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Massachusetts Kindergarten Readiness Assessment

February

1, 2012

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Today’s Agenda

 Overview of EEC  Project Goals  Overview of Massachusetts Screening and Assessment System Birth – Grade Three  Deeper Drive – The Three Assessments  Break Out Discussion  Timeline  Closing

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RTTT-ELC focuses on five key areas of reform:

1.

Establishing Successful State Systems by building on the State’s existing strengths, ambitiously moving forward the state’s early learning and development agenda, and carefully coordinating programs across agencies to ensure consistency and sustainability beyond the grant; 2.

Defining High-Quality, Accountable Programs by creating a common tiered quality rating and improvement system that is used across the state to evaluate and improve program performance and to inform families about program quality;

3.

Promoting Early Learning and Development Outcomes for

Children to develop common standards within the state and assessments that measure child outcomes, address behavioral and health needs, as well as inform, engage and support families; 4.

Supporting A Great Early Childhood Education Workforce by providing professional development, career advancement opportunities, appropriate compensation, and a common set of standards for workforce knowledge and competencies; and

5.

Measuring Outcomes and Progress so that data can be used to inform early learning instruction and services and to assess whether children are entering kindergarten ready to succeed in elementary school.

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EEC’s Mixed Delivery System

EEC Systems Development: 4 Programs with a Common Design…

        Four Systems:  Educator/Provider Supports (EPS)    Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) Mental Health Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) Regionally/locally based Focused on the needs of adults and supporting adult/child interaction Relationship-based: Supported by the Strengthening Families approach Not primarily focused on family income, though prioritize families with greater needs Prioritize communities with multiple indicators of need. Expand upon and support quality in new licensing regulations and QRIS Allow for differentiation to meet local needs

Closing the Achievement Gap: Accountability for Quality and Outcomes Teacher Quality

Community and Family Context

Program Quality

(QRIS)

Child Outcomes

(formative and summative assessment)

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MA QRIS Standards Categories & Subcategories

1.

Curriculum and Learning:

1A. Curriculum, Assessment, and Diversity 1B. Teacher- Child Interactions

2.

Safe, Healthy Indoor and outdoor Environments:

2A. Safe, Healthy Indoor and outdoor Environments

3.

Workforce Qualifications and Professional

Development:

3A. Program Administrators 3B. Program Staff/Educators

4.

Family and Community Engagement

4A. Family and Community Engagement

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Leadership, Management and Administration:

5A. Leadership, Management, and Administration 5B. Supervision

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Early Learning Standards

 Continuing to support early learning and development standards through alignment, and including the creation of English Language Learner development standards.

 Alignment of and link to formative assessments: • • • • • Infant toddler Standards Preschool Learning Standards Massachusetts Frameworks for Pre school Math and Literacy (common Core) Head Start Early Learning Standards Kindergarten Frameworks

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The Commonwealth’s Bold Vision: Core Elements of the Early Childhood Information System

    

Family Engagement

 Parental Consent   Core Child Level Data Self- Assessment Data

Child Development Screening and Assessment Data

 Collected through ASQ, EVT, PVT, Social and Emotional Test, Woodcock-Johnson

Interagency Data Sharing

  Interagency Service Agreements (ISAs) Key risk and protective factors

Strength and Risk Analyses

  Pull and match child-level data from above data sources Report out on child-level critical strength and risk factors

Communication

 General communication to all families on general child development advice and guidance and information on community events and resources  Targeted communication to families with children having 3 or more risk factors on other state agency resources and community supports to alleviate risks

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Support for High Needs Children

    For Massachusetts, “High Needs Children” include those with sufficiently low household incomes, those in need of special education assistance, and other priority populations who qualify for federal and/or state aid. The state is moving aggressively toward a much more specific definition for high needs children—one that includes children who have multiple risk factors linked to poor school and life outcomes such as:  children and parents with special needs;         children whose home language is not English; families and children involved in multiple state agencies; English language learners, recent immigrants; children with parents who are deployed and are not living on a military base; low-income households; parents with less than a high school education; children who are homeless or move more than once a year; and children in racial and ethnic communities that experience social exclusion. The state estimates that as many as 135,000 children from birth to age five face one or more risk factors each day that could lead to toxic stress, with as many as 20,000 (15%) facing three or more risk factors that without intervention are likely to lead to developmental delays.

[1] [1] National Center for Children in Poverty. Young Child Risk Calculator. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/tools/risk/ . Using these definitions, the state, through the Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) 2010 Statewide Needs Assessment, has identified 17 high-need communities where large numbers of children younger than age 5 exceed the statewide average indicators including teen birth, infant mortality, crime, and poverty.

 Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, North Adams, Pittsfield, Revere, Springfield, Southbridge, and Worcester.

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Measuring Growth Through the Massachusetts Early Learning and Development System (MELD) from Birth to Grade Three

The design and implementation of the MELD Assessment System will measure, influence and improve a child’s growth and development outcomes from birth to grade three. The Community’s Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE )grantee, early education programs and public schools classrooms will support the alignment of a seamless assessment system and the healthy development of children and their families at different points along the assessment continuum .

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Screening and Assessment Types

Massachusetts Early Learning and Development (MELD) assessment system

 MELD is a system of screening and assessment for children from birth to third grade, including the Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA), that aligns seamlessly with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)

Screening:

 Ages and Stage Questionnaire (ASQ), and Social-Emotional version (ASQ-SE)

Formative Assessment:

   Work Sampling System, Teaching Strategies-GOLD High Scope COR

Diagnostic Inventories

 Battelle Developmental Inventory – 2 (EI)

Kindergarten Entry Assessment

 The state will implement the Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA) to produce a common statewide measure of children’s school readiness.   The state will train kindergarten teachers on the use of formative assessment as a measure of school readiness and the effective use of data to inform instruction and curriculum planning through state Readiness Centers. The state will also conduct psychometric testing, such as item analysis, of approved assessment tools to develop a common statewide kindergarten readiness metric.

Norm Referenced

 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)   Woodcock-Johnson, and the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT) Two fine motor tests and one gross motor test to be developed

QRIS

  Child observation Assessments of environmental quality   Teacher-child interactions Formative assessments of children's learning progress

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Measuring Growth Through the Massachusetts Early Learning and Development Assessment System (MELD) from Birth to Grade Three

Resources will be provided to 107 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement grantees, licensed and licensed exempt early education and care programs, and public schools as appropriate. The state will support:   the purchase of ASQ /ASQ-SE screening toolkits, and

subscriptions for formative assessment

tools (e.g. the Work Sampling System, Teaching Strategies-GOLD, High Scope COR) to implement MELD and the MKEA.  Create a Common metric at the state level for KEA

EEC Comprehensive Assessment Strategy Access to educational screenings and assessments for all children Types: Work Sampling, High Scope, Creative Curriculum Provider: Public schools, community ECE programs Program Environment (Adult/Child Interactions) Formative Assessment Norm Referenced Summative Assessment Types: PPVT, EVT, Woodcock Johnson Social/Emotional Provider: Public schools, community ECE programs

Screening Assessments (e.g., ASQ, ASQ-SE)

450,000 children: in communities, EEC programs, and schools – including Child Find, CFCE programs

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Goals Of Pilot Project

      Identify your project Team; Develop of Memorandums of Understanding; Identify the assessment tool that will be used; Identify and define your unique needs to customize the supports that you will need over the course of this project ; Identifying the level and type of professional development support needed regarding the utilization of the development tool and the data; Develop your timelines and project goals for implementation September 2012.

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Development of Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment Participating Schools

Boston Brookline Chelsea Everett Holyoke Lawrence Lowell Lynn Marion Mattapoisett Medford New Bedford Northampton Pittsfield Lowell Community Charter Ludlow Rochester South Hadley Southbridge Springfield Taunton Ware Watertown Worcester

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Resources Available

   Substitutes Purchase of the selected formative assessment tools and cost for online participation Professional Development for Kindergarten and Preschool teachers  Use of tool  Use of Data  What else do you need?

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Community Based Informal Screening: Help Me Grow

Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) Ages and Stages Questionnaire Third Edition (ASQ-3) Ages and Stages Questionnaire Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) • Help Me Grow supports parents as their child’s first teacher, through four (4) components: • • Child Growth and Development Education Resources for Pediatricians • • Statewide Telephonic Access System Data Collection • The Child Growth and Development Education component provides

universal child growth and development education

opportunity using evidence-based screening tools (ASQ & ASQ:SE).

