State tweaking testing of VPK students

State school officials want to see how kindergarten students can sound out words and will add it to this year's kindergarten screening test.

The Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener is given to kindergarten students during the first 30 days of the school year. This year, the Florida Department of Education is changing the reading assessments on the test.

The test is not only important in determining a child's readiness for school but is a factor in determining Voluntary Prekindergarten scores. In the same way school grades influence parent choices in public schools, VPK scores influence choices in preschools.

Students have been tested on two components in reading: letter recognition and initial sound. Under the new test, which will be administered in the first 30 days of the school year, students will be tested on letter recognition and phonemic word blend.

"That simply means testing a child on whether they recognize how letter combinations sound when they create a word," said Lisa Bellock, kindergarten supervisor for the Hillsborough County school district.

The new assessment is more in line with VPK standards, according to state Department of Education officials. Bellock said the state tries to create a test that measures readiness without becoming as time-consuming as other standardized tests. The screening sets the benchmark for students entering kindergarten.

"The burden is on the public schools to test all these students even if the child attended VPK but then went on to a private school," she said.

VPK is the publicly funded state program that allows 4-year-olds to attend preschool for free.

The state is constantly reviewing and refining VPK assessments, said Kelsey Lehtomaa, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education.

"This is the fourth year of calculating these rates, but we have purposely written the procedures via the rule for only one year so that we get public/provider input and continue to raise the awareness of these details in the private preschool sector," Lehtomaa said.

The state is holding a series of public workshops to hear from parents on the assessment changes. The meeting for the Tampa Bay region will take place Sept. 16 at Coordinated Child Care of Pinellas, 10601 Belcher Road South in Largo.