Overview and Training

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• Overview and Training

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Todays Agenda

• New Name, Same Instrument
• Appropriate Use of QELI
• Inappropriate Use of QELI
• Overview of Statewide Results
• How To Work With QELI Data
• New Resources Available
• Implementation for Fall 2005

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School Readiness

• Educators of primary-grade children cite school
  readiness as among the most serious challenges
  they face in achieving the educational and
  developmental goal they have for their students.
• Peter D. Hart Research

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School Readiness

• Children must be ready to make the transition
  from home or child care to formal education.
• Just as important, schools must be prepared to
  help ease that transition for children.
• Education Commission of the States

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IELI QELI
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Overview
The Qualls Early Learning Inventory is an
assessment tool for use in the primary grades
(K-1) to identify student development in six
behavioral characteristics related to school
learning. The Inventory assesses developing
behaviors, so it can be used to inform classroom
instruction. The QELI is not language dependent
and can be used to assess children who are
emerging speakers of English. A Pre-K version of
QELI will be available in Fall 2006.
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QELI Supports Best Practices
NAEYC calls for
National Association for the Education of Young
Children Position Statement on Curriculum and
Assessment, November 2003
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QELI Supports Best Practices
NAEYC calls for
QELI
National Association for the Education of Young
Children Position Statement on Curriculum and
Assessment, November 2003
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Description of the Inventory

• Suitable for Kindergarten and early Grade One
  students
• 4-page Inventory booklet
• One for each child observed
• Teachers Directions and Interpretative Guide
• One for each teacher

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Description of the Inventory

• General Knowledgethe extent to which the student
  possesses general information and facts expected
  of children at this age
• Oral Communicationhow well a student
  communicates ideas, describes what has been seen
  or heard, or asks about things
• Written Languagethe extent to which the student
  recognizes and writes letters or simple words

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Description of the Inventory

• Math Conceptshow well a student understands and
  uses beginning mathematical ideas and processes
• Work Habitsthe extent of a students
  persistence, resourcefulness, and independence in
  completing tasks
• Attentive Behaviorthe students ability to
  sustain focus on classroom activities

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Appropriate Uses

• To describe the developmental level of a child in
  behavioral terms
• To help identify those students who might be at
  risk due to delayed development
• To report initial status and progress to families
• To be shared with Pre-K in your community/school
• To be shared with staff

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Inappropriate Uses

• To select students for Kindergarten
• Low scores are not necessarily an indication of a
  disability or deficiency
• Remember Documents learned behaviors
• Calls attention to skills that can be developed
  with proper instructional intervention
• To retain students
• To place students in special education

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QELI Results

• May be used as a Communication and Transition
  Tool for PK Teachers
• Data Results should be a tool to
• Help guide instruction for the PK and K student
• Share results with all staff
• Share with PK teachers
• Strengthen the K and PK teachers knowledge of
  the areas of students strengths and weaknesses
• Assist in long range planning

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QELI

• It is NOT a reflection of the school
• It is a snapshot of the child
• It is not a tool to discourage the child
  entering Kindergarten
• It is a tool that will provide the teacher a
  quick observational overview of the child
• It is a tool that will provide the parent a
  quick observational overview of the child

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Statewide QELI Results
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• Score Reports

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Putting QELI Data To Work
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Step 1 Look At Big Picture
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Step 2 Find Individuals in Need
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Step 3 Focus On Specifics
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Preparing Arkansas Teachers and Students for
the Qualls Early Learning Inventory
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Arkansas Kindergarten Teachers

• Kindergarten Readiness Indicator Checklist
  (KRIC)
• Getting Ready for School Calendar
• Getting Ready for School Teachers Guide
• ADE and DHS Benchmarks and/or Frameworks
• Qualls Early Learning Inventory
• LINK - NEW!

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KRIC

• The Kindergarten Readiness Indicator Checklist
  and Guidelines will be used as a tool to inform
  and guide teachers, administrators and parents.
• Act 825 of 2003
• Act 1552 of 2001
• Act 35 of the 2nd Extraordinary Session
• of 2003

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Why KRIC?

• We must RAISE the bar!
• We cannot accept that is the way our kids come
  to school.
• We can not leave ANY child behind !
• Statewide Indicators will provide the
  EXPECTATIONS for entering kindergarten students.

