Resource Hub
Explore guides, research papers, policy briefs, and tools to aid decisions on standards and assessments.
Kindergarten Entry Assessments: An Examination of Best Practices, National Trends, and Recommendations
States and districts use Kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) as evaluative tools for understanding students’ learning along developmental domains. Data from KEAs are informative for guiding instruction and responses based on students’ learning trajectories. While KEAs can be valuable instructional tools, it is critical to choose high-quality tools that are aligned to standards and learning objectives, as well as tools that are culturally and linguistically appropriate.
WestEd researchers Andrea Rolla, Gabriela Mottesi, Mel Wylen, and Yetunde Akinola have developed this brief to provide guidance on what consitutes high-quality KEAs and how to properly support these tools’ implementation and use. The brief also provides a look at current state KEA policy and the different tools being used across the United States.
