A National Perspective: Connecting ELGs to Program Evaluation and Child Assessment

1
A National Perspective Connecting ELGs to
Program Evaluation and Child Assessment

• Sponsored by the Child Care Bureau the Council
  of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO ECEA SCASS
  ) and the National Association of Early Childhood
  Specialists in State Departments of Education
  (NAECS/SDE)
• Jul 12, 2006

2
Agenda for the Call

• Share National Information on State Activities to
  Connect ELGs to Program Evaluation and Child
  Assessment
• A State Example Marylands Model of School
  Readiness
• Questions and Discussion

3
Introductions

• Shannon Christian, Associate Director, Child Care
  Bureau
• Jana Martella, Coordinator, CCSSO ECEA SCASS
• Lori Connors-Tadros, Technical Assistance
  Specialist, NCCIC

4
What Are Our Goals for EC Assessment?

• Continuous improvement of high quality programs
  and services that help all children to be
  successful
• Services and curriculum that maximize child
  learning and development
• Assessment systems that provide information about
  the system and services, in order to support
  continuous improvement

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A Comprehensive EC Assessment System
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Stages of Implementing an EC Assessment System

• Determining the validity and effectiveness of the
  standards upon which the system is based
• Delivering and evaluating the training to
  effectively implement standards
• Determining the impact of standards-based
  curriculum on program quality
• Documenting the on-going impact on childrens
  learning and development

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Designing an Effective EC Assessment System

• Is there a clear statement of purpose to guide
  the design of the system?
• What is the system measuring?
• Child learning and developmental outcomes
• Program assessment improvement
• System accountability and evaluation

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Research Clearly Links Program Quality to Child
Outcomes
Program Evaluation and Improvement
9
Purposes of Program Evaluation Improvement

• To document program effectiveness
• To provide information for program improvement
• To align program practices with program standards

Program Evaluation and Improvement
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Sources of National Information

• FY 2006-2007 Child Care and Development (CCDF)
  State Plan Summary Report
• CCSSO Early Learning Standards and
  Assessment Collaborative Survey of the States
  (June 2005)

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What This Information Tells Us and What It Does
Not?

• Need for clarity in language/terms
• Identifies national trends
• Identifies technical assistance needs
• Limitations in purposes and intent of data
  sourcescaution in interpreting results

Status as of June/July 05
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State Plans for Assessing the Effectiveness
and/or Implementation of ELGs
According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report FY
2006-2007
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Program Evaluation

• Most states (42) have listed at least one program
  quality assessment being used in their state.
• Program assessment instruments are more widely
  applied to multiple programs (prek, child care,
  IDEA, Head Start) than are the child assessment
  instruments reported in the survey
• Both child assessment and program evaluation are
  more frequently required by law or regulation for
  state-funded prek, but are on the rise for other
  programs on a voluntary basis

According to CCSSO survey
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Aligning ELGs with Child Assessment to Improve
Outcomes
Child Learning and Developmental Outcomes
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Purposes of Assessing Child Learning and
Developmental Outcomes

• To plan instruction for individuals and groups
• To effectively communicate with parents
• To identify children who may require specialized
  programs and interventions
• To provide information for program improvement
  and accountability
• NAEYC and NAECS/SDE

Child Learning and Developmental Outcomes
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Critical Attributes of Appropriate Child
Assessment

• Appropriate child assessments
• Acknowledge that early childhood is a time of the
  most rapid developmental changes in a persons
  life.
• Consider academic knowledge and skills in the
  context of the whole child.

Child Learning and Developmental Outcomes
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Critical Attributes of Appropriate Child
Assessment cont.

• Provide information about child development over
  time in a naturalistic classroom setting
• Are reliable, valid, and fair.
• Are developmental, linked to curriculum and
  aligned with appropriate early childhood standards

Child Learning and Developmental Outcomes
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Plans to Evaluate Childrens Progress Based on
Guidelines

• Twenty-seven States (AR, AZ, CA, DC, FL, GA, IA,
  IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, ND, NJ, NM, NY, NV, OH, OR,
  PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WV, WY) and two
  Territories (GU and PR) reported that young
  childrens progress will be evaluated based on
  the guidelines.

According to CCDF State Plan Summary Report FY
2006-2007
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Alignment with Curricula and Assessments

• Most states report conducting formal efforts to
  align curricula with the ELGs.
• Fewer states reporting direct linkages between
  the ELGs and assessments used for early childhood
  programs.
• Some States have developed resources to support
  alignment with curricula and/or assessment tools.

