The GKIDS Readiness Check is a new component of the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS). It is designed to be administered during the first six weeks of the kindergarten year. The GKIDS Readiness Check is aligned to the Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS​) and correlated to the state mandated content standards for kindergarten. The goal of the assessment is to provide information about the skills of students entering kindergarten.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the GKIDS Readiness Check is to highlight knowledge and skills critical for student success in learning – solely to guide instruction.

The GKIDS Readiness Check is designed to be developmentally appropriate, reflecting research-based best practices for young learners, and will provide information that allows kindergarten teachers to individualize student instruction.

Domains of Learning

There are three areas or domains of learning assessed by the GKIDS Readiness Check:

 ​

Foundations of School Success​

This domain includes students’ approaches to learning, social and emotional development, and physical development and development of motor skills. These attributes and skills, while often viewed as non-academic, are leading indicators of students’ progression towards future academic success. 

 

• Engages in independent activities and continues tasks over a period of time.​​
• Independently follows rules and routines.
• Plays cooperatively with a few peers for a sustained period of time.
• Uses senses to observe, classify, and learn about objects and environment.
• Makes statements and appropriately answers questions about how objects/materials can be used to solved problems.
• Effectively uses words, sentences, and actions to communicate needs, ideas, opinions, and preferences.
• Performs fine-motor tasks that require small-muscle strength and control.​ 

English Language Arts

This domain includes children’s early language and literacy development. These skills are foundational for fluent and effective communication and literacy skills such as reading and writing. 

 

• ​Listens and differentiates between sounds that are the same and different.
• Recognizes and ​names some upper case letters of the alphabet.
• Recognizes and names some lower case letters of the alphabet.
• Tracks words from left to right, top to bottom, and page to page.
• Draws pictures and copies letters and/or numbers to communicate.
• Listens to and follows multi-step directions.
• Uses spoken language that can be understood with ease.
• Uses writing tools.

 

Mathe​matics

This domain includes an understanding of shapes and spatial relationships, problem solving, identifying similarities and differences, and basic numeracy concepts.

 

• ​​​Recites numbers up to 20 in sequence.
• Counts at least 10 objects using one-to-one correspondence.
• Recognizes numerals (0 – 9).
•  Sorts and classifies objects using one or more attributes or ​relationships
•  Recognizes and names common two-dimensional shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle).
• ​​A parent resource website is available to provide additional information on the GKIDS Readiness Check, including resources to further guide and support students at home. 

GKIDS 2.0 is a progression-based formative assessment, integrated into classroom work, that is aligned to the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE). GKIDS 2.0 is organized around big ideas and learning progressions. 

 

• ​A big idea describes the integration of concepts and skills from the kindergarten standards that are most important for success in first grade. 
• A learning progression shows where the student is in the learning continuum of content and reasoning development regarding the big idea from the GSE.
• Learning progressions provide the big picture of what is to be learned across the year, relate increased reasoning of standards within the grade and across grades, and support instructional planning. 

GKIDS 2.0 provides teachers with one source of real-time information to adjust instruction, by identifying what a student already knows, what the student needs next, and by allowing the teacher to monitor growth. 

 

A summary of the big ideas and learning progressions is provided below. Additional details can be found using the Resources link on the right of this page. 

 

English Language Arts

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will understand the relationship between letters and sounds and recognize high-frequency words with speed and accuracy. 

• ​Progression: Phonemic Awareness
• Progression: Phonics
• Progression: High Frequency Words​

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will independently read grade-level texts of different genres with accuracy and demonstrate comprehension by answering text-dependent questions. 

• Progression: Comprehension

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will independently write more than one complete thought on a single topic, using phonetic spelling and key print conventions. 

• Progression: Conventions of Writing
• Progression: Spelling
• Progression: Communication of Ideas

 

Mathematics

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will model real world problems by composing 2- and 3-dimensional shapes. 

• Progression: Shapes

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will count using multiple strategies. 

• Progression: Counting - Number
• Progression: Counting - Objects

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will apply multiple strategies to solve real world problems using addition and subtraction. 

• Progression: Addition and Subtraction

 

Science (optional)

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of basic physical science concepts.

• Progression: Physical Attributes
• Progression: Motion

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of basic life science concepts.

• Progression: Organisms & Non-living Objects

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of basic earth and space science concepts.

• Progression: Time Patterns
• Progression: Earth Materials

 

Social Studies (optional)

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of basic historical concepts.

• Progression: Historical Understandings

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts of geography.

• Progression: Geographic Understandings

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of good citizenship.

• Progression: Civic Understandings

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate an understanding of basic economic concepts.

• Progression: Economic Understandings

 

Approaches to Learning

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate behaviors used to acquire new knowledge and skills and engage in the learning process.

• Progression: Curiosity and Initiative
• Progression: Creativity and Problem-Solving
• Progression: Attention, Engagement, and Persistence

 

Personal and Social Development

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate skills and behaviors used for self-regulation and interactions with others.

• Progression: Personal Development and Self-Regulation
• Progression: Social Development/Classroom Interactions

 

Motor Skills (optional)

Big Idea: A kindergarten student will demonstrate age-appropriate fine and gross motor skills.

• Progression: Fine Motor Skills
• Progression: Gross Motor Skills