2022-2023 Kindergarten School Readiness Assessment Review Process

Background

S.B. 08-212 was passed by the Colorado General Assembly in 2008. Known as Colorado’s Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K), the law called for an alignment of the preschool through postsecondary education system to enable Colorado students to graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in college and careers. CAP4K includes an emphasis on kindergarten school readiness, calling for the State Board of Education to adopt a definition and for local education providers to annually measure school readiness at the beginning of kindergarten. Furthermore, Colorado maintains a commitment to literacy development by ensuring all kindergarten assessments that address reading are aligned to the Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act (READ Act), passed by the Colorado legislature in 2012. Like CAP4K, the READ Act asserts that students succeed in school if they have the foundational skills necessary for academic success. These skills include social skills, executive function skills, and other domains of readiness, and also must include foundational literacy skills grounded in the research on early reading (Read the READ Act). Ensuring assessments in kindergarten adhere to the Colorado READ Act advances the work of creating an aligned system of assessment as set forth in the CAP4K and further supports local education providers in establishing and refining cohesive assessment systems to monitor the growth and progress of all students.

Kindergarten school readiness assessments are to be research-based, reliable instruments of measuring school readiness. The purpose of the kindergarten school readiness assessments is to determine the instruction and interventions students need to improve their readiness to succeed in school. Assessment of school readiness is to include physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, language and comprehension development, cognition, mathematics, and literacy.

Process

The CDE contracted with an outside entity to complete the full review. CDE staff supported the application process while the technical review was completed outside of CDE. Application materials for each vendor can be accessed online. Inclusion on the approved list of assessments follows these steps:

Part I: Letter of Intent to Apply
Part II: Assessment Review
Appeal Window
Submission to the State Board of Education for approval
Approved List of Kindergarten School Readiness Assessments Posted on Website

All vendors previously on the Kindergarten School Readiness State Board of Education Approved List of Assessments were required to reapply.

Part I: Letter of Intent to Apply

Assessment vendors submitted letters of intent to apply in Fall 2022. A list of letters received is available online.

Part II: Assessment Review

Applications from assessment vendors seeking inclusion on the Kindergarten School Readiness Colorado State Board of Education Approved List of Assessments were submitted by November 10th, 2022. The technical review of the assessment tools submitted through the application process was completed in February 2023. Read the final KSR Assessment Technical Review Summary Report. Applications were received for the following assessments:

Acadience Learning, Acadience Math K-6
Curriculum Associates, Brigance
HighScope Educational Research Foundation, COR for Kindergarten
Illuminate Education, FastBridge
Istation, Indicators of Progress (ISIP) Math
North Carolina Kindergarten Entry Assessment
NCS Pearson, Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (4th Edition)
Renaissance Learning, myIGDIs ProLADR
Teaching Strategies, GOLD
WestEd, Desired Results Developmental Profile

To access vendors' application submissions and review documents, please use the following links:

Application Submissions: This folder contains the Request for Applications, non-proprietary submissions by each vendor applicant, and Data Reporting and Privacy assurances.
Technical Evaluation: This folder contains the technical evaluation of each assessment tool.
Vendor Appeals: Appeals submitted can be accessed in this folder.

Please note, assessments on the READ Act Advisory List of Assessments are also automatically approved to inform or fulfill the literacy domain of the kindergarten school readiness assessment (§22-7-1205(a)). Visit the 2022 READ Act Advisory List of Assessments review process webpage for more information and the State Board of Education decision.

State Board of Education Decision

During its June board meeting, the State Board of Education approved the following assessments for use in meeting the kindergarten school readiness assessment requirements. This list of approved assessments will go into effect beginning SY 23-24.

Acadience Math K-6, Acadience Learning Inc. /Voyager Sopris Learning
BRIGANCE Early Childhood Screens III, Curriculum Associates, LLC
COR-K, HighScope Educational Research Foundation
DIAL-4 Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning, Fourth Edition, NCS Pearson, Inc.
DRDP-K, WestED
FastBridge earlyReading, Illuminate Education
FastBridge earlyMath, Illuminate Education
FastBridgeSAEBRS, Illuminate Education
GOLD, Teaching Strategies
ISIP Math Assessment, Istation
North Carolina KEA, JeffCo

For questions, please contact Megan Prior Rogers.