Overview
Fall Kindergarten Entrance Inventory
The Fall Kindergarten Entrance Inventory was designed to provide a statewide snapshot of the skills students demonstrate, based on teachers’ observations, at the beginning of the kindergarten year. This instrument requires each teacher to classify each of the students in his/her class(es) into one of three performance levels by domain. In addition, the Fall Kindergarten Entrance Inventory was developed to provide kindergarten teachers with information about the level of skills and behaviors that students demonstrate at the beginning of kindergarten.
These skills and behaviors are defined by specific indicators in six domains; namely, Language skills, Literacy skills, Numeracy skills, Physical/Motor skills, Creative/Aesthetic skills and Personal/Social skills. The content of the inventory was selected to represent the most important skills that students need to demonstrate at the beginning of kindergarten. The indicators were developed from the Preschool Curriculum Framework and the Connecticut Curriculum Framework and are based on Connecticut’s educational standards. A group of preschool and kindergarten teachers, representing urban and suburban districts, special education, and English language learners, reviewed the indicators and provided the Department of Education with their recommendations on the appropriateness of the indicators. The indicators that were selected for the inventory are a result of the input from this committee.
The results of the administration of the Fall Kindergarten Entrance Inventory will be reported at the state and district levels, grouping students into three performance levels by domain. This information will be useful to teachers and administrators as they work to improve the quality of their early childhood programs.