Explore the kindergarten TX-KEA measures below to learn more about their alignment to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment
Implementation Guide
Teachers, Principals/Directors, School Specialists, District/Community Administrators
This section measures the student’s knowledge of the names associated with various letters of the alphabet through teacher-recorded responses for English and student-selected responses for Spanish.
The teacher will read the prompt on the screen and the student will say the name of the letter.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking — beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to:
(D) demonstrate print awareness by:
(v) identifying all uppercase and lowercase letters
The Letter Sounds sub-measure assesses a student’s ability to identify sounds associated with individual letters. There are two letter sound sub-measures that assess students’ knowledge of letter sounds—Letter Sounds Receptive and Letter Sounds Expressive.
In the Letter Sounds-Receptive sub-measure, a letter’s sound is given, and the student determines the corresponding printed letter. In the Letter Sounds-Expressive sub-measure, a letter is shown on the screen and the student gives the corresponding sound.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking — beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to:
(B) demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by:
(i) identifying and matching the common sounds that letters represent
This section measures the student’s ability to identify the blended or combined sounds that make a word through student-selected responses. There are two blending sounds sub-measures to assess students’ phonological awareness or sensitivity to the sound structure of oral language – Blending-Receptive and Blending-Expressive.
In the Blending-Receptive sub-measure, the student listens to a series of sounds and is asked to point to the image of the blended word. In the Blending-Expressive sub-measure, the student will listen to some sounds to determine what word they make. The student will say the complete word back to the teacher.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking — beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate phonological awareness by:
(v) blending syllables to form multisyllabic words;
(vi) segmenting multisyllabic words into syllables;
(vii) blending spoken onsets and rimes to form simple words;
(viii) blending spoken phonemes to form one-syllable words;
(ix) manipulating syllables within a multisyllabic word; and
(x) segmenting spoken one-syllable words into individual phonemes;
(x) segmenting spoken one-syllable words into individual phonemes
This section measures the student’s ability to decode non-high frequency words.
The teacher shows the student the words, and the student tries to read the words.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking — beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to:
(B) demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by:
(ii) using letter-sound relationships to decode, including VC, CVC, CCVC, and CVCC words
The Spelling sub-measure assesses students’ early spelling abilities, which is the ability to use sound-symbol relationships to write words.
Students provide written responses to spelling words. This is a test of orthographic knowledge, so childlike handwriting is acceptable.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking — beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to:
(C) demonstrate and apply spelling knowledge by:
(i) spelling words with VC, CVC, and CCVC;
(ii) spelling words using sound-spelling patterns; and (iii) spelling high-frequency words from a research-based list;
(E) develop handwriting by accurately forming all uppercase and lowercase letters using appropriate directionality
The Vocabulary Naming sub-measure gains insight into a student’s expressive vocabulary skills.
The teacher will read the prompt on the screen and the student will say the name of the image.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(3) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking –vocabulary. The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively. The student is expected to:
(C) identify and use words that name actions; directions; positions; sequences; categories such as colors, shapes, and textures; and locations
The Listening Comprehension measures the student’s ability to understand verbal information and follow directions through student-selected responses.
The student listens to the entire prompt and selects the picture(s) that best illustrates the sentence they just heard. Items are a combination of single-select (one answer) and multiple-select (more than one answer).
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(1) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking — oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion. The student is expected to:
(A) listen actively and ask questions to understand information and answer questions using multi-word responses;
(B) restate and follow oral directions that involve a short, related sequence of actions;
(C) share information and ideas by speaking audibly and clearly using the conventions of language
Math Part 1 measures the student’s knowledge of math skills related to numbers and counting, operations, patterning, and math in the real world. The student should respond to the recorded questions and the teacher will score the response.
Math Part 2 measures the student’s knowledge in number recognition, patterns, and operations. The student selects the best response, and the computer scores the response.
K TEKS Alignment
§111.2. Mathematics, Kindergarten
(2) Number and operations. The student applies mathematical process standards to understand how to represent and compare whole numbers, the relative position and magnitude of whole numbers, and relationships within the numeration system. The student is expected to:
(A) count forward and backward to at least 20 with and without objects;
(B) read, write, and represent whole numbers from 0 to at least20 with and without objects or pictures;
(C) count a set of objects up to at least 20 and demonstrate that the last number said tells the number of objects in the set regardless of their arrangement or order;
(3) Number and operations. The student applies mathematical process standards to develop an understanding of addition and subtraction situations in order to solve problems.
(5) Algebraic reasoning. The student applies mathematical process standards to identify the pattern in the number word list. The student is expected to recite numbers up to at least 100 by ones and tens beginning with any given number.
(6) Geometry and measurement. The student applies mathematical process standards to analyze attributes of two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional solids to develop generalizations about their properties.
The student is expected to:
(A) identify two-dimensional shapes, including circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares as special rectangles;
(B) identify three-dimensional solids, including cylinders, cones, spheres, and cubes, in the real world;
(D) identify attributes of two-dimensional shapes using informal and formal geometric language interchangeably
This section measures the student’s general knowledge of physical, life, and earth and space sciences as well as engineering applications of science.
The computer provides the verbal prompt and the student will select the picture that best answers the question.
