1. Kindergarten Entrance Assessment
Updates and Understanding
March 2015

2. What do we know now about the KEA?
MDE is planning for widespread KEA use in Michigan
We are excited at the Governor’s proposed investment
TS Gold will be the tool this coming year, with continuous modifications to inform differentiated instruction
This data will inform instructional decisions from the classroom to the state
We will continue to build partnerships with stakeholders
There is a professional learning construct in development

3. Why a Kindergarten Entrance Assessment?
Classroom Instruction and
Parent Engagement
Principal Awareness
District Awareness
ISD Awareness
State Awareness
Why?
Provide accurate information to parents about their child’s development
Standardized assessment at the beginning of a student’s career;
Provide comparison data for widely held expectations for Kindergarten students;
Identify Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) needs early;
Provide comprehensive information about incoming K students to teachers, principals, districts, ISDs, and state leaders for the purposes of meeting needs of students and designing professional learning for staff;
Better alignment of curriculum and instruction across early learning and K-12.

4. What is it?
The KEA is a construct used to determine how our students are developing upon entry into kindergarten; It is NOT a screener for readiness for kindergarten!
The information can be used to:
Inform instruction in classrooms, including suggestions for instruction in early literacy and numeracy;
Inform support and professional learning needs at a building;
Provide standardized formative information to better assess children to structure their success at the beginning of their first three years in school;
Create a platform/bridge between early childhood and K -12 to support students’ transition and improve curriculum alignment.

5. The Tool—TS Gold Observational Assessment 6 TS Gold Domains Language
MI KEA Objectives of Development and Learning (handout)
6 TS Gold Domains
Language
Literacy
Mathematics
Social Emotional
Physical Health
Cognition
See MI KEA Objectives of Development and Learning (handout) for specific indicators.

6. What is TS Gold? Teaching Strategies GOLD:
An authentic, ongoing observational system* for assessing children from birth through kindergarten;
Helps teachers to observe children in the context of every day experiences, which is an effective way to learn what they know and can do.
*A system of observation, documentation, and analysis that helps track a child’s/student’s progress toward meeting learning expectations or standards and is considered a crucial part of a teacher’s curriculum planning and instructional strategy.
Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from:
Authentic in this case refers to the everyday classroom setting that the child attends. An ongoing observational system refers to the time frame (Sept. 8-October 31, 2015) from which the data is gathered about each child.

8. Indicator and Measurement Data input Example
This view is what teachers would see as they are entering data about each individual child.
The colored bands on the progressions indicate the age and class/grade ranges for widely held
developmental and learning expectations. While there is a typical progression for each objective, it
is not rigid; development and learning are uneven, overlapping, and interrelated.

9. Reports from TS Gold include:
Reports offer a variety of information useful for teachers to meet the needs of their students. Examples include:
Individual Child Report
Provides checkpoint levels on each child’s progression
Widely Held Expectations Report
Provides information on which children are meeting widely held expectations for incoming kindergarteners
Performance and Growth Report
Is this child or group of children meeting widely held expectations? (Performance)
Is this child or group of children demonstrating progress toward meeting expectations? (Growth)

10. Individual Child Report (Teacher)
Objectives/
Dimentions
Age or Grade/
Class
Not Yet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
15a. Notices and discriminates rhyme
Fall 2014
15b. Notices and discriminates alliteration
15c. Notices and discriminates smaller and smaller units of sound
16a. Identifies and names letters
16b. Uses letters-sound knowledge
17b. Uses print concepts
18a. Interacts during read-alouds and book conversations

11. Widely Held Expectations Report (Administrator)
Sample District

12. Performance and Growth Report (Teacher)
Guideline Literacy & Knowledge Skills
VI.D - Print Concepts & Conventions: The concepts about print and early decoding (identifying letter-sound relationships).
17b. Uses print concepts
Sample District

13. Administrator Report: Comparative Report

14. Principal AND Administrator Training
Learn about the TS Gold tool
Learn how the registration process works
Learn about teacher support options to consider
Principals and other Administrators will be given opportunity to learn about the TS Gold KEA tool as well as a deeper understanding of the registration process and support options to consider.

15. Professional learning
Instructional Coaches
Through ISD/RESAs
Supporting regional educators
Teacher Advisors
By district
Supporting time on the assessment
Teachers
Face to face
Online modules as resource support
Inter Rater Reliability

16. The PROPOSED incentives
The budget process is ongoing
Updates will be shared as soon as decisions are final

17. The PROPOSED incentives concerning the KEA
Parameters
The district administers a department approved KEA
TS Gold is the only approved KEA
To ALL incoming Kindergarteners
Including all forms of Developmental Kindergarten
Assessment window is September 8-October 30, 2015.
(40 days of school)

18. Likely Next Steps
The KEA is the first step to Michigan’s comprehensive approach to Career and College Readiness
Continuous quality improvement will be emphasized throughout the development and implementation of the Michigan’s KEA