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Community Informed Information Gathering Process at Kindergarten

Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment was suspended in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years due to the complicated nature of the pandemic. The assessment was previously administered each fall to entering kindergartners to assess three core areas of learning and development: early literacy, early math and interpersonal/self-regulation skills. Prior to the suspension, community partners shared concerns related to the implementation of the assessment as well as bias within the assessment itself. In partnership with the Early Learning Division, the Department began addressing these concerns during the 2021-22 school year.

The process to redesign Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment is called the Early Learning Transition Check-In: A Collaborative Engagement with Community (ELTC).

The ELTC is designed to 
  • help educators connect with and learn about the children and families entering their class 
  • inform DELC and ODE about families’ experiences prior to starting Kindergarten 
The ELTC uses two kinds of question types to reach these goals 
  • Open-ended questions allow for families to share their thoughts and experiences in their own words  
  • e.g., “What are your hopes and dreams for your child?” 
  • Closed-ended questions allow for teachers to select from a list of common responses (informed from previous pilot iterations)  
e.g., “What experiences, programs and/or services did your child receive or participate in to help them learn and grow?” 

Questions about the Community Informed Information Gathering Process at Kindergarten? Contact ODE’s K-2 Balanced Assessment Specialist, Sody Fearn.

Oregon’s State Board of Education unanimously adopted the amended rule OAR 581-022-2130 on February 16, 2023. The changes positively impact students and their families in Oregon. Notable changes include:

  • Language shifts that intentionally frame students and families using an asset-based approach.
  • Centering equity and anti-racist practices by shifting to a culturally responsive method that allows for stronger relationships to be built beginning at a child’s K-12 career as opposed to an assessment that may ultimately serve as a barrier and create long-term impact on the connection between school and home.
  • Removing the word “assessment” from the title and language in order to reinforce the new approach: Community Informed Information Gathering Process.
  • Allowing for flexibility to include other future culturally responsive components that are deemed necessary through our engagement process with partners.

Pilots in Review:

Fall 2025: ODE and DELC have completed the recruitment process for pilot schools and districts for Fall 2025. Beginning in May and continuing through August, educators from these schools will complete their required training on best practices for conducting the Family Conversation.

Fall 2024: The Early Learning Transition Check-In has completed its 3rd pilot of the Family Conversation. During this pilot, over 50 schools participated across the state with updated training materials and refined the data collection tool. District and educators will be asked to provide feedback for continuous improvement through survey questions.

Please note, school districts who did not take part in the Fall 2024 pilot should not administer any components of the previous kindergarten assessment at the first meeting with students and will not be required to report their data to the state.

Fall 2023: During Fall 2023, over 30 Oregon schools participated in a Family Conversation (name change) pilot program. This initiative, led by the Oregon Department of Education, the Department of Early Learning and Care, and Oregon's Kitchen Table, included family and educator feedback sessions in October and November. The sessions aimed to refine the Family Conversation process and involve more schools.

Fall 2022: During Fall 2022, ODE and DELC launched the Early Learning Transition Check-In’s first component known as the Family Interview. Oregon’s Kitchen Table hosted educator and family feedback sessions soon after to learn more about the experience. The purposes of those sessions were to hear from participants of the Family Interview in order to better refine the process.

Future School/District Involvement:

It is not yet known when the Family Conversation will be required statewide. To support school districts, ODE and DELC are holding a yearly Informational Webinar in October to prospective districts interested in partnering with the Departments to implement the Family Conversation. Districts that indicate interest will be added to a communication listserv about future training specific to the next implementation.


Please read Assessment and Accountability Updates for future opportunities to be involved in this process. Email PreKCheckin@ode.oregon.gov with any questions you may have about this topic and/or add your district to the listserv.

What are the reasons for the redesign of Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment (OKA)?

Established in 2013, the original OKA received feedback from families and educators that it was not culturally responsive and was potentially harmful to children and families in communities marginalized by Oregon’s educational system. Concerns included a lack of bias training for staff and questions about its purpose and redundancy with existing assessments. 

The redesigned tool will center family voices, support anti-racist practices, and take a whole-child approach, creating a safe and supportive environment for young children and families. 

What wasn’t working about the Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment (OKA)?

Families and Educators reported:

  • Confusion about the purpose of the Kindergarten Assessment 
  • Concerns about the timing of the assessment and children's first experiences with school
  • Concerns about the interpretation and reporting of results
  • Concerns about the cultural responsiveness of the assessment. This includes assessing students who speak a language other than English and risk of implicit bias.
  • Concerns about how schools engage students and their families about the assessment purpose. Concerns about how schools interpret individual student results. And concerns about how the results are used
  • Concerns about the assessment not considering the whole child*.
*The whole-child approach fosters all areas of children’s development and learning. It includes social–emotional and cognitive skills, literacy, math, and science understanding. This approach offers a powerful, supportive approach as preschool children transition to kindergarten.

What will this new approach look like?

