Only 15 states and the District of Columbia mandate kindergarten attendance, and 11 of those states require students to take a KEA¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2029: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Only 15 states and the District of Columbia mandate kindergarten attendance; of these, 11 require a KEA. → Rolla 2024

Evidence¶

Rolla 2024¶

Rolla, A., Mottesi, G., Wylen, M., & Akinola, Y. (2024). Kindergarten Entry Assessments: An Examination of Best Practices, National Trends, and Recommendations. Region 15 Comprehensive Center at WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED673515

q2 · i? · review · r2

The national scan of state requirements reports that "only 15 states and the District of Columbia mandate kindergarten attendance," and of these, 11 require students to take a KEA, listing the states by name in the brief.

"only 15 states and the District of Columbia mandate kindergarten attendance for all children within their jurisdictions. Of these, 11 still require that students take a KEA"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• As of May 2024, 37 states require that some type of statewide or district-level KEA be administered to all incoming kindergarten students — related
• As of 2024, only 10 U.S. states explicitly include Spanish–English bilinguals in their kindergarten entry assessments, while 41 states implicitly include or do not include them
• Narrow, skills-only KEAs can narrow the kindergarten curriculum and foster inappropriate teaching, while holistic observational assessment can drive developmentally appropriate practice — related
• It is inappropriate to use KEA scores to evaluate teachers or preschool programs, hold children back from kindergarten, or diagnose learning disabilities — related