What is VKRP?
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program is a kindergarten readiness assessment that includes literacy, math, social skills and self-regulation. It provides the most comprehensive data our state has ever collected around school readiness, success, growth and gaps. The program uses a set of coordinated assessments that place equal and purposeful emphasis on measuring a child’s academic skills (literacy and math) and their social-emotional skills. It produces detailed snapshots in the fall and spring with information about children’s growth across the year. VKRP data is actionable information that can guide decisions at various levels before and after kindergarten to support student learning.
A 2017 Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC) study entitled, Improving Virginia’s Early Childhood Development Programs recommended mandating the use of VKRP across the state. Last fall, roughly 90,000 kindergarten students in all of Virginia’s 132 school divisions participated in VKRP, providing comprehensive data on child readiness for all of Virginia’s kindergarteners for the first time.
What does VKRP data tell us?
How Will VKRP Data be Used?
Kindergarten teachers can use VKRP data to match instruction with children’s skill levels, refer children for additional support if necessary and guide conversations with parents about what can be done at home to support student growth.
Principals can refer to the data to answer questions about each year’s cohort of entering students, inform decisions at the school level for deploying existing resources and procuring additional support for staff when needed.
Division leaders can use the data to see where variability exists across divisions, to help individualize professional development for teachers and to align preschool, kindergarten and elementary school programs.
State leaders, advocates and policy makers can use the data to identify statewide readiness gaps, patterns and trends across the state.
How does my locality measure up?
Click here to see locality-specific VKRP data.