Family Conversation 
The first component, the Family Conversation, takes place at the start of each school year, allowing kindergarten teachers to connect one-on-one with families. Instead of a survey, educators use guided questions to foster meaningful dialogue about a child’s strengths, experiences and learning needs. Families in pilot programs preferred this conversational approach. 

Goals of the Family Conversation (Aligned with NAEYC Principles): 
  • Build two-way connections between families and educators 
  • Help educators understand each child’s experiences before kindergarten 
  • ​Create space for families to share their knowledge, skills, and questions 
Future collaboration with early learning and culturally specific partners will shape additional responsive components. 

How is the state including community voice in this redesign?
The Early Learning Transition Check-In prioritizes family and community input while implementing anti-racist assessment practices. 

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) are working to ensure the redesigned tool is respectful, accessible, and meaningful for all families—especially those historically marginalized. An advisory panel of early educators, kindergarten teachers, system partners, and researchers is guiding the redesign. 

Community Engagement & Feedback 
  • Family & Educator Feedback Sessions (led by Oregon’s Kitchen Table) shaped improvements to the process and questions. Sessions included in-person and virtual options, with multilingual facilitation, food, and childcare. 
  • Twelve Community Engagement Opportunities  (February 2024) gathered input from early learning and culturally specific groups to ensure the system meet needs of diverse communities. 

How will educators use the information from the Family Conversation?

​Educators can use this information to build strong relationships with each child and their family, fostering a supportive and inclusive classroom. It can inform classroom management, curriculum, and instructional approaches to honor each student's strengths and needs. Additionally, educators can connect families with valuable resources to support their child’s success. 

How will the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) use information collected during the Family Conversation?

ODE and DELC will use the information to better understand families’ strengths, experiences and needs. They will also inform the state’s education programs, policies, and funding. The information may also be used to answer these research questions: 

  • What early learning supports, services, and systems do families of entering kindergarteners in Oregon value?  
  1. Who’s  accessing which systems?  
  2. How have these systems impacted families and children?  
  3. Which systems are not available or accessible to which families?  
  4. What are the reasons that certain systems are not available or accessible to certain families?  
  • ​What are the strengths, experiences, and needs for entering kindergarteners?  

​When will all Oregon schools be required to hold the Family Conversation?

The specific year for its implementation is still under consideration. Legislative support is being considered to fund data collection and reporting. Feedback from school districts taking part in pilots have highlighted the importance of allowing more time for thorough planning, communication, and implementation. Planning and coordinating school calendars, training staff promptly, and communicating with parents/caregivers require months of work. The goal is to equip schools with the information and recommended tools to facilitate a smooth start. As with any shift in procedures, there will need to be both thoughtful and intentional planning involved.

Will all entering kindergarten families eventually be required to take part in the Family Conversation?

All kindergarten programs will eventually be required to offer families the opportunity to participate in the Family Conversation. At the start of the kindergarten year, families can choose how they would like to engage in a way that feels most comfortable to them. The primary goal of the Family Conversation is to foster relationships between families and educators while exchanging valuable information. Additionally, it serves as a data collection process, in which participation remains optional, giving families multiple choices in how they share information.

  1. Families/caregivers can fully participate and choose to share information with educators and entered into a data collection form part. 
  2. Families can meet with educators and decline sharing parts or all the information with the state. 
  3. Families could choose to decline to meet with the educator.

​How will families learn about the pilot and their school’s participation?

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) will provide participating schools with sample invitations and letters. They will send these to families. Schools may also customize these templates for their community. They can use the templates for any transition into kindergarten activity. ODE and the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) are also working with early learning and care partners. Their goal is to increase awareness and promote the Early Learning Transition Check-In to Oregon’s families and communities. Districts and schools should start talking to families about Family Conversation in early spring, during the transition into kindergarten events. The Family Conversation takes place at the beginning of the school year. It is important to communicate early and often. 

Will these templates be available in languages other than English?

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) will provide the Family Conversation One Pager in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Chuukese, English, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukranian and Vietnamese. Sample invitations and letters for families will not be translated. School districts are encouraged to use parent- teacher conference protocol with materials inviting parents to the Family Conversation. Consistent and varied communication methods shared by multiple school staff members is highly recommended. 

​How long should districts plan to meet with each family?

Pilot schools report that the formal portion of the Family Conversation lasts 15-20 minutes. Scheduling 30 minutes per family allows time to build rapport, tour the classroom, and answer questions. When interpretation is needed, additional time should be planned to ensure full participation. Since these conversations occur at the start of the school year, scheduling and language support should be arranged in advance. 

Who should lead the Family Conversation?

​The child's kindergarten teacher should lead the Family Conversation to foster a strong educator-family relationship. If interpretation is needed, a support person should attend. Other staff may join, but the primary goal is for the teacher to connect with the family and child.  

Will the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) be providing interpreters and translation services?

No. School districts should use the interpretation and translation process that they would normally use during conversations with families who need translations. This helps ensure all parent(s)/caregiver(s) can engage.

