REL Mid-Atlantic is partnering with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to strengthen procedures and accommodations guidance for children who need additional support to complete the kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA). This partnership will provide MSDE additional insight and evidence on appropriate KRA support for students. It will also help build MSDE’s capacity to collect data on students who were unable to complete the KRA and to interpret and use the data to support young learners.
Partnership organization: Maryland State Department of Education
Current Projects
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) implemented a new statewide kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA) for the 2025/26 school year to understand if it is meeting its goals of increasing students’ readiness for kindergarten and decreasing gaps in kindergarten readiness among groups of students. Because early implementation showed that some students were unable to complete the KRA, the REL team will help build MSDE’s capacity to collect and analyze information to better understand the reasons behind non-completion and use these insights alongside existing KRA research to identify appropriate supports. This work will also inform guidance for districts on KRA accommodations, administering the assessment in languages other than English, and interpreting the results. The goal is to support KRA implementation and enable more students to successfully complete the assessment in the future.