KEA Assessment Aspire Institute Center for Assessment

&

Screening Excellence

MA Kindergarten Entry

Assessment (MKEA)

Race-to-the-Top Early Learning Challenge Fund

initiative

Focus on formative assessment in kindergarten

Purpose:

• Support alignment of education systems from birth

through third grade

• Give teachers information across all domains at

the classroom level that can be shared with parents

• Create individualized learning opportunities for all

children in the classroom

4 year roll-out plan for districts

MKEA: Year 2 Roll-Out Plan

Winter 2012-2013:

• Decision whether to participate as part of

Cohort 2

• Select a tool and develop a plan for

professional development and

implementation

Feb. – Sept. 2013: Professional development

Fall of 2013: Implement the selected

assessment tool

MKEA: Year 2 Expectations

Data collection in the fall

required; winter and spring

collections highly recommended

Data collection across all

developmental domains

Assessing all kindergarten

children

Assessment systems should be aligned with appropriate curriculum and instructional goals/practices.

Interconnected components:

• assessment of children • adult-child interaction • program measurement

Important and careful decision making in:

• selecting instruments • administration • data collection • analysis

EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

ASSESSMENT

A dynamic process of collection & synthesizing information

Authentic assessment gives a

picture of the whole child.

Authentic Assessment Defined

A tool or process for answering

specific questions about various

aspects of children’s knowledge,

skills, behaviors or personality.

Root word of assessment comes

from the Latin word “assis”.

PURPOSE

Intentional curriculum planning

Enable differentiated

instruction

Support teachers’

professional growth

Support children’s

transition to public school

systems

Evaluate program

effectiveness & measure

accountability

Inform policy

Assessment is more than a tool

Assessment is an interconnected system

Developmentally appropriate

Tied to children’s daily activities

Supported by professional development

Authentic

Drawn from Multiple Sources

of Information

Conducted in Familiar Contexts

and Settings

Reflective of everyday

relationships and experiences

Have Continuity

Fair and Inclusive

Culturally and linguistically responsive

Inclusive of all children and

families

Inclusive of Children with Special Needs

Effective assessment methods and tools are…

document progress in all areas of child development,

including emotional, social, physical, and cognitive

development.

provide educators critical information for curriculum

planning.

be used to help educators communicate with families.

help educators learn more about the children in under

their care.

can be used to identify and address areas where a child

needs further attention.

An Assessment Tool Should…

Why is this important to

classrooms?

Allows intentional curriculum

planning and guides instruction

Addresses individual needs and

enables differentiated instruction

Evaluates program effectiveness

Ensures program accountability

Assessment Guides Curriculum

Development

Core of Curriculum Development:

Being able to “integrate the children’s needs,

interests, and abilities with your conceptual

plan for implementing goals and objectives”

(Jackman, H.L., 2012).

Linking Curriculum & Assessment

Learning Goal

Related Materials

available in classroom

areas

Intentional &

planned play experiences

9.D Tells about another

time: elaborates stores

TS

Gold

WSS

II Language & Literacy

C Reading 4 Comprehends &

Responds to stories read aloud

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT

TWO TOOLS….

Curriculum Assessment Professional Development Family Connection

Teaching Strategies GOLD®

Birth Through Kindergarten

Assessment System

A Massachusetts EEC recommended assessment tool

Objectives for Development & Learning

Progression of development and Learning

Inclusion (Children with Special Needs,

Exceptional Children and English Language

Learners)

Child Assessment Portfolio

Assessment Opportunity Cards

On The Spot Observation Recording Tool

The Components of Teaching Strategies GOLD®

Assessment Tools to Carry Out the Cycle

Dimensions and indicators help educators to understand a child’s learning & development

through a scaffold model.

