What is the KEEP? The Keep is a state-designed assessment to be given to students as they enter and exit Kindergarten. The state of Utah requires that this profile be given to every student in Kindergarten. The scores/data obtained from the testing will be used to:
Provide insights into current levels of performance upon entrance and exit of Kindergarten.
Identify students in need of early intervention and promote differentiated instruction for all students.
Analyze effectiveness of programs, such as extended-day kindergarten and preschool.
Provide opportunities for data-informed decision-making and cost-benefit analysis of early learning initiatives.
Understand the influence and impact of full-day kindergarten on at-risk students in both the short- and long-term.
What will my student be expected to do on the Exit Profile? The end-of-year KEEP assessment will be given in 2 settings, and contains reading and math content tasks. Your student's individual assessment appointment should take approximately 20-25 minutes. During the individual setting, students will be asked to:
listen to a story and retell the story using key details from the text
identify beginning, middle, and ending sounds of words
segment words into individual sounds
orally substitute one sound in a word to create a new word (e.g. if I start with "pan" but change the /p/ to /m/, what is the new word? [man])
read 3 letter words following the consonant, short vowel, consonant pattern (both real and nonsense words)
read appropriate-level Kindergarten passages and tell what the passage was about
count forward beginning with numbers other than one (e.g. Please count starting at 34.)
count objects and write the number of objects counted
identify and compare numerals (greater, less than, equal to)
decompose numbers (I can divide 7 into 2+5, 1+6, 4+3, etc.) - for full marks, student should demonstrate the composition AND write the addition sentence.
decompose teen numbers into groups of tens and ones (13=10+3) - to be awarded all possible points, student should draw the composition using a ten frame AND write the addition sentence
solve addition and subtraction story problems using manipulatives
The small group setting will take place during class time. Dividers will be provided so students can not see each other's work. During the small group setting, students will be asked to:
spell 3 letter words following the consonant, short vowel, consonant pattern
listen to explanatory text and write/draw about what was learned
Can I opt out of testing, or excuse my child from the Exit Profile? No, the state of Utah requires me to submit end of year assessment data for each child in my class. Every Kindergarten teacher under the Utah Board of Education is required to administer this test to each student (that includes all public and charter schools).
Will my student need to retake Kindergarten if he/she does poorly on the Exit Profile? Every child will have the opportunity to move on to first grade. The KEEP assessment is NOT designed as a qualification test. Granite School District policy dictates that students advance through school with children their own age. Also, we have been informed that long-term studies generally do not show much benefit from students repeating a year of school. We typically only retain students if it is their parents' preference.