Furthermore, ODE’s Title III/Multilingual Learning Education Specialist provided additional clarity to this question which was pulled from the Office for Civil Rights (ED) and The Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Title VI prohibits recipients of Federal financial assistance, including SEAs and school districts, from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.10 Title VI’s prohibition on national origin discrimination requires SEAs and school districts to take “affirmative steps” to address language barriers so that EL students and families may participate meaningfully in schools’ educational
  • LEAs have an obligation to communicate meaningfully with limited English proficient (LEP) parents and to notify LEP parents adequately of information about any program, service, or activity called to the attention of the linguistically-diverse parents
    • At the school and district levels, this might include: language assistance programs, special education and related services, IEP meetings, grievance procedures, notices of nondiscrimination, student discipline policies and procedures, registration and enrollment, report cards, requests for parent permission for student participation in district or school activities, parent-teacher conferences, parent handbooks, gifted and talented programs, magnet and charter schools, and any other school and program choice options
  •  LEAs must have a process to identify linguistically-diverse parents (or LEP parents) who might need interpretation/translation services and provide them with free and effective language assistance
  • LEAs must ensure they offer appropriate and competent translators who have proficiency in target language, including: ease of written and oral expression, knowledge of specialized terms or concerns as well as training in the ethics of interpreting and translating

Title I of the ESEA, as amended by ESSA, now requires LEAs to conduct effective outreach to parents of ELs, including regular meetings [see Section 1112(e)(3)(c)]

The provisions related to translation and interpretation for linguistically-diverse families and students outlined below are considered ‘baseline’ civil rights obligations that districts/schools must meet regardless of whether they receive Title III funding or not. Title III funding is rather narrow in that it applies to students who qualify for English Language services, but the assumption is that Title III exists to build upon the basic civil rights provisions outlined below. These civil rights provisions are required regardless of whether a district receives Title III funding or not.

Can schools use portions of the previous Oregon Kindergarten Assessment or other screening tools during the Family Conversation? 

​No. The reimagined tool focuses on building meaningful relationships between families and educators. Based on community and educator feedback, academic assessments are more appropriate after the educator and child have established a connection. The Family Conversation is meant to foster relationships, not to conduct assessments or screenings. These should be administered later to gather instructional insights once trust has been built. 

Does the Family Conversation need to be held in person?

Whenever possible, hold the Family Conversation in person to foster strong relationships between families and educators. If an in-person meeting isn’t feasible, schools can offer a remote meeting or phone call to ensure accessibility. To honor the interactive and relationship-building nature of the Family Conversation, schools should avoid using surveys for families to complete and return. Virtual schools should follow their established family engagement processes, prioritizing in-person conversations when possible to create meaningful connections. 

May schools use Title I-A funds with the Family Conversation pilot?

Yes, this could be an allowable use of Title I-A funds. The caveats would include:

  • Is the Title I-A funded school implementing a school-wide program?
  • Is the activity identified in the school’s needs assessment?

Our district is interested in participating in the pilot. We do not currently have dedicated time set aside to implement the Family Conversation. What should we do now?

  • Brainstorm links to existing initiatives that already exist in the school district around family engagement and kindergarten transitions.
  • Engage with district leaders about adjustments to calendars to accommodate the Family Conversation.
  • Email prekcheckin@ode.oregon.gov They can share future training materials, opportunities, and offer support. 

We are a large district and would like to implement the Family Conversation. Is it possible to start with a few schools or classrooms in the first year and add as we refine our systems in subsequent years?

Yes. Three large school districts took part in the pilots. All started implementing the Family Conversation with a few schools. School districts would need to be very clear to all partners: families, early learning partners, district, and school staff about their implementation plan. Some pilot districts and their families reported confusion about the schedule if it differed from other schools within the same district.

How did districts accommodate the Family Conversation with existing funds?

Two helpful OARs to start with are. OAR 581-022-0102(30), which covers instructional time, and OAR 581-022-2320(6), which outlines how school boards can support this work. Sample schedules are also available and can be tailored to fit district needs. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) suggest connecting with local districts that have participated in pilots. For more information, email prekcheckin@ode.oregon.gov​

Our district already holds home visits with families. Can we continue or will the Family Conversation take its place?

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) recognize that districts have existing opportunities to connect with kindergarten families before the beginning of kindergarten, including implementing home visits. We encourage districts to link the Family Conversation with their existing initiatives. This includes home or porch visits that support transitions into kindergarten. Some general questions to consider:

  1. Do the purposes align?
  2. How can the questions from the Family Conversation be used to support the visit?
  3. What are ways to document what families share without circumventing home or porch visit principles?

​Assessment

Interpretive Guidance

Results

These reports show the school, district, and state level results from the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment.

The Look-Back report is an update to the Kindergarten Assessment Results and includes disaggregated student results for three additional student groups: Economically Disadvantaged students, Limited English Proficient students, and Students with Disabilities. Data aggregation is based on Third Period Cumulative ADM Collections (data verified in August of the following year). This report also contains the previously-reported disaggregated data by student gender and ethnicity.

Transitioning into Kindergarten