Area of Learning and Development

Objective

Dimension

Indicator

Example

Social Emotional

Physical

English Language Acquisition

Cognitive

Literacy

Mathematics Science/Technology

Social Studies

Arts

Language

Area of Learning and Development

There are 10 areas of learning and

development. The first 4 are major

areas of child development:

•Social emotional

•Physical

•Language

•Cognitive

The next 5 areas represent content:

•Literacy

•Mathematics

•Science/Technology

•Social Studies

•Arts

The last area is:

•English Language Acquisition

Area of Learning and Development

Objective

An objective indicates a goal for

the children to achieve in a

particular area of development:

•The tool has a total of 38

objectives across all the areas of

learning and development

•2 of these 38 objectives are

specifically related to English

language acquisition; designed to

support English language learners

in your programs

Objectives are found within each

area of learning and development

Area of Learning and Development

Objective

• Some objectives are further

broken down from objectives

to dimensions. Dimensions are

“sub skills” that make up that

objective. They allow us to

unpack the objective and take a

closer look.

• Seventeen of the 38 objectives

have dimensions. The arts,

social sciences and technology

do not have dimensions.

Area of Learning and Development

Objective

Dimension

Dimension

Development and Learning Progression

Color Coding = Widely Held Expectations

for birth through kindergarten

Red, orange, and yellow code each year of life

for the first 3 years.

Green, blue and purple code classes/grades

for the next 3 years and represent school

years.

COLOR CODING SYSTEM

GOLD® is an authentic assessment tool designed

for children birth through age 6.

GOLD® used a color coding system

• Birth – age one Red

• 1 -2 years Orange

• 2-3 years Yellow

• 3-4 years Green

• 4-5 years Blue

• 5-6 years Purple

Portfolio versus ODL

The Assessment Cycle: Ongoing, Authentic

Step 1: Observe and Collect Facts

• What are children doing and saying?

Step 2: Analyze and Respond

• How does this relate to my curriculum’s

objectives?

• How can I adjust my materials, activities, and

interactions according to my observations?

Step 3: Evaluate

• How does this child’s development and

learning compare to widely-held expectations

for this age-group?

Step 4: Summarize, Plan, and Communicate

• How do I summarize this information and use

it for planning?

• How do I communicate this information?

Collect

Analyze

and

Respond

Evaluate

Data Collection

Gathering information about an

individual/group of children from multiple

sources

The first step in the assessment process is to

learn about the children you teach: what they

know and can do in relation to each of the

widely expected objectives/standards.

Ongoing observation = connection to

assessment and curriculum planning.

Data collection should include:

• Work Samples:

children’s work

including photos, dictation and other

documentation

• Information from Parents/Primary Caregivers

interviews, conversations and input are key to

obtaining a whole picture of a child

• The Child!

Data Collection

What you bring to observing

• Your culture

• Beliefs and values about child rearing

• Beliefs and values about appropriate ways to

communicate

• Beliefs and values about children’s independence

• Cultural competency and assessment of young

children

Your Professional Expertise

YOU AS THE OBSERVER

The Objectives for Development and Learning Birth

though Kindergarten will serve as a resource to:

• focus your observations on particular objectives

• to understand the development and learning progression that

children typically follow.

The 10 Areas will help in focusing lens during

observations.

Decide what you are looking for & choose areas you are

likely to see these skills and/or behaviors exhibited.

In order to respond to the children

appropriately:

Analyze & Respond

Summarize Plan

& Communicate

Data Collection

Evaluate

Teaching

Strategies

GOLD®

Evaluate

• Evaluating children’s progress means deciding

what level each child has reached in terms of the

objectives.

• To evaluate children, educators first need to

gather and think about all the documentation

you have collected.

• Using the ODL and child assessment portfolio,

they can begin to evaluate a child’s progress.

Recording your data in the Child

Assessment Portfolio

Analyzed data is recorded in the Child

Assessment Portfolio

1. Child Assessment Portfolio has an important

role in the evaluation process.

2. The Child Assessment Portfolio is the place to

record and preserve important information

about the child’s progress.

3. This is the record keeping tool for each child.

4. Rating should be based on data collected on

the child over time

Child Assessment Portfolios

Address individual objectives

Document Progress Checkpoints

• Identified points in time that are indicated in

the portfolio, typically 3-4 times a year

• Designed for educators to pause, reflect and

take a snapshot of how a child is progressing

in relation to the widely held expectations for

their age/grade level in the objectives and

dimensions.

Application of Progress

Checkpoint

• Think about and review the documentation you

collected in relation to each objective

• For each objective and dimension, focus on

indicators that match the child’s age or

developmental level.

