School Readiness School Readiness Indicators:Indicators:

Where Does Assessment Where Does Assessment Fit?Fit?

Workshop Presentation atNAEYC Annual ConferenceNovember 10, 2004

Charles BrunerDirector

Child and Family Policy Centerand SECPTAN

The Why – The Why –

Kindergarten Kindergarten Assessments: Assessments: Reasons for Measuring Reasons for Measuring “What Children Know “What Children Know andand Can Do at School Entry” Can Do at School Entry”

• 1st National Education Goal still needs to be realized

• Need to answer policy maker questions on status of reaching that goal

• Need to assess how policies and strategies we put into place are working

• Federal and state actions moving in direction of establishing measures and standards (need to do it in an informed way)

• School readiness indicators initiative without indicator of child’s school readiness is incomplete

The What –The What –

Uses of a Kindergarten/Uses of a Kindergarten/School Readiness School Readiness AssessmentAssessment

•Support LearningSupport Learning•Identify Special NeedsIdentify Special Needs•Evaluate ProgramsEvaluate Programs•Track Trends, Build Awareness, and Track Trends, Build Awareness, and

Support Policy DevelopmentSupport Policy Development•Allocate ResourcesAllocate Resources

–target areas of needtarget areas of need–finance effective strategiesfinance effective strategies

•Hold Actions AccountableHold Actions Accountable–incentives/sanctions and incentives/sanctions and teacher/school/district accountabilityteacher/school/district accountability

–not make decisions on child’s not make decisions on child’s kindergarten entry readinesskindergarten entry readiness

• Show the level of “school readiness” in the state (districts, schools) and raise public awareness on the need for strategies to improve it

• Track the progress made in the state (districts, schools) over time in achieving school readiness

• Determine for what groups of children “school readiness” represents an issue that requires special attention

Uses of Kindergarten Uses of Kindergarten Assessment for Assessment for

Awareness and Policy Awareness and Policy DevelopmentDevelopment

What We Know About What We Know About Children’s School Children’s School

ReadinessReadiness• Multidimensional• Dimensions interact• Serious gaps exist in children’s

school readiness that need to be addressed

• Children who start behind tend to stay behind

• Only beginning to develop measures that can describe the school readiness of kindergarten children

Serious Gaps ExistSerious Gaps ExistECLS-K data and other data show we haven’t achieved 1st National Educational Goal and a “readiness gap” exists by:

GenderGeographyLanguageRaceSocio-Economic Status

[Child Trends reports and Economic Policy Institute’s Inequality at the Starting Gate]

School ReadinessSchool ReadinessMulti-Dimensional and Multi-Dimensional and Dimensions InteractDimensions Interact

•Physical well-being and motor development

•Social and emotional development•Approaches to learning•Language development•Cognition and general knowledge

National Status of Children:National Status of Children:ECLS-K Data and Percent of ChildrenECLS-K Data and Percent of ChildrenLagging on One or More DimensionsLagging on One or More Dimensions

13.2%

7.6%

15.5%

8.1%5.0%

6.4%

5.0%

Source: Child Trends analysis of ECLS-K, base year public-use data for 1998-1999

Cognitive

Health

Social and Emotional

0 44.2%

1 35.1%

2 15.7%

3 5.0%

• Not Either/Or but Both/And

• Not Fuzzy and Unmeasurable, but Part of Accountability/Continuous Improvement System

Social/Emotionalvs.

Cognitive Development

Beyond the Beyond the Fuzzy/Academic Fuzzy/Academic

LanguageLanguage• Knowing a lot of words• Talking in sentences• Knowing sounds• Learning alphabet and numbers

Language and Literacy/Cognition

Social and Emotional/Approaches to Learning• Paying attention to teacher

• Working together in groups• Not getting too frustrated doing new tasks

Teachers/Employers Value Teachers/Employers Value Social and Emotional SkillsSocial and Emotional Skills

• Surveys of early elementary teachers rate social and emotional developmental challenges as biggest barriers to teaching

• Employers consistently state that approaches to learning/”soft skills” (social and emotional factors) more important than content knowledge for most jobs

Challenge/Opportunity to Challenge/Opportunity to States:States:

Federal and State Actions Moving Federal and State Actions Moving in Direction of Establishing in Direction of Establishing

Measures and Standards for Early Measures and Standards for Early LearningLearning

Head Start Kindergarten Third Grade

National Reporting Standards (NRS)

No Child Left Behind High Stakes Accountability

?

The How –The How –

Two Approaches to Two Approaches to Assessing Children’s Assessing Children’s School ReadinessSchool Readiness

Reading/Language Literacy Tool: DIBELS, etc.

validated instrument on a student population basis

capable of broad-based implementation and single measure interpretation

Work Sampling/Multidimensional Approach (Maryland, Vermont, Minnesota, Missouri)

involves observation in natural settings, which are needed to fairly assess multiple dimensions

is holistic and can be used as a teaching aid

Issues in Kindergarten Issues in Kindergarten Assessment DevelopmentAssessment Development

• Most important distinctions likely to be cross-population ones, including geography

• Must be careful to guard against misuse

• Alignment with standards important

• Politics to date suggest proactive approach that includes social and emotional with language and cognitive elements

Focus on GeographyFocus on GeographyPoor Neighborhoods:Poor Neighborhoods: Rich in Young ChildrenRich in Young Children

6.1%6.4%

7.7%

9.2%

No VulnerabilityFactors

1-2 VulnerabilityFactors

3-5 VulnerabilityFactors

6-10 VulnerabilityFactors

10.8

mill

ion

ch

ildre

n

4.1

mill

ion

ch

ildre

n

2.4

mill

ion

ch

ildre

n

1.7

mill

ion

ch

ildre

n

Very Young Children (0-4) as Percentage of Populationby Child-Raising Vulnerability

Focus on GeographyFocus on GeographyStarting Behind: Starting Behind: Staying Staying BehindBehind

42.33%

52.03%

44.23%

54.95%

Mean KindergartenAssessment Scores

Mean Third GradeComposite Scores

MakingConnectionsAreas

All Des MoinesSchool District

Children from Des Moines Making Connections Areas

and Des Moines School District: Mean Kindergarten Assessment Scores and

Mean Third Grade Composite Scores

• Place matters and issues of place must be addressed

• Color blind approaches (bringing credentialed White, Non-Hispanic teachers in from suburbs to teach preschools) won’t build community and can do harm

• Place-based early childhood strategies (involving staff and career development for people in neighborhood) can improve school readiness, while building community and economic opportunity

• Birth to five (and beyond) focus is essential (preschool not a silver bullet for success)

Focus on Geography:Focus on Geography:Implications for PolicyImplications for Policyand Practiceand Practice

SECPTANSECPTANState Early Childhood PolicyTechnical Assistance Network

Resources and Publications Include:• Measuring Children’s School Readiness: Options for Developing

State Baselines and Benchmarks• Beyond the Usual Suspects: Developing New Allies to Invest in

School Readiness• Child Welfare and School Readiness: Making the Link for

Vulnerable Children• Financing School Readiness Strategies: An Annotated Bibliography• Health and and School Readiness: The Health Community’s Role

in Supporting Child development• On the Path to School Readiness: Key Questions to Consider

Before Establishing Universal Pre-Kindergarten• Seven Things Policy Makers Need to Know about School Readiness• Up and Running: Compendium of Multi-Site Early Childhood

Initiatives

c/o Child and Family Policy Center218 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1021Des Moines, IA 50309-4006

www.finebynine.org