Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP)
Description:
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) aims to build a more comprehensive understanding of school readiness. As an assessment system, VKRP adds measures of mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten to complement Virginia’s statewide assessment of literacy skills (Pre-K Language and Literacy Screener and PALS K-3).
VKRP uses the Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS) to measure children’s mathematical thinking. The EMAS is a reliable and valid assessment that draws on modern cognitive science, as well as developmental and educational research.
VKRP measures self-regulation and social skills using the Child Behavior Rating Scale.Teachers complete a short rating scale that measures a student’s behavior with other children and adults, as well as their engagement with materials and tasks in the classroom.
The VKRP assessments of mathematics, social skills and self-regulation complement the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS), which has assessed children’s literacy skills for many years and is used in 99% of school divisions across Virginia.