Kindergarten Early Assessment

Greetings friends! I recently posted this freebie on my blog facebook but I've had a huge response from teachers who weren't able to grab it on the 4th so I decided to share it on Freebielicious. 

How do you create classes for the upcoming year? Do you have a say? I think teachers should have the greatest say because we know our strengths and weaknesses. Since I have a son that has sensory issues and mild aspergers, I understand kids with the same developmental concerns and I feel confident that I can teach them. I feel that would be a strength for me while others may not feel the same way. 

Each year, about two weeks before school starts, my team meets at school and prints out the list of all incoming kindergarten students (that have registered so far). We divide up the names and start calling parents. We invite students to come up to school one afternoon for a pre-screening. We call it the KEA (Kindergarten Early Assessment). We set up different tables in the cafeteria and each of us (along with the aides that are back on contract) takes a table and section to test. Students arrive during the set time (usually 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. so parents can come during their lunch) and they hop from table to table. Students are tested on letters, sounds, numbers, 1-1, etc. When we are finished with all the testing (and usually about 65% or more of the kids show up) we score the sheets and fill in any notes. This is a great way for us to get to know the students before they come to school for meet the teacher. Then, we take all of this information and build our classes. This really helps us build more balanced classrooms. We take in account of gender, race, birthday, and the KEA because we want very balanced classrooms.  It takes us a long time to ensure that our classes are truly built on the best interest of our students. 

So,  I created this early assessment for this year. You can always add to it if you want. You will need number flash cards 1-20 (because I forgot to attach them, oopsie!). I hope you love the idea as much as I do. 

Also, at the end of the school year, we create the classes for next year's first grade before leaving for the summer. Since we know our kids best, we know who will work together best (who needs to be separated) and how to build classes based upon our students' needs. Luckily our first grade teachers are AWESOME. We also know them well too and know their strengths, which makes a world of difference when you are considering all children and individual needs. It takes us a few hours to build classes but it's worth it!

Please feel free to stop by my blog, ask questions and say hi too! To grab this freebie, click the picture above or click HERE. Have a great day!

  

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