The Illinois State Board of Education has established an Advisory Committee comprised of early childhood experts, in order to help with the development of a compressive kindergarten readiness assessment tool. With help from this committee the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) has been developed as a way to capture statewide data on the school readiness of Illinois’ kindergarteners.
The KIDS advisory committee is comprised of ISBE administrators, early childhood and early elementary teachers and administrators, assessment and data experts, and other stakeholders. This committee continues to guide ISBE as it adapts and aligns the KIDS assessment tool; providing research and advice on communications planning, professional development training, and financial resource needs. The committee offers expertise on how to best build a high quality data system that will support and improve children’s learning in Illinois.
ISBE has selected the WestEd Center for Child and Family Studies (CCFS) as the contractor to provide services related to the development and administration of the Illinois Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS). WestEd subcontracts with the Berkley Evaluation and Assessment Research Center, Graduate School of Education, University of California Berkeley (BEAR Center), which work in collaboration with ISBE to implement KIDS across the state.
KIDS is envisioned as a comprehensive process designed to provide information about children’s competencies across developmental domains over time and to inform whether Illinois’ kindergarteners have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in school. WestEd has developed KIDS to align with the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, the Illinois Learning Standards for Kindergarten, the Social and Emotional Learning Standards, and the New Illinois Learning Standards Incorporating the Common Core for English Language Arts and Mathematics.
