District Kindergarten Assessments

Brigance – The Brigance assesses an array of developmental skills and concepts according to age expectations that include reading, writing, math, fine and gross motor, expressive and receptive language, etc. in the Fall only.  

Language Arts Literacy - Observation Survey – Fall & Spring

1. Letter Identification

Students are given a large print letter sheet with 54 capital and lower case letters in a random order, which the student must read aloud. The # of correct & incorrect responses are noted, as are the type of incorrect responses (e.g., confusion - "p" for "b" because of similar sounds or visual configurations, didn't know letter). Look at "Letter Identification Score Sheet" to assess student's performance. Kindergarten students are expected to identify 48 to 50 letters.

Words are composed of letters. Students must perceive each letter as a symbol, with a distinct name & sound. Research demonstrates that children who have difficulty learning to read in the primary grades are those who begin school with less prior knowledge in certain domains. Letter knowledge is a special category of visual graphic that can be individually named.

2. Writing Vocabulary

Write known words within 10 minutes. Each completed word scores one point if it is correctly spelled and a score of 16 to 21 suggests the child is meeting grade level expectations

As the core of known words builds in writing, and the high frequency words become known, they become the foundation from which other words can be composed through linking parts and analogy in reading and writing. 

3. Phonemic Awareness - Yopp-Singer Test of Phonemic Awareness

Children are given 22 words to segment into phonemes. They are given 1 point for each correctly segmented word. Kindergarten students are expected to correctly segment 15 to 17 words. Utilize the Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation sheet to view student's responses, assess and analyze his/her performance

Phonemic awareness has been defined as the ability to examine language independently of meaning and to manipulate its component sounds. Research indicates that phonemic awareness is strongly related to success in reading and spelling acquisition. Although most youngsters enter kindergarten lacking phonemic awareness, by the end of kindergarten they are expected to segment words and manipulate phonemes in their speech. Students with high scores are considered phonemically aware; those who correctly segment some words are displaying emerging phonemic awareness; and those only able to segment a few or no words are at-risk. In your review note if the student was able to articulate the initial, medial, &/or final sound. Did the student understand the task? Was the student's performance consistent?  

4. Phonemic Awareness & writing graphemes - Hearing & Recording Sounds in a word

A dictation task that measures how well a student records heard sounds using standard phonemes. Each child's product is scored by counting the child's representation of sounds (phonemes) by letters (graphemes). Student responses and scores are noted on the "Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words Task for Kindergarten Score Sheet, which should be analyzed. " There are a total of 37 phonemes in the dictated words. It is expected that Kindergarten students identify at least 23 phonemes.

The single most reliable predictor of young students later reading success is their ability to segment sounds in a sound stream (phonemic awareness). Among other skills, students must hear sounds buried in words and they must link graphemes (letters) with the sounds they represent. Qualitative assessment of the types of mistakes can inform instruction. Did the child attempt any part of the word? What did the child hear first? Did the child hear initial, medial, final sound? Is there evidence of phonemic awareness?  

5. Concepts about Print

Utilizing "The Doorbell Rang" text the teacher's scripted questions and observations assess 9 concepts about print with 1 point for each correct response. By the Spring, Kindergarten students are expected to have at least 12 correct responses out of a total of 16. Refer to the "Concepts About Print Score Sheet" to assess the student's performance in this area, as well as known, unknown, and confused concepts

A student's concepts about print, such as the importance of left to right reading, printed text tells the story, letters make up words, words make up sentences, etc. are critical for readers. An analysis of the student's knowledge and skills have serious instructional implications.  

6. Reading vocabulary - Ohio Word Test - Spring

Words from the Dolch and students asked to read 20 words from a large print word list, allowing only 5 seconds for each word. It is expected that students in Kindergarten will be able to read 10 to 12 of these words.

Given the importance of automaticity, it is critical for readers to be able to immediately know high frequency words on demand and increase their reading. In addition to the over-all performance, strengths and weaknesses, can be assessed by answering the following questions:

a.      What letters did the child use as cues in reading?

b.     Did he/she isolate the first sound?

c.     Did he/she give a word that started with the same sound?

d.     Did the child attempt to letter/sound sequence?

e.      Did the child get to the word through analogy?

f.       Did some of the letters match with letters in the word?  

Instructional Implications

The knowledge and skills assessed on each of the above assessments can be utilized to identify each student's strengths and weaknesses, which can be addressed in lesson plans, school-based  interventions, special education evaluations and reports;, and IEP programs & services (e.g., PLAAFP statements and goals and objectives). 

