Purpose |
This report provides information on Texas public school prekindergarten (PK) student assessment results. It includes only four-year- |
old prekindergarten students as of September 1, and therefore counts may not match counts on other reports that include |
prekindergarten students of all ages. The focus of this report is students who were administered the same assessment(s) beginning- |
of-year (BOY) and end-of-year (EOY) for the same subject(s) at the same school in the same school year. Prekindergarten |
assessment results are shown by assessment subject area for all students administered at least one assessment as well as |
students administered assessments in all subject areas. Prekindergarten assessment results are shown for students by |
race/ethnicity, economically disadvantaged, Emergent Bilingual (EB)/English learner (EL), and other student subpopulations. This |
report is available at the state level and by individual school districts. The data download for this report includes the data in this report |
and data for all students who took an assessment either BOY or EOY or both BOY and EOY. |
Data in this report for Texas public school prekindergarten assessments come from the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Public |
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) and from the TEA's Early Childhood Data System (ECDS). ECDS includes data |
for two public prekindergarten assessment periods: beginning-of-year (BOY) and end-of-year (EOY). In this report, Texas public |
school prekindergarten students include only four-year-old prekindergarten students who were reported in ECDS and PEIMS student |
attendance demographic data each school year. For school year 2017-18, CIRCLE LS and CIRCLE CLI Emergent Literacy Writing |
(ELW) assessments are not included in this report because benchmarks were unavailable for assessing BOY proficiency. This |
resulted in approximately 114,000 students excluded from assessment and proficiency counts for the 'ELW' subject area. To protect |
student confidentiality, small data numbers in this report are masked, i.e., shown as asterisks (*) in data tables and graphed as |
zeros in charts, but not all zeros in charts represent masked data. Data in this report are updated annually. |
For more information about prekindergarten, see the TEA website at: |
About the Data |
Data Source |
Authority for this report comes from the Texas Education Code Sec. 29.1543 for Early Education Reports as follows: The agency |
shall produce and make available to the public on the agency's Internet website annual district and campus-level reports containing |
information from the previous school year on early education in school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. A report under |
this section must contain: |
(4) the number of students whose scores from a diagnostic reading instrument administered in accordance with Section 28.006(c) or |
(c-2) indicate reading proficiency; |
Data Elements |
Assessed Students |
Four-year-old Texas public prekindergarten students administered an assessment on the Texas Education Agency Commissioner’s |
List of Approved Prekindergarten Assessment Instruments. For more information about the Commissioner’s List of Approved |
Prekindergarten Assessment Instruments, see the TEA website at: |
Although the Early Childhood Education program area allows both 'Raw score' and 'Percentile' assessment reporting methods to be |
reported in the ECDS PK submission, the 'Lowest Proficiency Score' range is based on a 'Raw score' scoring method. Hence, only |
student assessment records using the 'Raw score' scoring method are included in this report. |
Assessment Method |
Assessment Subject |
(Subject) |
The five primary domains of development that may be assessed using the assessment instruments on the Texas Education Agency |
Commissioner's list: 1. Emergent Literacy (Reading) 2. Emergent Literacy (Writing) 3. Language and Communication (Lang. & |
Comm.) 4. Health and Wellness (Health & Wellness) 5. Mathematics (Math). |
ECDS |
The Texas Education Agency's Early Childhood Data System (ECDS). ECDS includes assessment data for two Texas public |
prekindergarten assessment periods: beginning-of-year (BOY) and end-of-year (EOY). |
Assessment Period |
Timeframe in which Texas public prekindergarten students are administered assessments. Assessment periods are beginning-of- |
year (BOY) and end-of-year (EOY). Students can be assessed at the BOY, or EOY or both BOY and EOY. |
Emergent Bilingual (EB)/English learner (EL) refers to students who have limited English language skills. A student is identified as |
EL by the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) according to criteria established in the Texas Administrative Code. |
Emergent Bilingual (EB)/ |
English learner (EL) |
If the student is eligible for prekindergarten because the student is homeless, the student must fit the definition of homeless as |
defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302 or 42 U.S.C. Section 11434(a). The term “homeless child,” as used in the prekindergarten |
statute, TEC, §29.153(b)(3), is defined by 42 USC, §11434a. The definition of “homeless,” “homeless individual,” and “homeless |
person” in 42 USC, §11302, is similar, but not identical, to the definition of “homeless children and youths” in 42 USC, §11434a. As |
the general admission provision in the TEC, §25.001(b) (5), references the homeless definition in 42 USC, §11302, the TEA advises |
school districts to apply 42 USC, §11434a, and 42 USC, §11302, when determining whether a prekindergarten student is eligible for |
enrollment. For definitions, see entry for “Homeless Students” in the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook. |
Homeless |
Students who are in or who have ever been in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services |
(DFPS) (i.e., in foster care) following an adversary hearing are eligible for free prekindergarten. These students include not only |
students who are in or who have ever been in DFPS conservatorship but also students who have been adopted or returned to their |
parents after having been in DFPS conservatorship. |
Foster Care |
A student is designated as economically disadvantaged if he/she is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or eligible for other public |
assistance as defined in the TEA’s Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data Standards. |
Economically |
Disadvantaged |
