Past and Present
Since 2013, VKRP has expanded from a pilot assessment system in 100 classrooms to a statewide Kindergarten assessment system. VKRP is now expanding to include all publicly-funded Preschool programs.
BACKGROUND
How VKRP Began
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program was initiated by Elevate Early Education (E3), a statewide bipartisan issue-advocacy organization dedicated to early childhood education. E3, in partnership with the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) and with guidance from the Virginia Department of Education, launched a four-phased approach to create a statewide comprehensive kindergarten assessment. While VKRP began with a focus on assessing skills at Kindergarten entry, assessment data and feedback from the field prompted VKRP to add timepoints in both the Fall and Spring of Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten.
Kindergarten Timeline
Phase 1: Selecting Assessment Tools
2013-2014
- VKRP created a more comprehensive kindergarten entry assessment system by adding assessments of mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills.
- The new assessment system includes and complements the existing assessment of students’ literacy skills — The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS).
Phase 2: A Snapshot of Kindergarten Readiness
2014-2015
- Through a pilot study, VKRP created a snapshot of Virginia’s entering kindergarten students with regard to readiness skills across a more comprehensive range of learning domains and clearly defined the school readiness skills gap in Virginia.
- The study was conducted across 16 school divisions in Virginia. A sample of students who were representative of the Commonwealth indicated that 34% of children arrived at kindergarten needing extra support in at least one critical learning domain (mathematics, literacy, self-regulation, and social skills). Review the full reports from phase II on our news page.
Phase 3: Voluntary Rollout
2015-2019
- Beginning in 2015, VKRP started expanding the comprehensive readiness assessment system through a gradual, voluntary roll-out. The number of divisions participating in each area increased from 21 school divisions in 2015 to 89 school divisions by the Spring of the 2018- 2019 school year.
Statewide Implementation (Kindergarten)
2019 and Beyond
- VKRP is now statewide. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that required all kindergarten students be assessed in the fall and spring using VKRP by the end of the 2019-2020 school year and annually thereafter.
- In Fall 2019, all 132 school divisions participated in VKRP with a final sample of almost 86,000 kindergarten students.
FROM PILOT TO STATEWIDE IMPLEMENTATION
VKRP Kindergarten Assessments
From 2014 to 2018, the number of participating school divisions across Virginia increased from 16 to 89.
In 2019, there was statewide implementation of VKRP across all 132 school divisions.
Pre-Kindergarten Timeline
Since VKRP began its voluntary rollout in 2015, division leaders, principals, and teachers repeatedly asked for early learning assessments that measure preschool children’s growth over time. In 2018, the VKRP team began developing a preschool extension of the assessment system.
Laying the Groundwork
2015-2020
- Since VKRP began its voluntary rollout in 2015, division leaders, principals, and teachers repeatedly asked for early learning assessments that measure preschool children’s growth over time.
- In 2018, the VKRP team began developing a preschool extension of the assessment system.
Voluntary Pre-K Pilot
2020-2021
- In 2020-2021, VKRP implemented a voluntary pilot of VKRP assessments with a sample of Pre-Kindergarten classrooms in the fall and spring. 350 classrooms, including more than 4,000 preschoolers within 142 early childhood education programs participated.
- Although the pilot sample was small relative to Virginia’s public pre-k population and not representative of that population, the results indicated that teachers were able to administer the assessments with high levels of fidelity, that the measures function well for preschool students, and that the system would be ready for scale in the 2021-22 school year for 4-year-old students.
Pre-K Expansion
2021 and Beyond
- In the 2021-2022 school year, VKRP became available to all publicly-funded preschool programs to assess children’s skills in fall and spring.
- By expanding VKRP to Pre-K, we can measure growth over time both within a school year and across school years (age 4 through the end of Kindergarten). We can also identify students’ strengths and support student growth in areas they need it most.
