REQUESTING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REVIEW AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS DATA COLLECTION PROCESS.

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Sturgeon

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 14

REQUESTING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REVIEW AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS DATA COLLECTION PROCESS.

WHEREAS, a child’s readiness for kindergarten lays the foundation for both academic and lifelong success; and

WHEREAS, the 6 developmental domains for early childhood (“6 developmental domains”) are social and emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and mathematics; and

WHEREAS, assessing a child’s readiness for kindergarten, including data related to the 6 developmental domains, is crucial to supporting a young child’s growth and development; and

WHEREAS, in 2012, the Department of Education implemented the Delaware Early Learning Survey (“Survey”), requiring kindergarten teachers to observe and record each child’s knowledge and skills to determine if a child needs any supports to succeed in kindergarten and beyond; and

WHEREAS, in addition to this Survey, school districts also utilize additional academic and developmental screening tools to assess kindergarten readiness; and

WHEREAS, educators have raised concerns about the usefulness and duplicative nature of these kindergarten readiness assessments; and

WHEREAS, Delaware students and educators would benefit from a comprehensive review of kindergarten assessments that evaluates the impact and administrative burden of each assessment, including the Survey; and

WHEREAS, streamlining required kindergarten assessments would positively impact student outcomes and provide educators with more time to focus on improving instruction and meeting the needs of students.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 153rd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, that the Secretary of the Department of Education (“Department”) is requested to conduct a comprehensive review that evaluates all of the following:

(1) The diagnostic assessments and screenings provided to kindergarten students in this State.

(2) The processes in place for gathering kindergarten readiness data.

(3) Recommendations identified by similar past efforts conducted in this State.

(4) The implementation of the Delaware Early Learning Survey during the 2025-2026 school year.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting this evaluation, the Department is encouraged to use focus groups, surveys, and any other mechanism that is useful to capture feedback from educators involved in the kindergarten readiness assessment process and that the Department engage and consult with stakeholders, including all of the following:

(1) Kindergarten educators.

(2) The Delaware State Education Association.

(3) The Delaware Association of School Administrators.

(4) The Delaware Early Childhood Council.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department is requested to publish a report by May 1, 2026, with the findings of this

evaluation, identifying areas of strength, areas for growth, and making recommendations related to improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the kindergarten readiness data collection processes

to do all of the following:

(1) Improve the impact on student outcomes.

(2) Ensure the usefulness and relevance of the data collected.

(3) Include an analysis of all 6 developmental domains of early childhood assessed by diagnostic assessments and screeners.

(4) Reduce the burden on educators.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department is requested to submit this report to the Chair of the Senate Education Committee and the Chair of the House Education Committee, with copies to the Governor, the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services, and the Delaware Public Archives.

SYNOPSIS

This Resolution requests that the Department of Education (Department) conduct a comprehensive review that evaluates the diagnostic assessments and screenings provided to Delaware kindergarten students, the processes in place for gathering kindergarten readiness data, and recommendations identified by similar past efforts in this State. This Resolution also requests that the Department publish a report by May 1, 2026, with the findings of this evaluation, identifying areas of strength, areas for growth, and making recommendations related to improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the kindergarten readiness data collection process.

Author: Senator Sturgeon