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Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS)
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Family Information and Resources
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What is WaKIDS?
Each child develops at his or her own pace and will have different levels of skills upon entering kindergarten. The whole-child assessment, WaKIDS GOLD™, provides a snapshot of where Washington’s kindergarteners are in their development early in the school year. WaKIDS GOLD™ measures student knowledge, skills, and behaviors that have shown to predict future school success. This customized version of GOLD™ includes six areas of development and learning: social and emotional, physical, language, and cognitive development; literacy and mathematics. The data gathered from the assessment helps inform state and district-level decisions about education policy and investments, and classroom decisions about individualized learning.
WaKIDS is comprised of three components:- Family connection welcomes families into the Washington K-12 system as partners in their child's education.
- Whole-child assessment helps kindergarten teachers learn about the skills and strengths of the children in their classrooms so they can meet the needs of each child. (This is reflected in the charts below.)
- Early learning collaboration aligns practices of early learning professionals and kindergarten teachers to support smooth transitions for children.
Who takes WaKIDS?
WaKIDS is legislatively mandated to be part of state-funded, full-day kindergarten (RCW 28A.150.315 and RCW 28A.655.080).
When is WaKIDS administered?
September and October of each school year.
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Family Resources
For more information from the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction including:
- Family connection - Discussion of meetings that build the relationship between teacher and families.
- Whole Child Assessment - How teachers learn about the student's kindergarten entrance skills.
- Characteristics of Children Entering Kindergarten - Attributes commonly found in entering kindergartners.
- List of GOLD objectives - Objectives assessed by WaKIDS for development and learning.
- Early Learning Collaboration - How the data turns into a plan for student success.
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Who to Contact?
Anne Arnold, Director, P-3/Early Learning
Early Childhood Education 425-385-4024
ECEAP/Early Learning 425-385-4068
