Table 8.1. State-level assessments required in grades kindergarten through grade 3, by state: 2018

Compiles and disseminates data on state education practice activities

State	Assessments required in kindergarten- grade 3	Type of required assessment in kindergarten-grade 3
United States¹	46

Alabama	—	—
Alaska	Yes	An approved early literacy screening assessment must be administered to students in kindergarten-grade 2 and to students in grade 3 who are experiencing delays in attaining literacy.
Arizona	Yes	Districts must provide universal screenings in prekindergarten and kindergarten-grade 3 to identify students with reading deficiencies.
Arkansas	Yes	Kindergarten-grade 4 assessments must be administered in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.
California	Yes	Assessments are required for grade 3.
Colorado	Yes	Local kindergarten-grade 3 reading assessments are required.
Connecticut	Yes	Kindergarten-grade 3 reading assessments are required to be included in the statewide reading plan.
Delaware	Yes	Districts must assess kindergarten-grade 2 students for progress toward meeting state standards. Grade 3 students are administered accountability and growth assessments in ELA and mathematics.
District of Columbia	Yes	Readiness evaluation must be administered in kindergarten-grade 3 to measure a student’s reading and mathematics readiness for the next grade.
Florida	Yes	The statewide, standardized reading assessment is administered annually in grades 3-10. The statewide, standardized writing assessment is administered annually at least once at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. An ELA assessment is administered to students in grades 3-10. Science assessments are administered annually at least once at the elementary and middle grade levels. Mathematics assessments are administered annually in grades 3-10.
Georgia	Yes	Kindergartners must be assessed using the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS). Students in grades 1-3 must be assessed in reading and mathematics.
Hawaii	—	—
Idaho	Yes	Kindergarten-grade 3 reading assessments are required.
Illinois	Yes	Schools must annually assess students in grade 3 in language arts, mathematics, and science.
Indiana	Yes	The State Department of Education must develop a reading plan to include formative and summative assessments for: students in kindergarten-grade 2 in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension; and students in grade 3 and higher in vocabulary and comprehension; and students in grade 3 in vocabulary and comprehension related to content knowledge.
Iowa	Yes	Districts must assess kindergarten-grade 3 students at the beginning of each school year in reading or reading readiness.
Kansas	Yes	Each school district is required to annually determine a child's mathematics and reading skills and progression using state assessments or other diagnostic assessments that meet state standards for kindergarten-grade 3.
Kentucky	Yes	Every elementary school must provide diagnostic reading assessments.
Louisiana	Yes	Literacy screenings are required for every child enrolled in kindergarten-grade 3.
Maine	Yes	At every grade level, students take a statewide assessment in reading, mathematics, and science.
Maryland	Yes	Reading assessments are administered in grade 3.
Massachusetts	No	†
Michigan	Yes	Assessments in ELA and mathematics must be administered in the fall and spring of each year to students in kindergarten-grade 2. Mathematics and language arts summative assessments are required for grade 3.
Minnesota	Yes	Districts must assess students in reading at the end of kindergarten and grades 1 and 2.
Mississippi	Yes	The State Department of Education must select early literacy and numeracy screening instruments to be used in kindergarten-grade 3. Reading assessments must be administered in the first 30 days of the school year.
Missouri	Yes	Districts are required to administer a reading assessment to students prior to the end of grade 3. The Missouri Board of Education must create a list of recommended reading assessments for kindergarten-grade 3 students.
Montana	Yes	ELA and mathematics assessments must be administered in the spring to grade 3 students.
Nebraska	Yes	Reading and mathematics assessments are required for grade 3 students.
Nevada	Yes	Districts must develop a plan to improve the literacy of pupils in kindergarten-grade 3, which must include procedures for assessing a pupil’s proficiency in reading using valid and reliable assessments approved by the Nevada Board of Education. These assessments must be administered within the first 30 days of school after the pupil enters kindergarten and during grades 1, 2, and 3.
New Hampshire	—	—
New Jersey	Yes	Assessments in mathematics and language arts are required in grade 3.
New Mexico	Yes	Students enrolled in a kindergarten-grade 3 Plus program must be assessed four times during their school year. Students in grade 3 are required to take standards-based assessments in mathematics, reading, and language arts. In one grade between grades 3 and 5 students must take a standards-based assessment in science.
New York	Yes	Districts must administer diagnostic screening of all new students. Statewide ELA and mathematics exams are issued in grade 3.
North Carolina	Yes	Students must be administered a reading assessment in kindergarten, first, second, and third grade. Students in grade 3 must take assessments designed by the state board of education that measure their progress in reading, communication skills, and mathematics.
North Dakota	Yes	Grade 3 students must be administered an assessment in reading and mathematics.
Ohio	Yes	Grade 3 students must take achievement assessments in ELA and mathematics at the end of the school year.
Oklahoma	Yes	State approved reading assessments are administered to students in kindergarten-grade 3 at the beginning and end of each school year.
Oregon	Yes	The Early Success Reading Initiative requires screening and continuous monitoring of student's reading progress from kindergarten-grade 3 with research-based assessments.
Pennsylvania²	No	†
Rhode Island	Yes	All districts that provide elementary education are required to screen children prior to, or upon, their first entry to school to determine their level of educational readiness. Each local education agency shall develop a comprehensive assessment system that includes measures of student performance for the purposes of formative, interim, and summative evaluations of all students in each core content area.
South Carolina	Yes	Districts must administer reading assessments to all prekindergarten-grade 12 students a part of the state reading proficiency plan. The State Board of Education is required to develop and implement formative assessment program that includes the subjects of ELA, mathematics, science, and social studies in grades 3-8.
South Dakota	Yes	Students in grades 3-8 must take a state assessment in ELA and mathematics.
Tennessee	Yes	Assessments in ELA and mathematics are required in grade 3.
Texas	Yes	Districts must administer a state approved reading assessment in kindergarten-grade 2. Statewide reading and mathematics assessment must be administered in grade 3.
Utah	Yes	Statewide benchmark assessments must be administered to students in grades 1, 2, and 3 at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year State standardized assessments in mathematics must also be administered to students in grade 3.
Vermont	Yes	Grade 3 students are assessed on reading proficiency.
Virginia	Yes	Students in kindergarten-grade 3 are required to take the Standards of Reading test or any reading diagnostic test that meets the criteria established by the Department of Education.
Washington	Yes	Grade 2 reading assessments are required.
West Virginia	Yes	Public school students enrolled in grades 3-11 must take the West Virginia general summative assessment or the West Virginia summative assessment in ELA and mathematics.
Wisconsin	Yes	Students in 4-year-old kindergarten through grade 2 must be assessed on their reading readiness. A statewide standardized reading test must be administered to all students in grade 3.
Wyoming	Yes	Students in grades 3-10 must complete a statewide assessment in ELA and mathematics. District must administer a kindergarten-grade 3 reading assessment.

— Not available.
† Not applicable.
¹The total reflects the number of "Yes" responses in the column.
² No specific statewide kindergarten through grade 3 assessments are required in Pennsylvania statute; however, each school entity is charged with designing an assessment system to determine the degree to which students are achieving academic standards and to provide assistance to those students who are not achieving proficiency.
SOURCE: Education Commission of the States, 50-State Comparison: State Kindergarten Through Third Grade Policies, retrieved June 14, 2018 from http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/MBQuest2RTanw?rep=KK3Q1815. Data Source.

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