Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot

Why Kindergarten Readiness?

The first five years of a child’s life are an incredible opportunity to set a positive direction. Strong relationships between families and teachers lay the foundation for a successful school year. In Kansas, all elementary schools must partner with families to complete the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot. Collecting information about each child’s development prepares schools, families and children for kindergarten.

What is the Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot?

The Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3) and the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ: SE-2) provide a snapshot of children’s developmental milestones. As caregivers know their children best, they complete both questionnaires.

The ASQ-3 addresses five developmental areas: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving and personal-social. The ASQ: SE-2 addresses seven social-emotional areas: self-regulation, compliance, communication, adaptive behaviors, autonomy, affect and interaction with people.

Visit agesandstages.com/ks for frequently asked questions, quick reference guides, online training modules and “how-to” videos describing how to implement the ASQ.

How Can ASQ Data Be Used?

All children are ready to enter kindergarten when they meet the age requirement – 5 years old on or before Aug. 31 of their kindergarten year. Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot data helps teachers build relationships with families and ensure their kindergarten classrooms are ready to support the social, emotional and academic success of each student. Data can be used to help schools:

• Design environment and instruction to meet the needs of incoming kindergartners.
• Support aligned teaching practice and program planning.

If families and schools determine that screening is inappropriate for a particular child, if families choose to opt out, or if a child is older than the ASQ age cutoff (77 months and 30 days old), then schools will document that information in the ASQ Online system.

• Support personalized instruction.
• Promote positive teacher-parent relationships.

Kansas leads the world in the success of each student.

When is the 2026 Snapshot?

Schools may begin the 2026-2027 Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot March 1, 2026. Consider the following expectations:

• ASQ data will not prevent 5-year-old children from entering kindergarten.
• The district will follow up with families within 2 weeks of receiving completed screenings. If a district would like to begin screening in the springtime, ensure that staff are available to review completed screenings and follow up with families in a timely manner. Timely follow-up ensures information shared by families is relevant and demonstrates to families that their time is valuable.
• The district will contact families who complete the ASQ but do not enroll so that screenings can be transferred. KSDE staff can assist in transferring screenings between school buildings.
• A child’s kindergarten teacher will receive ASQ data prior to the first day of school.
• All schools must administer both the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 to incoming kindergarten students by Sept. 21, 2026. All data (including paper screenings and pending Family Access screenings) must be entered into ASQ Online by Sept. 25, 2026.

Action Items to Prepare for the Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot

1. Reflect on last year’s work to engage families, and review data in the KSDE Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot authenticated application. This is a good opportunity to reflect on this year’s Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot. What worked well in engaging with families to complete the ASQ this school year? What could improve in the future? Review prior years’ participation rate data and visualize aggregate kindergarten student results for each of the ASQ domains using the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot authenticated application.

2. Archive data from the 2025-2026 school year.

Archive ASQ Online Child Profiles for children who will be in first grade or older in 2026-2027.

3. Confirm ASQ Online access for all Program Administrators and Providers (Teachers).

Ensure all kindergarten teachers and all administrators who will support the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot have an ASQ Online account and can log in. Delete any users who are no longer with the district.

4. Decide how the school will introduce the ASQ to parents and caregivers.

See the “Tips for Introducing ASQ” below, including sample scripts, messages and other resources.

5. Decide who will be responsible for reviewing and accepting incoming Family Access screenings.

Timely follow-up ensures information shared by families is relevant and demonstrates to families that their time is valuable. Family Access Alerts in ASQ Online provide automatic notification when screenings are available. The Tip Sheet “How to Prevent Duplicate Child Profiles” is a helpful process to keep the ASQ Online system organized.

6. Decide who will be responsible for reviewing ASQ results and following up with families.

The “Tips for Partnering and Sharing ASQ Results” below include resources to prepare staff to share results and other resources to support children’s development.

7. Ensure that when questionnaires are completed on paper that they use the correct age interval and include the correct version of printed Parent/Guardian Consent Language.

The ASQ Age Calculator is a free resource to select the correct ASQ questionnaire interval. Note that in Kansas, a child with a chronological age of 66 months 1 day through 77 months 30 days should use the 72-month ASQ-3 questionnaire, which is only available in Kansas. Parents may decide not to participate or decide not to have data shared with the state.

8. Review Family Access pages.

Log in to ASQ Online and confirm each building’s Family Access links are ready to accept screenings. Link ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 Family Access pages so that caregivers can complete both questionnaires at the same time without having to re-enter child and caregiver demographic information. As of 2025-2026, all Kansas schools have access to the ASQ-3 and the ASQ:SE-2 in Spanish.

Tips for introducing ASQ to Parents and Caregivers

• The Introducing ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 to Families Tip Sheets include suggested sample scripts to follow for each of the below items.
  • Share the purpose of the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot.
  • Give parents guidance and make them feel prepared to successfully complete a screening.
  • Review the Important Points to Remember on the first page of the questionnaires with parents.
  • Explain the types of questions on ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 and review the response options.

Tips for Partnering and Sharing ASQ Results with Families

• “Sharing ASQ Screening Results with Families” includes practical tips to prepare for these discussions.
  • Share results with parents in a one-on-one conversation (don’t just hand out a score report).
  • Explain results using language such as above cutoffs, close to cutoffs, and below cutoffs.
  • Highlight what the child does well and focus on positives first.
  • Be sensitive and positive. This is an opportunity to build teacher–parent relationships!
  • Examine any concerns together.
  • Talk about next steps of development.

Tips for Building Developmental Skills

When schools and families collaborate to support children’s growth and development, students are better prepared for success in school. ASQ resources provide excellent opportunities to support students’ learning:

• ASQ Learning Activities are an easy-to-use and low-cost way to move from screening to supporting ongoing child development.
• Free resources are also available to share with families. See social-emotional learning activities, fine motor activities, and additional activities (in English and Spanish) to support development at home.
• The “3 Ways ASQ Data Can Support a Successful School Year” Tip Sheet outlines ways ASQ questionnaire data can support school success.
• If a student shows little or no gains despite targeted interventions implemented with fidelity over time, refer to building Student Improvement Team (SIT).

Kansas State Department of Education | www.ksde.gov

Please do not hesitate to contact the Kansas State Department of Education for assistance.