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The KRIC is not to be used for any reason to
exclude a child from kindergarten. Teachers and
parents should use this checklist as a tool for
planning instruction and to meet the specific
needs of the student. There are NO right or wrong
answers on the KRIC.
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Screening/Assessing Students

• Assessing/Screening the student can provide
  parent and teacher with essential information for
  individualizing the curriculum to help the child
  learn more effectively.
• Early Childhood Research Practice Fall 2000
  Volume 2 Number 2

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Act 35 of the Extraordinary Session of Arkansas
84th General Assembly
The Arkansas Department of Education shall
implement a developmentally appropriate uniform
school readiness screening to validate a childs
school readiness as part of a comprehensive
evaluation design.
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New!
KRIC Instructional LINK For Teachers and KRIC
Instructional LINK For Parents and Families
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KRIC Instructional LINK

• LINK
• Qualls Early Learning Inventory
• Kindergarten Readiness Indicators Checklist
  (KRIC)
• Getting Ready for Kindergarten Calendar
• Arkansas Early Childhood Education Benchmarks
• Arkansas Department of Education Frameworks
• Work Samplings
• Head Start Outcomes

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KRIC Instructional Link for Teachers
Kindergarten Readiness Indicator Checklist
1. Expressiveness and Language Comprehension
Consistently
Emerging
Not Yet
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KRIC Instructional LINK for Parents and Families
Here are some examples of how you can know if
your child is achieving the Kindergarten
Readiness Indicators. Add examples of your own.
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Transitioning

• Transition to K is an ongoing process that
  require partnership and starts in PK and
  continues through the early months of K.
• Transition is not simply an event best
  represented by the first day of school, nor is it
  a procedure that can be successfully by accident.

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QELI Guidelines

• Guidelines were developed by a committee of
  Arkansas teachers and administrators throughout
  the state.
• Guidelines developed to establish statewide
  uniform interpretation of the QELI.
• Guidelines provide suggestions and
  recommendations for teachers to follow as they
  are observing students.

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Resources and Web Sites

• Arkansas Department of Education
• http//arkedu.state.ar.us/K Frameworks
• KRIC
• LINK ADE website
• www.
• Division of Early Childhood Education and
  Childcare http//www.arkansas.gov/childcare/
• 3-4 Benchmarks
• Getting Ready for School Teacher Guide
• Getting Ready for School Calendars - DHS

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Implementation Fall 2005
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Completing the Inventory

• Generally completed by classroom teacher
• Approximately 10 minutes per child
• Based on multiple, recent observations of a child
  in a typical school setting

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Which Students Should Be Included?

• Suitable for all children
• Can be used regardless of language background
• Useful for students with special needs

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Completing the Inventory
Code essential demographic information
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Completing the Inventory
Optional areas for local use
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Prior to Completion

• Read the entire Inventory
• Pay attention to wording of statements to
  accurately document students readiness skills
• Focus on how frequently you observe a behavior
• Use the same standard for all students
• Come to consensus with other teachers on meanings
  of terms like rarely and sometimes

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Decide What Is Appropriate
For some behaviors, it is more important to
consider your most recent observations
In these examples, a childs most recent attempts
are more relevant than total attempts since the
beginning of the school year.
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Decide What Is Appropriate
However, some behaviors should be considered
based on multiple observations over time.
Certain questions also require thought about how
appropriate a childs response is, not just the
frequency. In this example, if the child often
uses a complete sentence, but the sentence is
seldom relevant to the overall conversation, then
Rarely describes the behavior more accurately
than Often.
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How to Pack for Scoring
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Important Fall 2005 Dates

• Materials Arrive in Districts-
• The week of August 15, 2005
• Districts Return QELI Materials to Riverside
  Scoring Service-
• No later than September 23, 2005

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ADE Contacts
Donna Wolfe Arkansas Department of
Education Academic Standards/Assessment
Accountability 4 Capitol Mall, Room 202A Little
Rock, Arkansas 72201 501-682-4252 dwolfe_at_arkedu.k
12.ar.us
Dee Cox Arkansas Department of Education Grants
Early Childhood/Grants Initiative 4 Capitol
Mall, Room 402A Little Rock, Arkansas
72201 501-682-4379 dcox_at_arkedu.k12.ar.us
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Riverside Publishing Contacts

• Michael Ward
• Arkansas Assessment Consultant
• 501-804-8378
• michael_ward_at_hmco.com
• Jennifer Probst
• Arkansas Senior Program Coordinator
• 1-800-323-9540, extension 6026
• jennifer_probst_at_hmco.com