S.C. Code § 59-155-150 requires that students entering publicly funded prekindergarten and kindergarten beginning in Fiscal Year 2014–15 must be administered a readiness assessment by the forty-fifth day of the school year.
Overview of KRA
The KRA is a developmentally appropriate instrument that measures a child’s school readiness across multiple domains. Understanding a child’s school readiness helps kindergarten teachers best meet the child’s needs, and it helps schools, families, communities and policy makers know how best to support young children as they enter the K-12 environment.
The KRA determines each child’s readiness level from an evaluation of four domains: Social Foundations, Language/Literacy, Mathematics, and Physical Well-Being. The KRA provides a snapshot of students’ abilities at the beginning of the school year.
Types and Number of Items
The KRA includes selected-response items (multiple-choice), performance tasks, and observation items. The test consists of 50 items; each item is scored using a rubric. For additional information, please see the KRA Sample Items (906 Kb PDF).
Format of the KRA
Teachers interact directly with the child for the selected-response and the performance task items. Observations can take place in a variety of naturally occurring settings. For the observation items, teachers can observe students individually, in small groups, or as a whole class. Observation items are scored using a rubric that includes specific criteria at three levels of proficiency: Proficient (P), In Progress (I), or Not Yet Evident (N).
Test Administration
Professional educators who have received training and certification in the use of the KRA materials may administer the assessment.
All items are scripted and the teacher reads the directions written in the Teacher Administration Manual to the students.
Assessing Students with Disabilities and Multilingual Learners
The Readiness Assessment Guidance for Assessing Students with Disabilities offers guidance on providing meaningful participation on the statewide 4K and 5K readiness assessments for students with disabilities. The following documents provide additional information and support:
KRA Handouts and Checklists
Score Reports
Technical Reports
KRA Test Security Agreement Forms
Training, Additional Resources, and Information