 Text Level Reading – DRA - Spring

Utilizes selected text level reading, spanning a range of text difficulty from emergent to grade five, to assess a student's discrete instructional reading level. The student must maintain phasing and fluency while reading text, which is observed and noted. The student's level of accuracy is noted on the "Running Record" by counting the number of miscues and referencing the "Observation Guide" to assess the accuracy rate, which is expected to be 4 in the Spring of Kindergarten

In addition to the overall instructional reading levels, observing the student's reading fluency shows how he/she reads word by word, fluency, phased reading, punctuation and syntax, and rereading for problem solving all have instructional implications that should be addressed with lesson plans, school-based interventions, and IEPs and utilized to identify strengths and weaknesses in special education evaluations and reports, as well as IEP PLAAFP statements, goals and objectives. The information gathered from this assessment enables us to:

a.      Determine the student's independent and instructional levels;

b.     Confirm or redirect ongoing instruction;

c.     Group students effectively for reading experiences and instruction;

d.     Determine if the student is working below proficiency and needs further intervention.

Writing tasks -

Teachers provide sufficient time to write 3 separate stories in the same week, based on student-selected pictures, and score these sets using the primary version of the Registered Holistic Scoring Method Rubric. The collection of student work provides authentic data on which to assess progress; show what the child knows about the processes of writing and spelling; identify particular strengths and instructional needs; and influence instructional decisions, the selection of resources and teaching strategies. Review class data sheet for all students to see if selected student scores above/below benchmark and how they perform compared to classmates.

In addition to the overall rubric score we should note the criteria skills that were and were not exhibited all have instructional implications that should be identified as strengths and weaknesses, which should be addressed in lesson plans, school-based interventions, & IEP programs & services, and integrated into special education evaluations and reports, and IEPs (e.g., PLAAFP statements, goals and objectives, etc.). The information that's gathered helps assess if the student:

a.      Has a desire to write and knows what they want to write;

b.     Employs spelling and proofreading strategies;

c.     Uses phonemic awareness to spell words;

d.     Has known words at their disposal;

e.      Is correctly/incorrectly forming certain letters, mastered the rules of directionality, etc.;

f.       Has mastered certain stages of writing and spelling;

g.     Uses capital letters, lower case letters, begins sentences with a capital letter, ends sentences with punctuation marks, has a knowledge of first/last letter, consonant and vowel sounds;

h.     Takes a risk to write imaginatively rather than sticking to a pattern of known words, repetitive sentences, or the same stories;

i.        Knows what a sentence is.  

Mathematics Assessments:

Unit Assessments:

Assessment is closely linked with instruction.  Kindergarten assessment is a balanced approach, including less formal, ongoing methods to provide a complete picture of student progress.  A number of assessment tools are built into the program to help create an assessment program that will give feedback about students' instructional needs.  Daily routines and games are a necessary part of the program, not optional extensions. Routines and games are designed to build conceptual understanding and ensure mastery of basic skills. Everyday Mathematics employs cooperative learning activities, explorations, problem solving, and projects.  The classroom needs to be set up to accommodate group work, and students must be able to work together without direct supervision.

As part of the Kindergarten Everyday Math Kit, each teacher receives an Assessment Handbook.  The handbook contains masters for individual student profiles and class profiles correlated to the objectives unit by unit.  Teachers are encouraged to use this as part of daily on-going assessment in conjunction with portfolio assessment of students.

Midyear/ End of the Year Checklist:

The teacher uses a Kindergarten Mathematics Exit Assessment Sheet indicating which of the 27 listed objectives are beginning, developing, and/or secure skills for each student.  The checklist is an ongoing document and meant to be revisited often during the school year.  A Kindergarten Mathematics Exit Assessment Administration Guide is provided, listing the exit objectives for Kindergarten students and suggesting assessment situations during which the teacher may observe student performance.  A Kindergarten Mathematics Exit Assessment Summary is submitted to The Office of Mathematics in June for each Kindergarten class in each building.

Open-Ended Questions:

Performance assessment tasks for children in grades K-8 that meet national standards to improve assessment and instruction have been downloaded to all networked Newark Public School computer labs.  Each EXEMPLAR includes a performance task and the context for the assignment, a specific rubric, annotated benchmark papers at Novice, Apprentice, Practitioner and Expert levels, concepts to be assessed and skills to be developed, interdisciplinary links and teaching tips, possible solutions, suggestions on how students might carry out the task, and the estimated time required.   

Science:

Foss & STC Modules  

-FOSS assessment takes the form of informal teacher observation and teacher questioning. The teacher guide suggests behavior to watch for during investigations and questions to ask about the content. Assessments fall into two categories: formative and summative. Formative assessments are integrated into instruction. Based on these two means of assessment, teachers will know how to adjust their teaching for individual students or for the whole class. A recording system is included.