Kindergarten School Readiness Data Collection FAQs

FAQs

1. What is school readiness?

In Colorado, school readiness describes both the preparedness of a child to engage in and benefit from learning experiences, and the ability of a school to meet the needs of all students enrolled in publicly funded kindergarten. School readiness is enhanced when schools, families, and community service providers work collaboratively to ensure that every child is ready for higher levels of learning in academic content (State Board of Education, 2023). For more information on kindergarten school readiness initiatives and implementation, please visit the Kindergarten School Readiness webpage.

2. Why is this collection required?

As a part of an aligned system of public education, the school readiness assessment was recognized by the General Assembly as a critical element of aligned assessments continuing from preschool to elementary (§22-7-1002). A clear understanding of the knowledge, skills and behaviors with which students enter kindergarten provides crucial information for families, communities, schools, and teachers as they support student learning and development.(§22-7-1004)

The kindergarten school readiness (KSR) assessments assess the varying skill levels and knowledge with which students enter kindergarten (§22-7-1002 (2)) and inform individual learning plans for each publicly funded student (§22-7-1014). KSR assessments measure students’ readiness to engage with the curricula in kindergarten by identifying baseline data to inform systematic intervention and additional layers of instructional support (Jensen, et al., 2021).

The kindergarten school readiness collection fulfills the statutory obligation for local education providers to report KSR assessment data and for the department to collect aggregate data in the SBE approved file layout (§22-7-1004). The data from the KSR data collection is annually reported in the CAP4K legislative report.

3. What steps do I need to complete to finalize this collection?

Please visit the Kindergarten School Readiness Data Collection website. The documents and training sessions for the Collection are updated each July and posted on that page.

4. Who can I contact for more information?

If you are a data respondent who has a technical question about the collection, such as something relating to file submission or CDE Data Pipeline, please contact the KSR Data Collection Lead or call 720-595-1490.

If you have general school readiness questions, please email Megan Rogers or call 720-326-2880.

5. Do I need to include the charter schools authorized by our district?

Yes, districts are reminded to include the charter schools they authorize when submitting their data to CDE. The district can submit all data at once or add the data from the charter schools through an append process.

6. Do charter schools with school readiness assessment waivers need to submit data to their districts?

Yes. All local education providers are required to assess publicly funded kindergarten students (§22-7-1014). Charter schools may apply to waive the use of a State Board of Education approved assessment tool. The charter school is still responsible for implementing all other statutory requirements including the use of a research-based, valid and reliable assessment tool(s) which measure all 6 domains of learning and development required in the KSR SBE approved file layout and provides data to inform the creation and use of individual learning plans in kindergarten (school readiness plans). Charters are required to report data to their district authorizer, assess kindergarten students within the first 60 calendar days, and provide an individual learning plan for each kindergartener.  The waiver request will ask for a replacement plan for the assessment tool used to assess each required domain and how the charter will meet the intent of the law for assessing kindergarten students.

7. Can individual schools submit their school readiness data to Data Pipeline?

Access to CDE's Data Pipeline cannot be given to individual schools for privacy reasons. A district data respondent must submit data for the entire district.

8. How do School Readiness Assessments and READ Assessments work together?

The State Board of Education approved file layout for the Kindergarten School Readiness data collection requires local education providers to report data in 6 domains of learning and development. This includes physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, language and comprehension development, cognition, literacy, and mathematics (§22-7-1004). If a reading assessment pursuant to §22-7-1205 (1)(a.5)) is administered within the first sixty days of the school year, the district is not required to administer the literacy component of an approved kindergarten school readiness assessment (§22-7-1014 2(a)). Data from the kindergarten school readiness assessments and READ Act assessments can be used to inform individual learning plans in kindergarten. For further information, visit the implementation guide or the kindergarten school readiness webpage.

9. Who submits the data to CDE in Data Pipeline?

Each district designates a data respondent(s) for the KSR collection. The data respondent must have the “approver” role assigned to them. CDE cannot modify role assignments due to data privacy restrictions. Role assignments are granted by the Local Access Manager (LAM).

If you do not know the LAM for your district, here is a link to the LAM inquiry form.