Vocabulary
Assesses students’ understanding of word meanings and their ability to identify or name pictured objects.
Circle Kindergarten Progress Monitoring (KPM)
Circle KPM provides multiple implementation options to school districts and charter schools in English and Spanish. The KPM User Guide provides information for these implementation options:
- Three-wave progress monitoring tool (BOY, MOY, EOY)
- One-time kindergarten entry assessment (BOY)
- One-time literacy screener (BOY)
- Dyslexia Screener (EOY)
Circle KPM Overview
Circle Kindergarten Progress Monitoring (KPM) covers multiple child development domains to provide a holistic understanding of each student and better informs kindergarten teachers about the children in their classes, helping them to design differentiated instruction to meet students’ needs and share information with families.
KPM was originally developed through a collaborative effort between the US Department of Education, the Texas Education Agency, and the Children’s Learning Institute (CLI) at UTHealth Houston to develop and validate a kindergarten entry assessment that can be reliably administered by kindergarten teachers in Texas at the beginning of the school year. KPM originally launched in August 2017 under the name Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment (TX-KEA) and was later expanded by CLI to include additional administration waves. The original TX-KEA measures remain part of KPM’s beginning-of-year (BOY) assessment. Learn more about the research project to develop TX-KEA, now known as KPM on CLI’s website.
KPM Progress Monitoring Domains & Measures
The following cards show the measures available in English and Spanish. Unless otherwise noted, measures are available at all three waves (BOY, MOY, and EOY). Refer to the KPM Toolkit for additional information about the measures and administration.
KPM Measures
Listening Comprehension
Measures students’ understanding of spoken language through listening tasks.
Letter Names
Assesses a student’s ability to accurately identify uppercase and lowercase letters.
Letter Sounds
Measures a student’s understanding of letter-sound relationships, including both receptive and expressive skills.
Decoding
Measures a student’s ability to apply letter-sound knowledge to read unfamiliar words.
Blending
Assesses a student’s ability to combine individual sounds to form words through both receptive and expressive tasks.
Spelling
Assesses a student’s ability to represent spoken sounds using written letters.
Math
Assesses students’ understanding of numbers, counting, patterns, and related mathematical concepts.
Science
Assesses students’ understanding of scientific concepts and their ability to observe and reason about the world around them.
Social and Emotional Competence
Evaluates students’ pro-social skills, approaches to learning, and emotion understanding.
Emotion Management
Assesses students’ ability to manage their emotions and respond appropriately to an emotional experience. (BOY only)
Working Memory
Assesses a student’s ability to hold and recall information and use it to respond. (BOY only)
Inhibition
Assesses a student’s ability to control impulsive responses and respond appropriately. (BOY only)
Attention
Assesses a student’s ability to focus, sustain attention, and respond accurately. (BOY only)
Academic Motor Skills
Assesses fine and visual motor development through classroom and daily tasks. (BOY only)
To Access This Resource
Circle Kindergarten Progress Monitoring (KPM) requires eligibility. Find out if you are eligible, and then follow instructions after clicking Sign Up at the top right.
Related Resources
Learn more about the assessment, training, administration, and instructional planning in our toolkit!
