On My Way Pre-K Provider Information

Program Overview

Provider Responsibilities

ISTAR-KR

ISTAR-KR is the Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting of Kindergarten Readiness. This tool is used to measure skills in children from infancy to kindergarten. ISTAR-KR is aligned to the Indiana Early Leaning Foundations. It also includes assessments in three functional areas: physical, personal care, and social-emotional skills.

ISTAR-KR is a web-based tool that is filled out by teachers based on ongoing observations of children engaged in typical daily routines and activities. No special training is needed to fill out the ISTAR-KR assessment, but there are many resources available if you need assistance. Assessment results from ISTAR-KR can be used to determine which skills a child has mastered and identify the skills a student needs to learn next.

Timeframe for Completing ISTAR-KR

On My Way Pre-K providers must administer the ISTAR-KR assessment for each child in the On My Way Pre-K pilot at least twice each year, based on the following schedule:

The first ISTAR-KR assessment must be completed within 6 weeks of the first day of the program.
The second ISTAR-KR assessment must be completed within 6 weeks of the last day of the program.

On My Way Pre-K providers must enter their ISTAR-KR assessments by June 30^th each year so the results are available for the child’s kindergarten teacher to review.

Registration and Access to ISTAR-KR

ISTAR-KR is provided at no cost by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). On My Way Pre-K providers must register with the IDOE to administer the ISTAR-KR assessment prior to the program start date. Please start this process as soon as possible, as it may take time for the IDOE to assign your school a number and get you set up in the system.

Once you are registered to administer the ISTAR-KR assessment, you can use it for any children that are enrolled in your programs. It is not limited to On My Way Pre-K children.

Click the tab below that applies to your provider type to learn more.

Public, Private and Charter Schools
Community-Based Providers

Public, Private and Charter Schools

School-based programs will access ISTAR-KR through Learning Connection and follow your school’s policies for entering data for staff and children.

Please refer to the ISTAR-KR page on the IDOE website for details about how to register and use the tool.

Schools are not required to obtain parental consent for ISTAR-KR assessments for On My Way Pre-K.

Community-Based Programs

To register for the ISTAR-KR tool, community based programs that are not affiliated with a school must complete a form to request access. Details about how to do this are located on the ISTAR-KR website.

Community-based programs will also need to obtain parental consent for children to participate in the ISTAR-KR assessment. The consent form is located on the IDOE website. On My Way Pre-K providers should assist parents in completing the form as soon as possible so that each child is assigned a Student Test Number (STN) within two weeks of his or her start date in the program.

If a child enrolls in a community-based program for On My Way Pre-K but they also have an individualized education program (IEP) with a public school, then the On My Way Pre-K provider will need to coordinate with the school to complete the ISTAR-KR assessment online. The school will already be assigned as the owner of that child’s file.

The ISTAR-KR tool allows providers to send a request to the school for permission to access the child’s file and enter the ISTAR-KR assessment results. It is at the discretion of the school as to whether they would like the On My Way Pre-K provider to enter the assessment. In most cases, this is approved because the On My Way Pre-K provider has valuable information regarding the child’s development. If the school does not grant access, then the community-based On My Way Pre-K provider can still complete the ISTAR-KR assessment on paper and not enter it into the online tool.

To learn more about specific provider responsibilities, select an item from the MENU.