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Ann WhalenSenior Advisor to the Secretary Delegated the duties of the Assistant SecretaryOffice of Elementary and Secondary Education
FY 14-15: Agency Priority Goal
Support comprehensive early learning assessment systems
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
GOAL OVERVIEW
Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs), when properly designed, can be used to inform professional development to improve the early learning workforce, be included in a State’s comprehensive early learning assessment system, and improve student achievement and program effectiveness. KEAs can inform instruction and support students’ educational success by identifying the early learning needs of each child. They provide an opportunity for teachers and families to understand the status of children when they enter Kindergarten and policy makers to decide if there is a greater need to invest in high-quality early learning programs to ensure children enter school prepared for success.
KEY BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES
Assessment in early learning is new and untested. Many States are starting from scratch developing valid and reliable measures for KEAs. Constructing and testing these instruments and implementing them across every school in the State will be challenging and will take time. In addition, states will need to ensure that the KEAs are implemented in a balanced way that does not result in the loss of a significant amount of instructional time. Additionally, two of the three Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG) grantees that are consortia may experience challenges coordinating across states due to differences in their policies and procedures. Preschool Development Gants (PDG) States are required to report on the status of children in kindergarten served by the grants in the high-need communities, but they are not required to use a KEA, and funding may be a challenge. The U.S. Department of Education (ED), along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with these grantees to minimize these coordination challenges.
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
ED regularly engages external early learning stakeholders, with specific attention to HHS and Congress.
Strategies
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
We will use multiple approaches:
- RTT-ELC: ED and HHS (Departments) and the Early Learning Challenge Technical Assistance Center (ELC TA) supports both the 20 RTT-ELC states and non-grantee states through an on-line early learning community and by providing technical assistance webinars, briefs, and reports on KEAs. We use ELC TA’s electronic grant monitoring tool, GRADS 360, and other means to monitor review and report on KEA progress. Additionally, we will work with ED’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (OESE) national comprehensive center, the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) to provide targeted technical assistance on KEA development or enhancement.
- EAG: Office of Early Learning (OEL) staff work with EAG staff in supporting the three EAG grantees, paying particular attention to the RTT-ELC and PDG overlapping states.
- PDG: The Departments and the Preschool Development Grants Technical Assistance Center (PDG TA) support Preschool Development Grants states through an on-line early learning community and providing technical assistance webinars, briefs, and reports on KEAs or other readiness assessments being used as part of their performance standards. We have reviewed the applications submitted for the PDG competition that discuss the State’s assessment practices, and will use PDG TA’s electronic grant monitoring tool, GRADS 360, and other means to monitor and report on KEA/assessment progress. Additionally, we work CEELO to provide targeted technical assistance on KEA development or enhancement.
- Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): The Senate version of ESEA reauthorization incudes the Early Learning Alignment and Improvement Grants, which may authorize funding to support states in implementing KEAs. ESEA is still being discussed in Congress.
- We will continue to reach out to Education Commission on the States (ECS), Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), and other organizations that share our interest in advancing quality KEAs, share resources, and develop strategies that might increase our collective impact.
- On August 27, 2015, ED posted EDFacts Data Set: Kindergarten Entry Assessment
Data Collection through 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 Kindergarten Entry Assessments in the SY16-17, SY17-18, and SY18-19 EDFacts package.. http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=ED-2015-ICCD-0090-0010
EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT ED CAN AND CANNOT INFLUENCE
External factors that ED can influence:
- Flexibility of federal funds to support KEAs after the grants end for grantees or for any state.
- TA to support improved implementation of LEAs by states.
- Priorities and funding in future grant programs to support KEAs
- Expanding Technical Assistance for states on KEAs.
External factors that ED cannot influence:
- Many in the early learning community oppose any type of testing of young children.
- Inflexibility of state and local funds to continue/sustain assessments after the grants end.
- LEA and local school opposition to using instructional time for assessment.
- Congressional and state legislative action regarding early learning.
Progress Update
- When the Department first set this goal in 2010, Child Trends reported that only two states were implementing KEAs across multiple domains and collecting and reporting disaggregated data: Maryland and Minnesota (http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2010-14-SchoolRead... ).
- The Department set this goal without any legislative requirement nor any programs that supported or incentivized KEAS. Over the years, the Department has made awards to 20 states for Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge; 18 states for Preschool Development Grants; and 3 cohorts encompassing 29 states. Each of the grant programs support enhancement implementation of KEAs.
