Revised Alaska Developmental Profile Training Presentation Jeanne Foy, Assessment Unit, Department of Education and Early Development

Revised Alaska Developmental Profile The Revised Alaska Developmental Profile replaces the current Developmental Profile (a DP is required as part of the statewide comprehensive system of student assessments, Sec. 14.07.020) All materials in presentation taken from Revised Alaska Developmental Profile Implementation Guide The current DP was developed in the late 90s as part of the Quality Schools Initiative, which also created original Benchmark exams

Revision process of the DP State Board approved Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs) June 2006 ELGs contain goals and accompanying indicators that reflect expectations for children’s knowledge and behavior from birth to age five ELGs joint project by EED and the Department of Health and Social Services http://www.eed.state.ak.us/publications/EarlyLearningGuidelines.pdf DP revised to align with ELGs; new DP is the Revised Alaska Developmental Profile (RADP) The development of ELGs provided a natural opportunity to revise the DP to align it with new early learning standards; the development of the ELGs included quite a large number of the early childhood community

Purpose of the RADP To identify, record and summarize the skills and behaviors students demonstrate at the beginning of their kindergarten year, based on teacher observations Not intended to be used for the evaluation of individual students to determine their eligibility for any programs, including kindergarten, or for the evaluation of specific learning programs Some concern that eligibility for kindergarten is tied to DP results. Kindergarten eligibility is determined solely by age in state statute

Use of data Key difference of RADP from current DP is collection of student-level data Teachers will use Alaska state student ids to report scores Will allow EED to disaggregate results by demographic variables to promote comparisons of various groups of kindergarten students across the state NCLB has focused on reporting results by demographic variables. Collecting Alaska student ids will allow that to be done for the DP. Results of the RADP may be used to inform policy decisions made by EED, other state agencies, and the State Legislature.

Organization of RADP RADP covers five domains of development: Physical Well-Being, Health, and Motor Development; Social and Emotional Development; Approaches to Learning; Cognition and General Knowledge; and Communication, Language, and Literacy Each domain contains several goal statements Domain and goals taken from ELGs This is the format of the ELGs

Goals and Indicators Goal statements express a specific expectation of what children should know, understand, and be able to do at kindergarten entry Each goal statement is defined by a set of indicators that describe expected observable behaviors or skills. Each goal on the RADP has 3-5 indicators RADP contains a total of 13 goals. Teachers report scores at the goal level.

Example of domain, goal, and indicators Physical Health, Well-Being, and Motor Development Demonstrates strength and coordination of large motor muscles Runs with an even gait and with few falls Maintains balance while bending, twisting, or stretching Moves body into position to catch a ball, then throws the ball in the right direction Kicks large ball to a given point with some accuracy Able to alternate weight and feet while skipping or using stairs Domain Goal Indicators

Ratings for the RADP RADP is an observational instrument; teachers are encouraged to make multiple observations of the skills and behaviors on the RADP before assigning a rating to the student Every goal statement must be rated on a 3-point scale Emphasis of the RADP is to make multiple observations. Observational methods are most appropriate for assessing children under 8. RADP does not require any specific screening tools.

Rating Scale Rating Category Definition 2 Consistently Demonstrates Student demonstrates the indicated skills or behaviors on a consistent basis (80% or more of the time). Students should be given this rating if they are generally able to demonstrate these skills most of the time. Students are not required to successfully demonstrate each skill and behavior all of the time to receive this rating. 1 Progressing Student demonstrates the indicated skills or behaviors on an inconsistent basis. Students should be given this rating if they demonstrate the indicated skills or behaviors on an inconsistent basis OR if they are unable to consistently demonstrate most of the indicated skills and behaviors (i.e., for students who demonstrate only some of the indicated skills or behaviors consistently). Does Not Demonstrate Student does not demonstrate the indicated skills or behaviors (20% or less of the time). Students should be given this rating if they are generally unable to successfully demonstrate these skills most of the time. Note that the response scale evaluates the consistency with which the goals and indicators are demonstrated by kindergarten students.

