Kindergarten is an exciting time for young children and the educators who teach them. Their developing skills allow them to express themselves and demonstrate an array of emerging skills. Attention to the importance of early education in the lives of children is growing rapidly as we learn more and more about the competencies of young children.
What is the KRA?
At the beginning of each school year, children are assessed using Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. This assessment includes ways for teachers to measure a child’s readiness for engaging with instruction aligned to the kindergarten standards in order to inform future planning.
Ohio's Early Learning and Development Standards (birth to kindergarten entry) isthe basis for the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment is used to assess four areas of early learning:
- Social Foundations- including social and emotional development, and approaches toward learning
- Mathematics
- Language and Literacy
- Physical Well-being and Motor Development
Schools may begin administration of the selected response and performance tasks up to two weeks prior to the first day of school (the first day the child would be counted absent), with the administration ending on Nov. 1. Teachers administer the observational items of the KRA once children are engaging in regular classroom routines. The Teacher Administration Manual provides further guidance regarding item types. More information about the KRA including training requirements can be found
here.
KRA and Third Grade Reading Guarantee:
The Language and Literacy portion of the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment can be used to meet the reading diagnostic assessment requirement of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. To meet the diagnostic requirement, teachers must complete the Language and Literacy portion by Nov. 1.