Washington Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS)

  • 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 kindergartners 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 help inform state and district-level decisions about education policy and investments, and classroom decisions about individualized learning.
     
    WaKIDS is comprised of three components:
    1. Family connection welcomes families into the Washington K-12 system as partners in their child's education.
    2. 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.)
    3. Early learning collaboration aligns practices of early learning professional 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.