Indiana Launches New Tools to Understand & Support Kindergarten Readiness

Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 4:10 PM

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) presented to the State Board of Education a new system of measuring and supporting kindergarten readiness.

These new tools will help provide educators with actionable data in order to differentiate instruction and provide targeted support in the early childhood setting, as well as inform families about their child’s strengths and abilities.

Through a request for proposal process, Johns Hopkins University was identified as the vendor for a system of early learning tools and assessment, which will include:

ISPROUT For children ages two and under: Educator observations aligned to eight domains of early learning. For preschool children ages three to five: Direct skill measurement by educators based on ongoing observations of children’s typical daily routines and activities. (Already utilized for Indiana children in special education ages three through five) Kindergarten Readiness Assessment(KRA) For kindergarten students: Direct assessment items, combined with educator-led activities. (To be completed during the first six weeks of kindergarten)

Data will be highlighted on the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) Dashboard in early 2025 for schools that have opted in to administer the KRA, representing the dashboard’s first indicator in the pre-K to grade two space.

Schools interested in administering the new KRA to kindergarten students may opt in beginning in early May through Jotform. Later this month, IDOE will circulate additional details and host informational sessions on the Indiana Learning Lab. The opportunity for early child care providers to opt in to administration of ISPROUT to children in ages five and under will be forthcoming later this year.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the State Board of Education also initiated the rule-making process on early elementary school literacy proficiency in order to conform with the recent legislative changes enacted in Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 1.

The next SBOE meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 8.