Early Childhood

Georgia to Create New Kindergarten-Entry Assessment

By Lillian Mongeau — December 01, 2014 1 min read
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Georgia plans to introduce a new assessment, known as a “kindergarten entry profile,” statewide in 2017 and is taking bids from contractors to develp it.

The profile is intended to assess both academic and non-academic skills and give teachers information that will help them tailor their approach to each child, state officials said in documents calling for a firm to develop the profiles.

“The purpose of the Kindergarten Entry Profile is to provide educators, parents, and the state with high-quality information about individual student readiness so that appropriate supports and interventions can be put into place as needed to ensure all students, regardless of where they began, leave kindergarten ready to learn at high levels and thrive,” state education officials wrote in supporting documents.

The new assessments, meant to be administered in a developmentally appropriate fashion, would expand on the current Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Skills, known as GKIDS. Unlike GKIDS, the new profiles would be based on the skills a child has when entering kindergarten, not later in the year. Results of the new assessments are also meant to inform early-childhood educators in the state about which skills most children have when leaving their programs.

Whoever bids for the job of developing the kindergarten-entry profile is also expected to provide appropriate training for the teachers who will administer the assessment.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Early Years blog.