Washington's Kindergarten Entry Assessment Report

This descriptive study examines the development and early implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessments or KEAs in 12 districts and 23 schools within four RTT-ELC states (Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington) during the 2014–15 school year. To see the entire report, go here: Case Studies of the Early Implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs).

The study is intended to help states learn from the experiences of other states as they work to develop and implement their own KEAs and to use KEAs to improve instruction and learning.
Key findings:

State officials and stakeholders in all four case study states considered multiple criteria when developing or adopting KEA measures: 

• reliability and validity, 
• appropriateness for all students, 
• usefulness for informing classroom instruction, 
• usefulness for informing early learning policies and program improvement, 
• feasibility of administration by teachers, 
• and cost. 

The four states trained teachers on KEA administration through self-paced webinars, in-person presentations, and train-the-trainer models. A majority of the interviewed teachers said the training prepared them to administer the KEA to students, though many teachers reported that they had difficulty in determining what were appropriate accommodations for English learner (EL) students or (dual language learners) and students with disabilities and indicated that they needed further assistance. 

Recommendations for Policymakers & Administrators

• Be clear about how KEA results will and will not be used by interested groups (i.e early childhood programs, Kindergarten teachers, school administrators, parents and legislators). 
• Use KEA tools that will take into account students with disabilities and EL student populations. 
• Be aware of other assessment requirements placed on this population of students and if possible eliminate or combine other skills assessment/inventory requirements. Provide the teachers taking the inventory with assistance to minimize time collecting and reporting assessment data. 
• Properly prepare, train and provide guidance and coaching to teachers that will be administering KEA. This will help ensure consistent and uniform results to provide the most accurate snapshot of students’ abilities. 
• KEA results must be delivered in a user-friendly and timely report in order for educators and parents to best utilize the information to help address each student’s needs. 
• Tie results back to preschool instruction and analyze data in order to identify instructional areas that early learning programs could help children be better prepared for kindergarten. 

Washington State’s KEA is called the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills or WaKIDS. As with much of the work surrounding the early learning environment in Washington State, the Department of Early Learning (DEL) worked with public and private partners in developing WaKIDS. This includes:

• The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction 
• The Gates Foundation 
• Thrive Washington 
• The Early Learning Regional Coalitions 

There are three components to WaKIDS:

• Family connection welcomes families into the Washington K-12 system as partners in their child’s education. 
• Whole-child assessment helps kindergarten teachers learn about the skills and strengths of the children in their classrooms so they can meet the needs of each child. 
• Early learning collaboration aligns practices of early learning professionals and kindergarten teachers to support smooth transitions for children. 

The intended purposes of the Whole-Child Assessment component (i.e., GOLD®) of WaKIDS are to:

• Help kindergarten teachers plan classroom instruction and individualize educational supports for each student. 
• Engage, welcome, and partner with families and inform them about children’s learning strengths and needs. 
• Inform decisions about early learning and K–12 education policy and investments at the community, district, and state levels. 
• Inform early childhood education providers about children’s learning strengths and needs.

Washington WaKIDS Timeline

(Information from Exhibit 8)

2009: Legislature appropriates funds to identify and evaluate a KEA process.
2009–2010: Advisory team and committees review tools, select GOLD®, and develop WaKIDS administration process.
2010–2011: Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) is piloted and evaluated.
2011–2012: Legislature passes SB5427; WaKIDS is voluntary in state-funded full-day kindergartens this school year.
2012–2013: WaKIDS is mandatory in all state-funded full-day kindergartens this school year.

Exhibit 9. Percentages of Washington Students Demonstrating Kindergarten Readiness

Exhibit Reads: 40% of all Washington kindergarten students demonstrated skills indicating full kindergarten readiness. SOURCE: Data from State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction n.d.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Early Learning Regional Coalitions Meet for Statewide Summit

Community-minded early learning advocates from around the state gathered in Spokane for their third statewide summit this year. Geared towards networking, the sharing of best practices, and local empowerment, the statewide regional coalition summit supports the advancement of quality early learning throughout the state.

The agenda included: 

• legislative advocacy, 
• standards alignment, 
• a statewide early learning dash board and may other important topics.  

There was even an opportunity for local leaders to meet the new director of the Department of Early Learning, Ross Hunter and engage in a brief Q&A. 

Early Learning Regional Coalition Map

The gathering of over 70 people included representation from every corner of the state spanning from Vancouver to the Olympic Peninsula to the Tri-Cities and, of course, Spokane.  There was representation from all 10 of the state’s regional coalitions, many of which are broken down even further to better capture the needs and potential of local systems.  This summit in Spokane was the third this year with the first taking place in Olympia (to facilitate greater coordinated advocacy during the legislative session) and the second in Vancouver.

When asked about the value of these summits, recently appointed early learning coordinator of Skagit County, Lyndie Case, said enthusiastically, 

“I’m new here, this is my first summit and I am grateful for the opportunity to hear from my counter parts across the state." Flying in from Bellingham for the event, Case used the summit as an opportunity to learn about her local connection to the larger effort taking place across the state, “I feel now like I better understand the state system and can put names to faces of my fellow coalition leads.”

Empowering understanding at the local level has long been a theme of these summits that have been taking place regularly for 5 years.  The effort is spearheaded by ThriveWashington and is supported by the leadership of Dan Torres, Director of Community Momentum with Thrive.  The father of two young sons himself, Dan is excited about the impact that regional coalitions can have on early learning opportunities for all of Washington’s young children. 

“These events are a chance to share best practices and build a common voice for the advancement of quality early learning through functional relationships geared towards on the ground action and results,” said Torres. 

DEL Director, Ross Hunter

Dan, who has been leading this effort with thrive for three years, has built an event that promotes networking, idea sharing, and increased collaboration.

Making a special appearance at the event, newly appointed Department of Early Learning Director Ross Hunter shared his passion for early learning and showed a real responsiveness to those on the ground.  

“My job is to help break down barriers so that those committed to working for the advancement of quality early learning can better serve the youngest kids in our state,” said Hunter.  

After a brief introduction, Director Hunter addressed audience questions that touched on a range of topics, including the passage of the Early StartAct, the hard work that it took to get the act through the legislature and his thoughts on how to best support advancing the field of early learning.  

This is the final summit of 2015 with the next scheduled for 2016 during the legislative session to better encourage direct advocacy from on the ground early learning professionals.