- Today, the department has surpassed the September 30, 2015 goal of 9 states collecting and reporting disaggregated data on the status of children at kindergarten entry using a common measure. Eleven RTT-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. Wisconsin did not select to implement a KEA, but is implementing a statewide literacy assessment and is exploring the development and use of a KEA.
- The RTT-ELC annual state reports released on October 27, 2015 highlight how states are engaging stakeholders in improving KEA development and implementation by providing professional development to teachers and evaluating what is and is not working.. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/preschooldevelopmentgrants/index.html?src=rotator
- The 18 PDG 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. Note this is only for the children funded through the PGD programs and not all children in the state. We expect to have this data in Spring, 2017 for the second year of the grant.
- Texas and two state consortia, one led by Maryland and the other led by North Carolina, continue to make progress under the Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG) program, which supports 29 states in the development and enhancement of KEAs. Three ELC grantees are participating in the Maryland consortium (Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio) as well as Connecticut, Indiana, and Nevada. Eight states are partnering with North Carolina: Delaware, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Washington, DC.
- 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 RTT-ELC States, in response to a request from a RTT-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 RTT-ELC states (Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington). https://elc.grads360.org/#communities/pdc/documents/8715
- Materials for the June 6, 2015 National Working Meeting on Early Learning Assessment, held in New Orleans, LA, have been posted on the ELC TA website. 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 assessment, including KEAs. https://elc.grads360.org/#program/national-working-meeting-on-early-learning-assessment
- In Q4, ED and HHS staff worked with ELC TA to update their Kindergarten Entry Assessments in RTT-ELC States report, now posted at https://elc.grads360.org/services/PDCService.svc/GetPDCDocumentFile?file.... This summary, updated from two previous reports, provides an overview of the assessment instruments currently in use or being developed. It details which States are collaborating on KEA development, provides information on the time frames for developing and conducting the assessments, and provides links to KEA homepages across the States. In September, 2015, ELC TA posted the recorded webinar, presentation slides, and a brief from their April 7, 2015 webinar, cohosted by the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO), and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), focused 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. https://elc.grads360.org/#communities/pdc/documents/9048
- The Departments are using national activities funds to develop case studies of four states’ approaches to KEAs through ED’s Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service (PPSS). In Spring 2015, SRI, contracted by PPSS, conducted interviews with representatives and professional development providers in 4 states. Within each state, SRI visited 3 school districts and 2 elementary schools in each districts, speaking with district-level officials, principals, elementary teachers, and preschool staff.
- Given the progress on this APG and the supports deployed, the Department has decided to focus on a new APG beginning in FY 2016 that better aligns with its current focus of expanding access to high-quality preschool. This aligns with ED’s Strategic Objective 3.1: Access to High-Quality Programs and Services – Increase access to high-quality early learning programs and comprehensive services, especially for children with high needs.
- The new APG will be to increase the percentage of children, especially children from low-income families, enrolled in high-quality preschool programs. By September 30, 2017, the percentage of four-year old children enrolled in state preschool programs will increase to 33% (from 29% in 2015). By September 30, 2017, the number of state preschool programs meeting high-quality benchmarks will increase to 19 states (from 17 in 2015).
- The Department will continue to support the development and implementation of KEAs and highlight best practices through its technical assistance centers and grant monitoring.
- By 2017, the EAG grantees and their consortia states will begin implementing their school readiness assessments.
- Data on school readiness from the 20 ELC and 18 PDG states will be available in Spring, 2016.
- For SY16-17, SY17-18, and SY18-19, states will be asked to provide KEA Data Collection through EMAPS as part of the Annual Mandatory Collection of Elementary and Secondary Education Data through EDFacts.
- The new Preschool through Early Elementary School Grades (Network), administered by the National Center for Education Research (NCER) at the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) and funded in part through PDG national activities funds, will support teams of researchers to advance the field's understanding of policies and practices that support early learning and ongoing academic success. In addition to their funded research activity in conducting three prospective studies, these research teams will work with the Network Lead on a new classroom quality observation tool. Each team will support the development of the tool and pilot-test it. Awards will be made in December, 2015 and the Network will begin in June, 2016.
- Educating Testing Service (ETS), Education Commission of the States (ECS), the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), and CCSSO will continue to collect and report information on the states’ progress in implementing KEAs.
Next Steps
No Data Available
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Performance Indicators
Increase the number of states collecting and reporting disaggregated data on the status of children at Kindergarten entry using a common measure.