According to CCSSO survey
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Commonly Used Instruments

• PROGRAM EVALUTATION
• ECERS-R
• ELLCO
• Arnett
• High Scope PQA
• NAEYC Accreditation

• CHILD ASSESSMENT
• Work Sampling
• COR
• Creative Curriculum
• Variety of other locally developed and
  commercially available instruments listed

21
Age Levels Covered by ELGs
According to CCSSO survey
CCDF State Plan 23 States and 2 Territories have
developed early learning guidelines for children
other than 3-5 year olds. Of these, 9 states and
1 Territory have ELGS for ages birth to 4 or 5.
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Age Levels for Most Common Assessment Instrument
According to CCSSO survey
23
Programs Evaluated by Most Common Tool
According to CCSSO survey
24
Intended Purposes of Early Learning Standards
According to CCSSO survey
25
Intended Purposes for the Use of Most Common
Instrument
According to CCSSO survey
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Are ELGs Required or Voluntary?
According to CCSSO survey
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Use of Most Common Instrument -- Required or
Voluntary?
According to CCSSO survey
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Training on the Most Common Instrument
28 states note that they provide training on the
administration of their most commonly used
instruments. 22 states report that they provide
training on the use of the results of the
assessment for example for screening/diagnostic
s, communicating with parents, or for designing
instruction.
According to CCSSO survey
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Maryland One States Approach

• Rolf Grafwallner Assistant State Superintendent
  Division of Early Childhood Development
  Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
• Steve Rohde Director of Training and Technical
  Assistance Maryland Committee for Children
• Janice Treakle Maryland Model for School
  Readiness (MMSR) Coordinator MSDE
• Linda Zang Head Start Collaboration Coordinator
  MSDE

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http//www.mdk12.org/instruction/ ensure/MMSR/inde
x.html
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Questions Discussion

• What are the challenges to developing a strategic
  approach to early childhood assessment in your
  state?
• What methods of program assessment have you found
  most useful?
• How have you addressed the limitations of
  assessment instruments for ALL young?
• What approaches to practitioner training have
  been successful?

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Closing Comments

• Jennifer Tschantz, Ph.D.
• Early Childhood Outcomes Center,
• Federal Project Officer
• Education Research Analyst
• U.S. Department of Education
• Office of Special Education Programs
• 550 12th Street, SW PCP-4055
• Washington, DC 20202
• jennifer.tschantz_at_ed.gov

For more information on the Early Childhood
Outcomes Center, see http//www.fpg.unc.edu/eco/i
ndex.cfm
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Selected Resources

• National Child Care Information Center
• Resources on Assessment and Evaluation, available
  on the Web at http//nccic.org/pubs/goodstart/inde
  x.html6
• Becoming an Educated Consumer
• Building Capacity for Evaluation and
  Accountability
• Developing a Theory of Change Logic Model

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Selected Resources

• The following resources can be found at
  www.ccsso.org/ECEAassessment
• The PowerPoint for Presenters and Policymakers 
  BUILDING A SYSTEM FOR SUCCESSFUL EARLY
  LEARNERS  THE ROLE OF STANDARDS, ASSESSMENT,
  EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY 
• A series of short fact sheets to accompany the
  PowerPoint Presentation include
• Key Considerations--Building an Assessment System
  to Support Successful Early Learners.
• The Role of Child Assessment in Program
  Evaluation and Improvement
• Assessing Child Learning and Developmental
  Outcomes
• The Role of Child Assessment in System
  Accountability and Improvement
• A Bibliography of Resources for the Development
  of Early Childhood Standards and Assessment
  Systems
• The small booklet, "Principles and
  Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments"
  from the NEGP can be downloaded in PDF by
  clicking on the booklet on the CCSSO website.

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Thank You
Contact Information Lori Connors-Tadros Nat
ional Child Care Information Center 10530
Rosehaven St., Suite 400 Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Phone [phone] Fax [phone] TTY
800-516-2242 E-mail lctadros_at_nccic.org Web
site http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov
Jana Martella CCSSO ECEA SCASS One Massachusetts
Ave., NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20001 Phone
202.-244-3352 E-mail janam_at_ccsso.org Web site
www.ccsso.org/earlychildhood