What’s the Purpose? Educators’ Perceptions and Use of a State-Mandated Kindergarten Entry Assessment

Oct 15, 2026

Educator’s perceptions and use of a state-mandated kindergarten entry assessment (KEA), the Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP), were investigated using a mixed-methods approach with 233 educators representing 23 districts in Alaska. Educators reported inconsistencies in administration, implementation, perceptions, and use of the ADP. The inconsistencies were linked to an unclear understanding of the ADP’s purpose, reflecting a compliance model rather than instructional decision-making. Policy makers are urged to clarify the purpose, ensure data reliability and validity, and support formative, observation-based assessment use for instructional planning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time1 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose and focus

Methods and sample

Findings on consistency and purpose

Implications for policy and practice

Guidance for teachers and administrators

Role of researchers

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 26 Number 142 November 5 , 2018 ISSN 1068-2341 | | What’s the Purpose? Educators’ Perceptions and Use of a State-Mandated Kindergarten Entry Assessment Hattie Harvey & Kathryn Ohle University of Alaska Anchorage United States Citation: Harvey, H., & Ohle, K. (2018). What’s the purpose? Educators’ perceptions and use of a state-mandated kindergarten entry assessment. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26(142) . [http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3877](http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3877) Abstract: Educator’s perceptions and use of a state-mandated kindergarten entry assessment (KEA), the Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP), were investigated using a mixed-methods approach with 233 educators representing 23 districts in the state of Alaska. Educators reported inconsistencies in the administration, implementation, perceptions, and use of the ADP. These inconsistencies were connected to an unclear understanding of the purpose for the ADP, a finding that most likely reflects the compliance model of those administering statemandated assessments instead of educators seeing these tools as useful for instructional decision-making. Results suggest policy makers should strive to ensure all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the purpose for a state-mandated KEA and that systems are in place to ensure reliability and validity of the data. Teachers are urged to become familiar in using formative, observation-based assessment approaches and consider how data gathered from a KEA can provide meaningful information for instructional planning. Administrators are encouraged to provide the professional development and support needed to engage in data Journal website: [http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ ](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript)[ Manuscript](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript) received: 5/4/2018 Facebook: /EPAAA Revisions received: 9/23/2018 Twitter: @epaa_aape Accepted: 9/23/2018 Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 26 No. 142 2 driven decision making. Finally, researchers are reminded of their role in helping conduct research that examines the processes and impact of state-mandated assessments. Keywords: state-mandated assessments; kindergarten entry assessment; educator perceptions; early childhood educational policy ¿Cuál es el propósito? Percepciones de educadores y el uso de una evaluación Resumen: Percepciones del maestro y el uso de una evaluación de entrada para el jardín deinfancia mandada por el estado (KEA) solicitada por el estado, el Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP) fueron encuestados usando un enfoque enfoque mixto con 233 educadores representando a 23 distritos en el estado de Alaska. Los educadores relataron inconsistencias en la administración, implementación, percepciones y uso del ADP. Estas inconsistencias estabanconectados a una comprensión clara de la finalidad de la ADP, encontrando que probablemente refleja el modelo de cumplimiento de los que administran comentarios ordenado s por el estado, en lugar de los educadores consideran estas útiles herramientas para la toma de decisiones deinstrucción. Los resultados sugieren que los responsables políticos deben esforzarse para asegurar que todos los interesados tengan una comprensión clara de la finalidad de un KEArequerido por el estado y que los sistemas están en su lugar para asegurar la fiabilidad y validez de los datos. Los maestros se les anima a familiarizarse con el uso de enfoques de evaluaciónformativa y en base a la observación y considerar cómo los datos recogidos de un KEA pueden proporcionar información útil para la planificación de la instrucción. Se alienta a los administradores a proporcionar el desarrollo profesional y el soporte necesario parainvolucrarse en la toma de decisiones basada en datos. Y, por último, los investigadores se les recuerda

FAQs

What assessment is analyzed in the study?

The study examines the Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP), a state-mandated kindergarten entry assessment (KEA).

How was the research conducted and who participated?

A mixed-methods approach involved 233 educators across 23 districts in Alaska.

What did educators report about administering and using the ADP?

Educators reported inconsistencies in administration, implementation, perceptions, and use, connected to unclear understanding of the assessment’s purpose.

Oct 15, 2026

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