Kindergarten Screening Tools Used by Maine Public School Districts - Prepared by Amy Johnson, Ph.D. - June 2021

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Study conducted in spring 2021 by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute at the request of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs. It compiles a current list of assessment tools Maine public schools use to evaluate incoming kindergarten students. The report explains three main purposes for screening—school readiness, Child Find under IDEA, and Kindergarten Entry Assessments—then describes how each goal shapes which tools are chosen and when screening is administered.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background

School readiness

Child Find (IDEA)

Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs)

How goals affect tool selection and timing

University of Southern Maine USM Digital Commons | School Improvement | Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation (CEPARE) | | --- | --- | | 2021
Kindergarten Screening Tools Used by Maine Public School Districts
Amy F. Johnson PhD
Follow this and additional works at: [https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cepare_improvement](https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cepare_improvement) | | Recommended Citation Johnson, Amy F. PhD, "Kindergarten Screening Tools Used by Maine Public School Districts" (2021) . School Improvement. 33. [https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cepare_improvement/33](https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cepare_improvement/33) This Study is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation (CEPARE) at USM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in School Improvement by an authorized administrator of USM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [jessica.c.hovey@maine.edu](jessica.c.hovey@maine.edu). Kindergarten Screening Tools Used by Maine Public School Districts Prepared by Amy Johnson, Ph.D. June 2021 Maine Education Policy Research Institute University of Maine System Kindergarten Screening Tools Amy Johnson [amyj@maine.edu](amyj@maine.edu) Introduction The purpose of this study, conducted in spring 2021 by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute at the request of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, is to gain a current list of the assessment tools that public schools are using to evaluate their incoming kindergarten students. Early childhood education provides a critical foundation for students’ future learning, and schools work hard to identify students’needs as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Kindergarten assessment is also an area of heightened interest for researchers and policymakers who seek high-quality data on the readiness of our youngest learners as they enter the K-12 system. Background Public schools have a long-established practice of conducting screening assessment of students as they enter kindergarten. Schools use different assessment tools based on which of these basic purposes they are trying to meet: • School readiness. As its most basic function, kindergarten screening provides schools with information on the skills and capabilities that children will bring to the classroom on the first day of school. This can prepare teachers for each student’s individual instructional needs in the early weeks of acclimating to school. Schools with more than one kindergarten classroom can also use this assessment information to inform classroom placement decisions. • Child Find. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that each state have a comprehensive system for identifying whether the children living in the state have need of special education services. In Maine’s current system, the Child Development Services (CDS) unit oversees the Child Find requirement for children from birth to age 5, and public school districts assume the responsibility once a child reaches 5 years old. School districts must provide this service for all children residing within their area, and are not just responsible for those who enroll in their public school kindergarten programs. However, because the vast majority of five-year-olds do enroll in public schools, the kindergarten screening process is a major component of meeting Child Find requirements. Screening tools that are commonly used for Child Find, and also provide basic evaluation of incoming students, include: Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-4)1, BRIGANCE2 , Devereux’s Early Childhood Assessment (DECA), and the Early Screening Inventory (ESI) . • Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs). Schools may wish to evaluate skills more thoroughly at the beginning of kindergarten to 1) provide teachers with more robust informa

FAQs

What is the purpose of this study?

The study compiles a current list of assessment tools used by Maine public schools to evaluate incoming kindergarten students.

What three main purposes does the report describe for kindergarten screening?

It describes school readiness, Child Find under IDEA, and Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs).

How does a district’s goal affect which assessment tools and timing it uses?

The tools selected depend on the goal (readiness, Child Find, or KEA depth), and timing shifts accordingly—for example, Child Find screening may start as early as the spring before school.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys