How kindergarten-readiness tests are designed and used is a question that is only growing as more states put such assessments into practice.

The littlest students are getting used to the blocks table and the dress-up corner — and that staple of American public education, the standardized test.

For the first time last September, kindergartners in Oregon had their readiness for school measured using a uniform set of tests and checklists. (Thomas Boyd / The Oregonian/2013) The Oregonian ...