News

For Immediate Release
March 4, 2013

Sixty-four school districts participating in new process to evaluate kindergarten students for school readiness


`Kindergarten Individual Development Survey’ (KIDS) pilot aims to support youngest learners

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education is partnering with dozens of local districts across the state in a pilot program to assess the school readiness of individual kindergarten students and identify gaps in development. The Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) pilot project aims to measure kindergarteners’ skills and knowledge, informing educators about the learning and developmental needs of students in preschool through the early primary grades.

“Students enter kindergarten with varying ability levels and needs,” said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. “KIDS will provide useful, age-appropriate information that will serve as a baseline for measuring students’ development and progress throughout their schooling. Ultimately, we hope KIDS can be another tool to ensure our youngest learners are getting the support and resources necessary to thrive and succeed.”

The KIDS process promises to monitor growth and development over time, identify individual student’s strengths and generate more effective classroom instruction. KIDS also will provide school, district and state leaders with reliable data to make informed decisions about where resources and professional development are most needed.

KIDS is not a test nor is it a one-time snapshot of a student’s readiness at one point in time. The process involves observing kindergarten students over time, within the context of typical activities, such as English language development, self and social development, self-regulation, language and literacy development, and mathematical development. Results and observations will be recorded three times over the course of the school year.

The voluntary KIDS pilot program will run in phases before it is implemented statewide in 2015-16. Starting this school year, 64 districts volunteered to participate in the pilot and receive training on how to implement the survey. ISBE also recruited bilingual teachers to participate in a Spanish-language version of the KIDS process.

Staff members from 64 school districts have undergone training. About half of these school districts are currently in the process of gathering data, including Oak Park Elementary School District 97.

“Our district is excited to be among the first in the state to learn how to implement the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey,” said Dr. Al Roberts, Superintendent of Oak Park Elementary School District 97. “I am very proud of the work our teachers have already completed in conjunction with this important initiative and believe the data collected from the survey will help us evaluate student progress, close gaps in the readiness and development of our youngest learners and prepare our children for success both in and out of the classroom.”

This year’s pilot focuses on helping teachers understand the survey process and gaining their feedback on how KIDS works, rather than collecting data.

Eventually, all kindergarten teachers will be trained in the assessment. The following timeline outlines the goals for implementation:

The Illinois State Board of Education established KIDS in collaboration with the KIDS Advisory Committee, comprised of ISBE administrators, early childhood and early elementary teachers and administrators, assessment and data experts and others interested in education. Through a competitive process, ISBE selected the California Department of Education’s (CDE) instruments, known as the Desired Results Developmental Profile, to use as part of the KIDS.

The following 64 school districts are participating in the pilot:

County District Name

Franklin

Akin CCSD 91

McHenry

Alden Hebron SD 19

Effingham

Altamont CUSD 10

Madison

Alton CUSD 11

Douglas

Arcola CUSD 306

Douglas

Arthur CUSD 305

Stark

Bradford CUSD 1

Fayette

Brownstown CUSD 201

Cook      

Calumet Public SD 132           

Cook      

City of Chicago SD 299          

Clay

Clay City CUSD 10

Cook      

Country Club Hills SD 160       

Cumberland

Cumberland CUSD 77

Fulton

CUSD 3 Fulton County

Kane

CUSD 300

Macon

Decatur SD 61

DeKalb

DeKalb CUSD 428

Madison

East Alton SD 13

Jo Daviess

East Dubuque USD 119

Saint Clair

East St Louis SD 189

Edwards

Edwards County CUSD 1

Effingham

Effingham CUSD 40

Jackson

Giant City CCSD 130

Champaign

Gifford CCSD 188

Johnson

Goreville CUSD 1

Crawford

Hutsonville CUSD 1

Jersey

Jersey CUSD 100

Will

Joliet PSD 86

Bureau

Ladd CCSD 94

Montgomery

Litchfield CUSD 12

Champaign

Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3

Cook

Mannheim SD 83

McHenry

Marengo-Union E Cons D 165

Saint Clair

Marissa CUSD 40

Saint Clair

Millstadt CCSD 160

Cook

Matteson ESD 162

McLean

McLean County USD

Rock Island

Moline USD 40

Warren

Monmouth-Roseville CUSD 238

Whiteside

Morrison CUSD 6

Cook

Mount Prospect SD 57

Cumberland

Neoga CUSD 3

Cook

Niles ESD 71

Cook

Oak Park ESD 97

Cook

Palatine CCSD 15

Kankakee

Pembroke CCSD 259

Winnebago

Prairie Hill CCSD 133

Rock Island

Rock Island SD 41

Marion

Sandoval CUSD 501

Kane

SD U-46

Cook

Skokie SD 73-5

Sangamon

Springfield SD 186

Whiteside

Sterling CUSD 5

Will

Summit Hill SD 161

Cook

Sunset Ridge SD 29

Jackson

Unity Point CCSD 140

Will

Valley View CUSD 365U

La Salle

Waltham CCSD 185

Pike

Western CUSD 12

Cook

Wheeling CCSD 21

Shelby

Windsor CUSD 1

DuPage

Winfield SD 34

Winnebago

Winnebago CUSD 323

McHenry

Woodstock CUSD 200

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