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Using parental consent

, data can be used to measure growth overtime and linked to the child’s longitudinal record, with the option to opt-out and continue services

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Benefits of ASQ

 Ongoing monitoring of development: ASQ uses 21

age-specific ASQ questionnaires

to watch for and catch developmental delays in 5 domains; communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social. And there are 8 age-specific questionnaires to watch for social-emotional delays that may not be detected in a single screening.  Easy to use: ASQ is well-regarded as

parent friendly and easy to use

; the questionnaires are color-coded by age, written at a 4th–6th-grade reading level, and accompanied by simple illustrations to enhance understanding  Makes the most of parents' expert knowledge: ASQ calls for the involvement of

parents as partners

in their child's development, assessment, and intervention  Saves time & money: The ASQ questionnaires take 10–15 minutes for parents to complete and 2–3 minutes to score . ASQ is a one-time purchase , the materials in the user's guides can be reproduced as many times as needed  Resource for families and early educators: Using the ASQ tool(s), families and educators can use their

observation of children to set goals

for individual instruction

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Overview of Assessment Tools

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Teaching Strategies GOLD

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High/Scope Preschool Child Observation Record (COR)

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Work Sampling System

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Teaching Strategies GOLD

   Replaced

The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum Assessment System for Ages 3-5

in July 2011.

Purpose:  An assessment system for children from birth through kindergarten designed to help teachers: • • • • Observe and document children’s development and learning over time; Support , guide, and inform planning and instruction; Identify children who might benefit from special help, screening, or further evaluation; and Report and communicate with family members and others.

Secondary Purpose:  Enables teachers to: • Collect and gather child outcome information as one part of a larger accountability system; • Provide reports to administrators to guide program planning and professional development opportunities

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Teaching Strategies GOLD (cont…)

Developmental Domains Addressed:   (1) Social-Emotional (2) Physical      (3) Language (4) Cognition (5) Literacy (6) Mathematics (7) Science and Technology   (8) Social Studies (9) The Arts  (10) English Language Acquisition Intended Age Range:  birth to 6 years.

Number of Items:  38 items.

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High/Scope Preschool Child Observation Record (COR)

    Purpose:  An observation-based instrument providing systematic assessment of young children’s knowledge and abilities in all areas of development.

Developmental Domains Addressed:  (1) Initiative   (2) Social relations (3) Creative representation   (4) Movement and music (5) Language and literacy  (6) Mathematics and science Intended Age Range:  2.5 to 6 years.

Number of Items:  32 items.

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Work Sampling System

 Purpose:  Assist teachers document and evaluate children’s skills, knowledge, and behaviors using actual classroom experiences and interactions.

 Developmental Domains Addressed:   (1) Social and emotional development • Self concept • • Self control Cooperation • Social relationships • Knowledge of families and communities (2) Approaches to learning • • • Initiative and curiosity Engagement and persistence Reasoning and problem-solving

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Work Sampling System (cont…)

    (3) Language development • Listening and understanding • Speaking and communicating (4) Literacy • Book knowledge and appreciation • Print and alphabet awareness • Early writing • • Patterns measurement (5) Mathematics • Problem-solving • • Number and operations Geometry and spatial awareness (6) Science • • Scientific skills and methods Scientific knowledge

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Work Sampling System (cont…)

    (7) Creative arts • Music • • Art Movement • • Dramatic play appreciation (8) Physical health and development • Gross motor skills Intended Age Range:  3 to 5 years.

Number of Items:  51 items for 3 year-olds  55 items for 4 year-olds.

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Overview of the Assessment Tools

Social/Emotional Physical Cognitive Language Approach to Learning Teaching Strategies GOLD

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High Scope - COR

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Easy to Administer

Yes, with 3 day training Yes, with 2-3 day training

Work Sampling System

√ √ √ √ √ Yes, with 1-3 day training

Parent Involvement

Receive a “Family Conference Form” Receive summary forms Receive summary report Yes Yes Yes

Reliability/Validity

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What is PARCC?

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Next-generation K–12 assessment system in ELA/literacy and mathematics

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Aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

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Developed by a consortium of 24 states

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MA is one of 18 Governing Board states

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Developmentally-appropriate assessment resources will be created for K-2

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Timelines

Due: March 2, 2012:

 Identify Professional Development Needs  Create a plan for Professional Development and submit for review  Identify need for resources including substitutes for implementation and make a request to EEC

March 15, 2012

 Choose Assessment  Conduct District Wide Kick-Off meeting for Project with PreK-Grade 3 staff

April 15, 2012

 Professional Development Plans approved

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Timelines Continued

May 1, 2012

 Identify Locations to use assessment

June 30,2012

 All teachers have access to the tool  Teacher, classrooms and specific schools have been identified for implementation  Information is reported to EEC

Professional Development Resources:

Readiness Centers Vendor /publisher for the tool Join an existing training (Aspire Institute Assessment Training)

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Questions/Feedback?

Sherri Killins Ed.D

Commissioner Department of Early Education and care [email protected]