Child, Youth, and Family Studies, Department of

 

Date of this Version

Fall 2015

Citation

Schachter, R. E., Strang, T. M., & Piasta, S. B. (Fall 2015). Using the new Kindergarten Readiness Assessment: What do teachers and principals think?. Columbus, OH: Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy, The Ohio State University.

https://earlychildhood.ehe.osu.edu/files/2016/04/whitepaper_KRA_aug31_web-1.pdf

Comments

Published by The Schoenbaum Family Center (SFC) and Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy (CCEC)

Abstract

This white paper presents the results of a survey completed by teachers and principals in central Ohio concerning their perceptions of Ohio’s new Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) during its inaugural implementation year. All kindergarten teachers and principals in Franklin County public elementary schools were invited to complete the survey; 150 responded. Although teachers and principals generally reported using assessments, including the previous state-mandated KRA-L screening tool, to guide their instructional decisions, the majority of participants did not perceive that the KRA, in particular, was useful for guiding instruction. Moreover, teachers reported that administering the KRA took away valuable time needed to help students adjust to learning in a formal school setting and create a classroom community. Administration issues, lack of access to the data, redundancy or incompleteness of KRA data, and misconceptions about the purpose of the KRA all seemed to contribute to participants’ dissatisfaction with the KRA. Overall, it seems that teachers are not using the KRA as intended. Our findings do not indicate an adversity to assessment in general. Rather, negative perceptions and/or lack of use seem to be tied to a misunderstanding of the purpose of the KRA and administration issues.

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