ADMINISTERED IN MINUTES PKS Pre-Kindergarten Screener
PKS Overview Purpose: differentiate between children who are likely to encounter failure during their early school years and those who will probably progress appropriately Focus: child’s readiness to participate fully and without specialized assistance in the regular kindergarten educational program or curriculum Key Skill Areas: read, write, and count; sit and listen; follow directions; and interact in socially appropriate ways with peers and teachers
PKS Materials Manual Record form Wire-bound stimulus cards Pencil Box of eight crayons 6-foot length of tape or ribbon Small treats Clean cloth or napkin to hold treats
Administration Standardized italicized print instructions should be presented to the child EXACTLY as shown in the administration section! (pg 12) Slight modifications may be necessary if child is: Very young Or has specific cognitive or behavioral deficits Document the above modifications under comments in the scoring guide
Description of Nine PKS Subtests (1-4) Subtest A: Gross Motor Skills (pg 13 PKS Manual) 6 tasks measuring balance and movement Subtest B: Fine Motor Skills (pg PKS Manual) pencil grip, copy geometric forms and E Subtest C: Following Directions (pg PKS Manual) one-step through three-step directions, auditory memory span Subtest D: Block Tapping (pg 15 PKS Manual) Reproduce motor sequences presented visually, without language
Description of Nine PKS Subtests (5-9) Subtest E: Visual Matching (pg 15 PKS Manual) view a visual shape or letter, select it from a set of similar shapes Subtest F: Visual Memory (pg 16 PKS Manual) view visual configurations briefly then identify the previously viewed configuration Subtest G: Imitation (pg 16 PKS Manual) Mimic several hand and finger pattern sequences Subtest H: Basic Academic Skills (pg PKS Manual) Identify eight basic colors, recognize/recite alphabet, print name, count from 1-40 by ones Subtest I: Delayed Gratification (pg 18 PKS Manual) Postpone taking a treat for an unknown time period
Scoring Total Raw Score: Sum of the child’s scores for each of the nine subtests Calculate the probability of the child’s being at risk of failure Norms Tables— Conversion of Raw Scores to Standard Scores and Percentiles (pg 41) Standard Scores Between (monitored) Below 82 (further testing)