke questions for families about their child’s readiness and how best to support them. State education agencies face critical decisions in selecting developmentally appropriate, psychometrically sound kindergarten readiness assessments to accurately measure children’s skills and knowledge at kindergarten entry. These tools serve the interrelated purposes of shaping responsive instruction, keeping families informed, and informing policy.
A rubric to vet assessment tools
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) recently reviewed research-based kindergarten school readiness assessments as part of the state’s commitment to early literacy and school readiness under the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K) legislation passed in 2008. As part of the CDE’s thorough review process, the department contracted Marzano Research to create a technical criteria rubric to vet tools against best practice criteria to ensure appropriateness and technical quality.
In partnership with the CDE, our team created an extensive 19-item rubric to evaluate four key categories:
- Reliability: Internal consistency, test-retest, inter-rater, and more
- Validity: Convergent, divergent, and evidence that the test measures its intended constructs
- Administration: Protocols, training, efficiency, standardization
- Accommodations: For diverse learners, cultural responsiveness, accessibility
We applied this rigorous rubric to 11 widely used kindergarten readiness assessments submitted by vendors. Our exhaustive review identified six tools meeting expectations for reliability, validity, administration, and accommodations. Those not attaining adequate scores lacked critical technical evidence on metrics like test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, divergent validity, bias/sensitivity review, and accommodations.
Raising the bar
The CDE’s use of rigorous technical criteria, expert independent reviewers, and thorough examination of evidence demonstrates a dedication to ensuring district chosen assessments have demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The department is raising the bar for the field through an impartial external evaluation against precise best practice standards.
The stakes are high when assessing children at the very outset of their schooling. Results shape perceptions of their skills and abilities, define instructional approaches, and set trajectories for their continued growth. Given these impacts, the CDE has taken a leadership role in prioritizing reliability, validity, standardized administration, fairness, and developmental appropriateness.
Conducting thorough reviews ensures trustworthy data
As other states consider how to best assess school readiness within their contexts, the CDE provides a model vetting process. Partnering with an experienced research organization brings added credibility, consistency, and a comprehensive lens. Conducting thorough reviews ensures that identified assessments will provide trustworthy data to identify students’ developmental strengths and needs. Quality tools provide the foundation for responsive, equitable instruction as young learners make this important transition to kindergarten. When the review process upholds rigorous standards, it gives stakeholders confidence that selected assessments will support each child in reaching their full potential.
Read more about how Marzano Research can support states with rigorous data collection and analysis.
