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Committee reviews updated kindergarten screening to capture student growth, not single test scores
Summary
Staff described a revised 'cold screen' kindergarten process that uses group activities and observation to capture approaches to learning (MELDS) and reduce reliance on a single Brigance score for classroom placement.
District staff told the committee the kindergarten screening process was revised so teachers can observe children in group activities (snack time, open play) in addition to individual academic checks. The presenter said this approach better captures "approaches to learning" (MELDS) and reduces placement decisions driven solely by a single Brigance assessment.
"So rather than the preschool teachers screening them again in the end of spring, we actually the preschool teachers group up students that have not necessarily had opportunities to be together... and so, they actually designed really creative ways of having students come for those kindergarten screening days so that they could come in with different groups of students they may not have had exposure to," the staff member said. The presenter added that kindergarten teachers still perform an end-of-year screen for students who attended district pre-K so intake is not biased by prior familiarity.
Committee members asked whether district pre-K students receive the kindergarten screening; staff confirmed they do and described the district's 'cold screen' approach to avoid prior-bias in results. Staff said teachers found the new process "highly beneficial" and plan to repeat it the coming year.