K TEKS Alignment
§112.11. Science, Kindergarten
(4) Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses age-appropriate tools and models to investigate the natural world. The student is expected to:
(A) collect information using tools, including computing devices, hand lenses, primary balances, cups, bowls, magnets, collecting nets, and notebooks; timing devices; non-standard measuring items; weather instruments such as demonstration thermometers; and materials to support observations of habitats of organisms such as terrariums and aquariums; and
(5) Matter and energy. The student knows that objects have properties and patterns. The student is expected to:
(B) observe, record, and discuss how materials can be changed by heating or cooling.
(6) Force, motion, and energy. The student knows that energy, force, and motion are related and are a part of their everyday life. The student is expected to:
(D) observe and describe the ways that objects can move such as in a straight line, zigzag, up and down, back and forth, round and round, and fast and slow.
(9) Organisms and environments. The student knows that plants and animals have basic needs and depend on the living and nonliving things around them for survival. The student is expected to:
(A) differentiate between living and nonliving things based upon whether they have basic needs and produce offspring; and
(10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. The student is expected to:
(A) sort plants and animals into groups based on physical characteristics such as color, size, body covering, or leaf shape.
§111.2. Mathematics, Kindergarten
(7) Geometry and measurement. The student applies mathematical process standards to directly compare measurable attributes. The student is expected to:
(A) give an example of a measurable attribute of a given object, including length, capacity, and weight; and
(B) compare two objects with a common measurable attribute to see which object has more of/less of the attribute and describe the difference.
Social and Emotional Competence focuses on students’ social and emotional skills within a classroom setting. It evaluates students’ pro-social skills, approaches to learning, and emotion understanding.
Students are assessed using a checklist, which is completed by observing students interacting with others. Teachers will record whether the student’s behavior occurs rarely, sometimes, or consistently.
K TEKS Alignment
Competency 1: Self-Awareness
Goal I: Develop self-awareness skills to have knowledge of one’s emotions, to develop an accurate and positive self-concept, and to recognize individual strengths and external support systems
Objective A: Student demonstrates an awareness of own emotions
Objective C: Student demonstrates awareness of external supports
Competency 2: Self-Management Goal II: Develop and demonstrate self-management skills and resiliency to regulate emotions and to monitor and achieve behaviors related to school and life success
Objective A: Student demonstrates ability to manage emotions constructively
SEL Standards and CASEL Competencies Goals & Objectives
Emotion Management focuses on students’ ability to manage their emotions and respond appropriately to an emotional experience. They are evaluated on whether they can adapt to the demands of a classroom and school environment.
Students are assessed using a checklist, which is completed by observing students interacting with others. Teachers will record whether the student’s behavior occurs rarely, sometimes, or consistently.
K TEKS Alignment
Competency 1: Self-Awareness
Goal I: Develop self-awareness skills to have knowledge of one’s emotions, to develop an accurate and positive self-concept, and to recognize individual strengths and external support systems
Objective A: Student demonstrates an awareness of own emotions
Competency 2: Self-Management
Goal II: Develop and demonstrate self-management skills and resiliency to regulate emotions and to monitor and achieve behaviors related to school and life success
Objective A: Student demonstrates ability to manage emotions constructively
SEL Standards and CASEL Competencies Goals & Objectives
This section measures the student’s ability to hold in memory 1 – 3 pieces of information in an increasingly complex setting through student-selected responses.
K TEKS Alignment
Competency 1: Self-Awareness
Goal I: Develop self-awareness skills to have knowledge of one’s emotions, to develop an accurate and positive self-concept, and to recognize individual strengths and external support systems
Objective A: Student demonstrates an awareness of own emotions
Objective D: Student has a sense of personal responsibility
SEL Standards and CASEL Competencies Goals & Objectives
This section measures the student’s ability to focus attention, stay on task, as well as quickly and accurately focus on relevant features of the task through student-selected responses.
K TEKS Alignment
Competency 1: Self-Awareness
Goal I: Develop self-awareness skills to have knowledge of one’s emotions, to develop an accurate and positive self-concept, and to recognize individual strengths and external support systems
Objective D: Student has a sense of personal responsibility
SEL Standards and CASEL Competencies Goals & Objectives
This section measures the student’s ability to restrict their impulse to click an image through student-selected responses. Students are asked to respond accurately to a specific stimulus (e.g., butterfly), and withhold, or inhibit, a response to a different stimulus (e.g., bee).
K TEKS Alignment
Competency 4: Self-Management
The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations – effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
SEL Standards and CASEL Competencies Goals & Objectives
Academic Motor Skills include items that evaluate many of the motor skills required for successful completion of school activities. Students are assessed using a checklist, which is completed by observing motor behaviors. Teachers will record whether the student’s behavior is typical for their age, delayed, or if the teacher has not observed the behavior.
K TEKS Alignment
§110.2 English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten
(2) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking — beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell. The student is expected to:
(E) develop handwriting by accurately forming all uppercase and lowercase letters using appropriate directionality.
(17) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to:
(A) form upper- and lower-case letters legibly using the basic conventions of print (left-to-right and top-to-bottom progression)
This document was last modified on: August 12, 2024