Notes on Rating Scale Thus, for any goal, if a student consistently demonstrates all of the indicators except one, the student should receive a rating of ‘2’ for that goal Alternatively, if a student is able to successfully demonstrate only one of the set of indicators, the student should receive a ‘0’ for that goal Key points! Important information for standard application of rating scale. This rule was established to address the question of whether students had to demonstrate ability to perform each indicator.

Structure of student observations Teachers encouraged to conduct student observations during first four weeks of the academic year Implementation guide (p. 11-18) contain suggested activities for teacher observations associated with each goal RADP is a measure of skills and behaviors students demonstrate at the beginning of their school year; for standard administration of the RADP, teachers are asked to make observations for the RADP during first four weeks of school

Example of suggested teacher observations Domain Cognition and General Knowledge Goal Sorts, classifies, and organizes objects Indicators Sorts objects into categories, classifying and comparing according to a characteristic (e.g., size, color) Recognizes, describes, duplicates and extends a two-part pattern (e.g., A/B, circle/square) Describes how and why objects are arranged or sorted the way they are Suggested Activities for Teacher Observations Provide a variety of objects for students to manipulate (e.g., buttons, stones, pine cones) Ask students to look for and describe patterns in the classroom or nature Provide opportunities for students to create his or her own patterns Allow students to arrange collections into groupings using different rules Suggested activities can also help illustrate indicators for teachers

How is data reported? Online reporting system—available mid-September Teachers log in using first initial and last name; password is last four numbers of social security number For each student, teachers will enter Alaska state student id, student name, student birth date and whether student attended preschool Teachers must have access to Alaska state ids, not district ids.

Online reporting system Site can be visited multiple times to enter student ratings Site will only save complete records for students; if only some ratings for one student are entered before leaving site, information for that student is not saved Information and ratings can be changed during subsequent visits, if needed Once all ratings for each student have been submitted, teacher will select “submit to EED” option Districts will have access to database showing which teachers have submitted completed RADPs to EED

Note: EED is working on revising the web site for the RADP Note: EED is working on revising the web site for the RADP. These slides are included to give a sense of how the web site will operate. Username and password come from the Alaska Teacher Database.

District login allows districts to see which teachers have submitted their completed RADPs. Districts need to communicate to EED by Nov. 1 that all teachers have submitted the RADPs for their students. EED will provide district usernames and passwords

Web site beings with an overview of the rating scale.

Note: EED is working on revising this page to automate some of the procedures for demographic information. Alaska student id, birthdate, and preschool information are entered for each student.

Final step Pull down menu to enter rating. Top of screen will display all RADP results previously entered. When RADP information is entered for all students, teachers will submit report to EED.

Teacher records Appendix B in Implementation Guide has form for classroom use 3-page classroom recording form contains all goals, indicators, and rating scale with room to enter scores for each student Teachers will be able to print ratings submitted on web site for their records RADP recording form allows teachers to make notes and record scores before going online to report scores. Room to record scores for 10 students on each page.

Who must have a completed RADP? All kindergarten students The RADP need not be completed for students who enroll after Oct. 1 These late enrollees are considered to have missed the assessment window Any first grader who did not attend a public kindergarten (either attended private kindergarten or did not attend kindergarten)

ELL students and Students with Disabilities Children with disabilities should be observed using accommodations or adaptations they typically use Student-teacher interactions should be conducted in the student’s native language whenever possible Because the Developmental Profile is an assessment of whether students have developmentally appropriate skills and behaviors upon entering kindergarten, the DP should be completed in the language in which students can best show what they know and can do. The identification of students who are Limited English Proficient is addressed through the state’s English Language Proficiency Assessment

Data reporting period Teachers asked to make observations during first four weeks of school Teachers enter data online after end of observation window (online system available mid-September) All RADP data must be submitted to EED by November 1 A recap of the timeline for completing the RADP

Questions or comments Jeanne.Foy@alaska.gov