In August of 2018, Illinois released the first year results of Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) data as a statewide snapshot of kindergarten readiness in Illinois. Since that time, many communities have been looking for ways to use the data locally to strengthen their early learning systems and community collaborations. Two crosswalks were developed to support teachers and districts in identifying how KIDS integrates with other standards and commonly used tools and assessments across the state. These crosswalks were developed in partnership between the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University.
Two KIDS Early Learning (EL) Instrument Crosswalk documents, one utilizing 14 state required measures and one demonstrating alignment for the 29 measures included in the KIDS Five Readiness Domains, establish a comparison with three commonly used pre-kindergarten assessment tools and the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards (IELDS). The crosswalks are a helpful tool to create dialogue within communities about kindergarten readiness, school transitions, standards and alignment between grade levels, among many other topics.
Communities or collaborations with questions about the crosswalks are encouraged to reach out to school districts to learn more about how the KIDS data is being used locally. A recommendation for school districts is to connect with their KIDS Coach to obtain individualized support on KIDS. For additional information and resources about KIDS, please visit www.isbe.net/kids. Both the KIDS EL Instrument Crosswalk for the 14 Required State Measures and for the 5 Readiness Domains are available within the Administrators & Teachers Toolkit.
Additional KIDS Information:
KIDS is an observational tool designed to help administrators, teachers, and families understand the developmental strengths of children entering kindergarten. ISBE, in partnership with WestEd, developed KIDS through research and validated the tool through testing. KIDS aligns with the Illinois Early Learning and Developmental Standards (IELDS), which establishes expectations for children’s development at kindergarten entry.
Kindergarten teachers in Illinois are required to collect data for the 14 State Readiness Measures that span across the three developmental areas understood to be critical indicators for long-term academic success. By collecting evidence to support developmental ratings in the areas of social and emotional development, language and literacy, and math within the first 40 days of school, KIDS provides a reflection of each child’s learning and development at kindergarten entry. KIDS is an indication neither of school quality nor of teacher performance. It is not a placement test for children.
