In an effort to further support kindergarten readiness, Indiana has worked to develop an assessment system that effectively measures all domains of early learning for children ages birth to five. Indiana’s early learning assessment system includes three stages of assessment to monitor children’s growth and development over time.
- ISPROUT Birth to Age 2: This phase of early learning assessment consists of educator observations and data aligned to Indiana’s Early Learning Standards.
- ISPROUT Ages 3-5: This assessment phase runs from ages three to five-years-old still in preschool, consisting of a combination of direct child performance data and educator ratings aligned to the observations of children’s daily routines and activities. This phase aligns to the current practices for Indiana’s ISPROUT assessment system and data aligned to Indiana’s Early Learning Standards.
- Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (IKRA): This third stage of assessment is administered to kindergarten students shortly after school starts. The IKRA includes both direct assessment items and educator-led activities to yield observations. Children are assessed in all eight domains of the Early Learning Standards, as this provides the most in-depth picture of their developmental progress, strengths, and areas of need.
The redesigned assessment system will provide early indicators for children “at risk” of not meeting proficiency in literacy and mathematics at later stages and is intended to be used by educators to improve child outcomes. The assessment system provides information to partners at the local, regional, and state levels about how prepared children are for kindergarten. Data from ISPROUT (3-5) will still be used for federally-required reporting for children ages three to five with exceptional needs served by any accredited school systems. More information on each phase of the early learning assessment system can be found below.
ISPROUT
The Indiana Student Performance Readiness and Observation of Understanding Tool (ISPROUT) is currently utilized to measure skill development in children from infancy to kindergarten. ISPROUT provides a snapshot of children’s abilities at the beginning of kindergarten from an evaluation of eight domains:
- English/Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Student Wellbeing
- Physical Health and Growth
- Creative Arts
- Approaches to Play and Learning
These concepts are reported in three categories: Student Wellbeing, Knowledge and Skills, and Independence/Motor Coordination, which are also used for federal reporting to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Children with disabilities ages three through five served by any accredited school system are required to take ISPROUT within six weeks of the start of their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and six weeks before their exit to kindergarten. Completion of this assessment is required for OSEP’s Indicator 7 reporting for the State Performance Plan (SPP)/Annual Performance Report (APR), which is published annually from OSEP.
Indiana’s early learning assessment system plans to continue standard ISPROUT testing, with the option to also administer ISPROUT to students without identified disabilities. For additional information, please see these frequently asked questions.
Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (IKRA)
The IKRA is a developmentally-appropriate instrument that measures a child’s school readiness across multiple domains. Understanding a child’s school readiness helps kindergarten educators best meet the child’s needs and helps schools, families, communities, and policymakers know how best to support young children as they enter the K-12 environment.
Like ISPROUT, the IKRA provides a snapshot of students’ abilities at the beginning of kindergarten from an evaluation of eight domains:
- English/Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Student Wellbeing
- Physical Health and Growth
- Creative Arts
- Approaches to Play and Learning
- Test Administration
In 2025, the IKRA is an opt-in assessment. Administered within the first six weeks of the school year, the IKRA includes a combination of direct child performance and rating by educators based on ongoing observations of children’s typical daily routines and activities. There are 50 items on the IKRA consisting of 26 direct assessment items and 24 observational items. The direct assessment includes student-selected responses and performance tasks. Observations can take place in a variety of naturally-occurring settings. For the observation items, teachers can observe students individually, in small groups, or as a whole class. Observation items are scored using a rubric that includes specific criteria at three levels of proficiency: Demonstrating, Progressing, and Emerging.
Educators administering the IKRA must (1) be employed by the child’s school or district, and (2) have successfully completed the required training. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) strongly recommends that each child’s primary classroom educator or another educator who has regular contact with the child(ren) (e.g., a special education therapist, an intervention specialist, or a reading specialist) administer the assessment. All direct assessment items are scripted, and the educator reads the directions written in the administration manual to the students.
- Reporting and Results
The Ready for Kindergarten Online System is used to record responses, view data, and download results immediately. Reports include Individual Student Item Results, Class Item Results, Class CSV Export, Domain Data Export, Individual Student Report (ISR), data visuals, and the scale score report. ISRs can be generated in multiple languages to support multilingual families with English learners (ELs). Student scores are determined as “Ready for Kindergarten” or “Ready with Support.” Results will be visualized on Indiana’s Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) Dashboard.
For additional information, please see these frequently asked questions.
For general assistance regarding the early learning assessment system, please contact IDOE’s Office of Student Assessment or Office of Kindergarten Readiness. You may also visit the Indiana Learning Lab Assessment Hub for additional resources.