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 3 - Three

The state of Arkansas requires that Kindergarten students take a computer-based, standardized test 3 times during the year. The testing windows are in the fall, winter, and spring. In their recently updated policy manual, the National Association for the Education of Young Children specifically calls out using unfamiliar assessment tasks administered in unfamiliar settings as practices to avoid when assessing Kindergartners (NAEYC 2022 p.175). Yet, by following the state's testing windows, the first time Kindergarteners take this test is within the first few weeks of the school year. These young students are in a new building, surrounded by new kids, and learning to trust new adults.  For some, this is their first experience schooling outside their home. This is the very definition of an unfamiliar setting!

Though many students have some experience with various technologies, many 5-year-olds need more practice using a computer with a touchpad or a mouse before using it in an assessment. Few, if any, incoming Kindergarteners have experience with taking a test. While computer-based assessments are designed to play like a game, many young students still need to gain the skills and experience necessary to perform well on an unfamiliar assessment task such as this. Unfortunately, this renders the results nearly useless to teachers. 

#ChangeKinderTesting