• Start at the lowest appropriate developmental level

read the indicators to the right and left of your

starting point.

Child Progress and Rating

Choose the indicator that most closely matches the child’s

skill and behaviors and decide if the child is “in-between”

levels.

Remember that colored bands are widely held expectations

for children’s development and learning

Choose the level that most accurately describes this child’s

level. using the indicators as a guide

Indicate which progress checkpoint this data reflects

Connection to Curriculum

Your portfolio will summarize the ability and

skill set level of each child in the ten areas.

This information can help to

• Monitor and support children’s progress

• Inform your overall curriculum and

weekly/monthly lesson plans

• Individualization

Professional Development offered by TS Gold

TS Gold PD Calendar

The Work Sampling System®

A Massachusetts EEC recommended assessment tool

+

=

Developmental Guidelines and

Checklists

+ Based on National Standards

+ Age/Grade Levels

+ Organized by Domains

+ Functional Components

+ Performance Indicators

+ Rationales

+ Examples

Checklists & Guidelines

Focus on teacher observations.

Define reasonable expectations for

children’s performance.

Checklist helps track student

performance & progress

Developmental Checklist

Developmental Guidelines

Collection Periods

Plan, observe & record

Review Checklist making pencil

ratings

Review preliminary ratings

Make final ratings

Portfolios are used to document student progress

through actual work samples

Fall Winter Spring

Portfolio

Collection of student work by

teachers and students

Organized to show how children

learn and how much progress the

child is making

Purpose of Portfolio

1. To show the quality of children’s

work

2. To demonstrate children’s progress &

growth over time.

3. To involve children in assessing their

own work

4. To assist teachers with instructional

planning

Purposes of Portfolio Collection

• Show quality of work and thinking across the

curriculum

• Demonstrate progress and growth over time

• Involve children in assessing their own work

• Assist teachers with instructional planning

Portfolio collection

Must be implemented in a

manageable style.

Before school begins, plan and

prepare.

Choose what to save

Core Item Collection Form

Represent concrete representation of student

thinking.

You will choose 2 areas of learning to collect

documentation • Careful selection results in Core Items that convey meaningful

information about the quality of a child’s thinking and her

progress over time.

Personal & Social Develop & Physical

Development documented by direct observations

and the Checklist is sufficient

Effective Areas of Learning

Are important parts of curriculum.

Can show progress over time.

Are relevant to all children

Reflect concepts or processes & are not

dependent on particular content.

Most effectively documented in Portfolio

rather than Checklist.

Individual Items

Are samples of students work

that:

• capture a child’s individuality as a

learner.

• illustrate how a child integrates

learning from multiple domains.

Summary Reports

Profiles of student performance

and progress based on Checklist

observations and ratings in the

portfolio.

Summary Reports- can be generated in paper or electronic format

Professional Development offered by Pearson

Pearson Offers Monthly Webinars

Teaching Strategies Gold Work Sampling System

Domains Domains

Social Emotional

Physical

Language

Cognitive

Literacy

Mathematics

Science & Technology

Social Studies

The Arts

English Language Acquisition

Personal and Social Development

Language and Literacy

Mathematical Thinking

Scientific Thinking

Social Studies

The Arts

Physical Development

38 Objectives Functional Components

Indicators Core Item

Individual Item

Data Collection

GOLD Work Sampling

Observation

(on the spot observation tool)

Observation

(Observation Notes & running

records)

Portfolio

Portfolio

Developmental checklist Developmental checklist

Reports

Teaching Strategies Gold Work Sampling System

Widely Held Expectations Report on Child

Development

Child Outcomes Report

Group Summary Reports Group Summary Report

Development & Learning Report (Family

Report)

Summary Reports (Family Report)

GOLD Work Sampling

LANGUAGE

Fully Bilingual in Spanish Family Materials in Spanish

CURRICULUM

Creative Curriculum can be used with any

Developmentally appropriate curriculum

TRAINING

Two Days 1-3 days

Ongoing Professional Development Ongoing Professional Development

Similarities

Both are on-line

Both are research based

Both are aligned with MA State

Standards

Both use observation and data

collection

Both take into account ELL

Your questions…

www.wheelock.edu/case

www.worksamplingonline.com

www.teachingstrategies.com