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
CONTRIBUTING PROGRAMS
Major Grant Programs Supporting Goal 3 at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) (http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/2015plan/2013-2015-apr-app-plan-...):
- Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (jointly-administered with HHS)
- Enhanced Assessment Grants
- Preschool Development Grants (jointly-administered with HHS)
- IDEA Preschool grants
- IDEA Grants for infants and families
For additional programs see Appendix C of the Department’s FY2013 Annual Performance Report and FY2015 Annual Performance Plan (http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/2015plan/2013-2015-apr-app-plan-...).
Major Grant Programs Supporting Goal 3 at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
- Head Start/Early Head Start
- Child Care
- Home Visiting
- Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships
In addition, the Interagency Policy Board on Early Learning, made up of senior staff from ED, HHS, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Office of Management and Budget, meets quarterly to help coordinate federally-funded early learning and development programs and improve outcomes for children from birth through third grade. DOD, BIE, HUD, USDA, and GSA are also participating in the quarterly meetings, which are now public. The IPB has provided a forum for public discussion of joint ED/HHS policy statements and will have a session in FY 2016 regarding comprehensive assessment systems.
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Strategic Goals
Strategic Goal:
Early Learning
Statement:
Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high school college- and career-ready.
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Increase access to high-quality early learning programs and comprehensive services, especially for children with high needs.
Description:
Statement:
Improve the quality and effectiveness of the early learning workforce so that early childhood educators have the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to improve young children’s health, social‑emotional, and cognitive outcomes.
Description:
Statement:
Improve the capacity of states and early learning programs to develop and implement comprehensive early learning assessment systems.
Description:
Agency Priority Goals
Statement:
By September 30, 2015, at least 9 states will be collecting and reporting disaggregated data on the status of children at Kindergarten entry using a common measure.
Description:
GOAL OVERVIEW
Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs), when properly designed, can be used to inform professional development to improve the early learning workforce, be included in a State’s comprehensive early learning assessment system, and improve student achievement and program effectiveness. KEAs can inform instruction and support students’ educational success by identifying the early learning needs of each child. They provide an opportunity for teachers and families to understand the status of children when they enter Kindergarten and policy makers to decide if there is a greater need to invest in high-quality early learning programs to ensure children enter school prepared for success.
KEY BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES
Assessment in early learning is new and untested. Many States are starting from scratch developing valid and reliable measures for KEAs. Constructing and testing these instruments and implementing them across every school in the State will be challenging and will take time. In addition, states will need to ensure that the KEAs are implemented in a balanced way that does not result in the loss of a significant amount of instructional time. Additionally, two of the three Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG) grantees that are consortia may experience challenges coordinating across states due to differences in their policies and procedures. Preschool Development Gants (PDG) States are required to report on the status of children in kindergarten served by the grants in the high-need communities, but they are not required to use a KEA, and funding may be a challenge. The U.S. Department of Education (ED), along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with these grantees to minimize these coordination challenges.
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
ED regularly engages external early learning stakeholders, with specific attention to HHS and Congress.
Strategic Objectives
Strategic Objective:
Statement:
Improve the capacity of states and early learning programs to develop and implement comprehensive early learning assessment systems.
Description:
Agency Priority Goals
Statement: By September 30, 2015, at least 9 states will be collecting and reporting disaggregated data on the status of children at Kindergarten entry using a common measure.
Description: GOAL OVERVIEW Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs), when properly designed, can be used to inform professional development to improve the early learning workforce, be included in a State’s comprehensive early learning assessment system, and improve student achievement and program effectiveness. KEAs can inform instruction and support students’ educational success by identifying the early learning needs of each child. They provide an opportunity for teachers and families to understand the status of children when they enter Kindergarten and policy makers to decide if there is a greater need to invest in high-quality early learning programs to ensure children enter school prepared for success. KEY BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES Assessment in early learning is new and untested. Many States are starting from scratch developing valid and reliable measures for KEAs. Constructing and testing these instruments and implementing them across every school in the State will be challenging and will take time. In addition, states will need to ensure that the KEAs are implemented in a balanced way that does not result in the loss of a significant amount of instructional time. Additionally, two of the three Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG) grantees that are consortia may experience challenges coordinating across states due to differences in their policies and procedures. Preschool Development Gants (PDG) States are required to report on the status of children in kindergarten served by the grants in the high-need communities, but they are not required to use a KEA, and funding may be a challenge. The U.S. Department of Education (ED), along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with these grantees to minimize these coordination challenges. EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS ED regularly engages external early learning stakeholders, with specific attention to HHS and Congress.
