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Strategic Objective
Measuring Progress, Outcomes, and Readiness
Strategic Objective
Progress Update
The Department, in consultation with OMB, has determined that performance toward this objective is making noteworthy progress. As part of ELC, 11 states chose to use funds to address the use of comprehensive assessment systems, though all ELC states include comprehensive assessments as part of their program standards on which their TQRIS is based. These states are doing the difficult work of creating coordinated and comprehensive assessment systems that organize information to help early childhood educators, families, program directors, administrators, and policymakers to make informed instructional and programmatic decisions. A comprehensive assessment system coordinates the various types of valid and reliable screening, diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments that children are likely to receive throughout their early learning years, such as screenings for possible developmental delays, assessments of ongoing developmental progress, diagnostic assessments, and measures that examine children’s accomplishments on developmentally appropriate standards-based benchmarks. As they create these comprehensive systems, states are updating and selecting screening and assessment tools that are valid and appropriate for the populations being served; educating users about the purposes of each assessment; coordinating assessments to avoid duplication; training early childhood educators to administer, interpret, and use the results of assessments; and involving parents in decisions regarding learning and development strategies for their children.
In addition, 19 ELC states are or will be using KEAs that cover all the essential domains of school readiness and are aligned with their states’ early learning and development standards. Wisconsin did not elect to direct ELC funds toward the development of a comprehensive KEA, though they are funding an exploratory study. As part of a KEA, information is collected through observations, one-on-one discussions, small group activities, and through the use of technology. Results help early childhood educators better understand the status of children’s learning and development when they enter kindergarten so the educators can individualize instruction. Educators can share information with parents so that they can make informed decisions about their children’s education. Educators are using findings from the KEA to inform to inform instruction and help close the readiness gap at kindergarten and in the early elementary school grades.
The Department surpassed the 2015 performance target of 9 states collecting and reporting disaggregated data on the status of children at kindergarten entry using a common measure. Eleven ELC states (CA, CO, DE, KY, MD, MA, MI, NC, OH, OR, and VT) are implementing their KEAs in the 2015–16 school year. The remaining eight states that chose to implement KEAs (GA, IL, MN, NJ, NM, PA, RI, WA) will begin after the 2015–16 school year. The 18 Preschool Development Grants states are required to report on the school readiness of the children participating in their high-quality preschool programs, with strong encouragement to use a KEA. We expect to have this data in spring 2017 for the second year of the grant.
On April 7, 2015, ELC TA cohosted a webinar with CEELO and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) focusing on the essential elements of a comprehensive assessment system, promising implementation strategies, key capacity-building considerations, and tools that can support this work at the state level. On June 6, 2015, ELC TA held the National Working Meeting on Early Learning Assessment in New Orleans, Louisiana. The one-day working meeting provided states with the opportunity to work together to address persistent problems associated with the implementation of comprehensive early learning assessment systems with a specific focus on child assessments, including KEAs. In August, 2015 ELC TA released a brief, statewide KEA Data Collection and Reporting in ELC states, in response to a request from a ELC state for information about issues that need to be considered in planning and implementing a statewide KEA data collection and reporting system. The report includes information on practices in five ELC states (Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington).
On August 27, 2015, the Department posted EDFacts Data Set: Kindergarten Entry Assessment Data Collection through EDFacts Metadata and Process System (EMAPS) as part of the Annual Mandatory Collection of Elementary and Secondary Education Data through EDFacts to explain the data that will be collected through EMAPS for KEAs in the School Year (SY) 2016–17, SY 2017–18, and SY 2018–19 EDFacts package. The team will address public comments received, post responses for 30 days, and then post a final regulation.
In FY 2013, the Department made EAG awards to support the development and enhancement of KEAs. Texas and two state consortia, one led by Maryland and the other led by North Carolina, were awarded EAG grants. KEAs under this program should be aligned with state early learning standards and cover all essential domains of school readiness. Three additional ELC grantees are participating in the Maryland consortium (Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio) as well as a number of non-ELC states. Eight states are partnering with North Carolina: Delaware, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Washington, DC. Together the ELC and EAG programs support 29 states in creating incentives for states to implement KEAs.
On an annual basis through their APRs, OSEP continues to require state Part C and Part B, section 619 programs to report on child outcomes for children that received at least 6 months of IDEA services. OSEP funds a technical assistance center to support states in collecting high-quality data within their outcomes measurement system and in using that data for program improvement.
