1. 1 SCHOOL READINESS ASSESSMENT Kelly L. Maxwell March 10, 2005 CCPRC meeting

2. Kelly Maxwell 2 Five Major Purposes of Early Childhood Assessments Improve/support children’s learning Identify special needs Evaluate programs Monitor trends High-stakes accountability NEGP report, Principles & Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments

3. Kelly Maxwell 3 Purpose 1: Support Learning Audience: teachers Methods: observation, work samples Timing: ongoing Closely tied to curriculum Lowest level of technical accuracy Assess all children “Low stakes”

4. Kelly Maxwell 4 Purpose 2: Identify Special Needs Audience: parent, teachers, specialists Methods: standardized, norm- referenced assessments Two stages of data collection –brief screening for all –in-depth assessment

5. Kelly Maxwell 5 Purpose 2: Identify Special Needs Timing: periodically Not tied closely to curriculum Higher level of technical adequacy

6. Kelly Maxwell 6 Purpose 3: Evaluate Programs Audience: policymakers, public Methods: mixture “Low stakes”--consequences for programs –No decisions about individuals

7. Kelly Maxwell 7 Purpose 3: Evaluate Programs Timing: beginning and end of program (usually) High standards of technical accuracy Assess sample of children Child data just one part of evaluation

8. Kelly Maxwell 8 Purpose 4: Monitor Trends Audience: policymakers, public Timing: snapshot, repeated every few years Methods: mixture High standards of technical accuracy Assess sample of children Accountability in the large sense –How well is a state doing?

9. Kelly Maxwell 9 Purpose 4: High Stakes Accountability Audience: policymakers, public Data collection: standardized assessments “High stakes”--consequences for individuals (children, teachers) Assess all children, usually

10. Kelly Maxwell 10 Purpose 4: High Stakes Accountability “Before age 8, standardized achievement measures are not sufficiently accurate to be used for high-stakes decisions about individual children and schools.” p. 29 of Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments, NEGP report

11. Kelly Maxwell 11 Purpose 4: High Stakes Accountability Accountability  Testing –Require monitoring –Require an intervention plan

12. Kelly Maxwell 12 Agreements in the Field about Early Childhood Assessment Paper and pencil tests won’t work. Assessing younger children is harder than assessing older children. School readiness assessments should cover more than 1 area of development.

13. Kelly Maxwell 13 Agreements We’re better at measuring some things (cognitive development) than others (social). Our assessment tools are very limited for children who do not speak English.

14. Kelly Maxwell 14 Disagreements in the Field about Early Childhood Assessments Which type of assessment is better— naturalistic assessments vs. standardized assessments? Is it OK to use assessments of young children for high-stakes purposes?

15. Kelly Maxwell 15 Disagreements Should we use teacher-reported child assessment data to make decisions about programs and teachers? Can we use one assessment tool for multiple purposes?

16. Kelly Maxwell 16 Resources Principles & Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments, NEGP report –Available at http://www.negp.gov/Reports/prinrec.pdf Assessing Kindergarten Children: What School Systems Need to Know, SERVE report –Available at http://www.serve.org/publications/rdakcg.pdf

17. Kelly Maxwell 17 Resources Assessing Kindergarten Children: A Compendium of Assessment Instruments, SERVE report –Available at http://www.serve.org/publications/rdakcc.pdf Readiness for School: A Survey of State Policies and Definitions (2000). Saluja, Scott-Little, & Clifford –Available at http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n2/saluja.html

18. Kelly Maxwell 18 Resources Child and Program Assessment: Tools for Educators. January 2004 Issue of Young Children –Available at http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200401/