A public school district is required to offer a prekindergarten program if it identifies 15 or more eligible students who are at least four |
years of age by September 1 of the school year. A school district may offer prekindergarten if the district identifies 15 or more |
eligible children who are at least three years of age. To be eligible to attend a state funded prekindergarten program, the child must |
meet one of the following criteria. |
Prekindergarten Eligibility: |
· is unable to speak and comprehend the English language; |
· is educationally disadvantaged; |
· is homeless; |
· is the child of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States; |
· is the child of a member of the armed forces who was injured or killed while on active duty; |
· is the child of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award as a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical first |
responder; or |
· is or ever has been in foster care. |
A school district may offer a tuition-based program for an additional half day of prekindergarten classes to those children who are |
eligible for free prekindergarten classes or half-day and full-day prekindergarten classes to children who are ineligible for free |
prekindergarten classes. |
A student is eligible for prekindergarten if the student is the child of an active duty, injured or killed member of the armed forces of |
the United States, including the state military forces or a reserved component of the armed forces. |
Military Child |
Prekindergarten (PK) |
Merged Academic |
Subject |
Commissioner-approved assessments that address one or more academic subjects with a single score (merged score). In this report, |
merged scores are not included in assessed and proficient counts for ‘Emergent Literacy Reading’, ‘Emergent Literacy Writing’ and |
‘Language and Communication’. For school year 2017-18, there are two merged scores: 1. ‘Emergent Literacy Reading’ and |
‘Emergent Literacy Writing’ (Merged ELR and ELW) and 2. ‘Emergent Literacy Reading’, ‘Emergent Literacy Writing’ and 'Language |
and Communication' (Merged ELR, ELW and L&C). Merged scores by race/ethnicity and student programs are displayed in separate |
tables following data tables for assessment subjects. |
Special Education |
Special education is a program that serves students with disabilities. It provides instructional and related services for eligible |
students with cognitive, physical, and/or emotional disabilities. |
Race/ethnicity is one of the demographic characteristics reported for each student at the time of enrollment. The categories used in |
this report are described in the PEIMS Data Standards as: |
· Black or African American - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. |
· Asian - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, |
including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and |
Vietnam. |
· Hispanic/Latino - A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, |
regardless of race. |
· American Indian or Alaska Native - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America |
(including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment. |
· White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. |
· Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or |
other Pacific Islands. |
· Two or more races - A person having origins in any two, or more than two, non-Hispanic racial categories, e.g., Black or |
African American and White. |
Race/Ethnicity |
Calculated Data Elements |
Assessed EOY |
Assessed BOY and |
EOY |
Assessed BOY |
Texas public prekindergarten students administered an assessment on the Commissioner’s List of Approved Prekindergarten |
Assessment Instruments at the end-of-year assessment (EOY) period. In this report, students assessed EOY consist of those |
students taking an assessment on the Commissioner’s list having a score range and benchmarks for assessing EOY proficiency. |
Assessed EOY students have a raw score that falls within the score range for a specific assessment and subject. |
Texas public prekindergarten students administered the same assessment(s), on the Commissioner’s List of Approved |
Prekindergarten Assessment Instruments, beginning-of-year and end-of-year for the same subject(s) at the same school in the |
same school year. |
Texas public prekindergarten students administered an assessment on the Commissioner’s List of Approved Prekindergarten |
Assessment Instruments at the beginning-of-year (BOY) assessment period. In this report, students assessed BOY consist of those |
students taking an assessment on the Commissioner’s list having a score range and benchmarks for assessing BOY proficiency. |
Assessed BOY students have a raw score that falls within the score range for a specific assessment and subject. |
Proficiency Percentage Point Difference is the difference between the BOY and EOY proficiency percentages for students who were |
assessed both BOY and EOY. It is calculated as percent proficient EOY minus the percent proficient BOY; both percentages are |
rounded to the nearest integer before subtraction. |
Proficiency Percentage |
Point Difference |
The number of four-year-old Texas public prekindergarten students administered an assessment on the Commissioner’s List of |
Approved Prekindergarten Assessment Instruments who have a result raw score within the score range for that assessment and a |
specific subject. In this report, number assessed is shown for students who were assessed both BOY and EOY and assessed in a |
specific subject or assessed in all subject areas. |
Number Assessed |
Percentage Assessed |
Number Proficient |
The percentage of four-year-old Texas public prekindergarten students reported in ECDS who were assessed. In this report, |
percentage assessed is shown for students who were assessed both BOY and EOY and assessed in a specific subject or assessed |
in all subject areas. |
The number of assessed students who have a raw score that falls within the accepted score range for a specific assessment and |
subject and meets or exceeds a predefined benchmark score for that subject and assessment. For students assessed in all subjects, |
number proficient is the count of students proficient in all subject areas. In this report, number proficient is shown for students who |
were assessed both BOY and EOY and assessed in a specific subject or assessed in all subject areas. |
The percentage of assessed students who were proficient in a specific subject or proficient in all subjects. |
Percentage Proficient |