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Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Early Childhood Assessment:What Early EducatorsNeed to Know About Testingand AccountabilitySamuel J. MeiselsBuffett Early Childhood InstituteUniversity of Nebraska
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
• Are children learning?• Are public funds being used wisely?
What PolicymakersWant To Know
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
1. Early development isepisodic and uneven
2. Concept of “readiness”is relative
3. Test items often imply teaching
4. Validity of the tests is poor
The Problem
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Predicting children’s competence from readiness assessmentsOn average, only 25% of variance in early academic/cognitive performance is predicted from preschool or kindergarten cognitive status.
Only 10% or less of the variance in K–2 social/ behavioral measures is predicted by social/behavioral assessments at preschool or kindergarten.
LoParo & Pianta, 2000
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Predicting children’s competence from readiness assessments
“Instability or change may be the rule rather than the exception during this period.”
LoParo & Pianta, 2000
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Testing andAccountabilityIn Early Childhood
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Construct Underrepresentation
The extent to which a test fails to capture important aspects of the construct it is intended to measure.
AERA/APA/NCME, 1999
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Point to “vase.”
Dunn et al., 1997
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Point to “horrified.”
Dunn et al., 1997
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Compared to the Head StartChild Outcomes Framework:
— 33% of the total —and none of the 54 indicators in the other five domains.
The NRS covers only 15 of 46 indicators in language, literacy, and mathematics
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Construct-Irrelevant Variance
The extent to which test scores are influenced by factors that are irrelevant to the constructs the test is intended to measure.
AERA/APA/NCME, 1999
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
“Point to all the letters that you know and tell me the name of each one. Go slowly and show me which letter you’re naming.”
National Reporting System, 2004
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
“This graph shows how many children on Clark Street have each kind of pet: dogs, cats, or rabbits. Which kind do most of the children have? Which kind of pet is most popular?”
National Reporting System, 2004
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
The NRS Experience• Only 40% of the children wanted to go
with the tester in the spring
• Half the testers reported difficult behaviors persisting from the fall
• One-quarter of the testers said that test procedures were unnatural
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
General Accountability Office
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
High stakes testing for accountability doesn’t promote learning in early childhood.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
ObservationalAssessment
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Standards-based assessments that rely on teachers making systematic observations of children during the course of daily classroom experience.
Observational Assessment
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
The best way to evaluate a child’s performance is to study performance, not something else.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
in a natural environment and in relationship to standards
Observational assessment consists of:
OBSERVING
RECORDING
EVALUATING
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Pearson Assessments
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Developmental Checklist (Kdg.)
Work Sampling System
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Developmental Guidelines (Kdg.)
Work Sampling System
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Can We TrustTeachers’ Judgments?
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Principal Study Questions
• Is WSS a valid means of evaluating student achievement and progress?
• What is the impact of WSS on student learning?
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Sample for the Validity Studies
• K – 3, cross-sectional• N = 345• 17 classrooms, 5 schools• 70% African-American, 80% low
income (free or reduced lunch), 49% male, 8% special needs
Meisels et al., 2001
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Results of the WSS Validity Study (K - 3)
• WSS correlates very well with a standardized, individually administered psychoeducational battery (the Woodcock Johnson-Revised);
• WSS is a reliable predictor of achievement ratings in kindergarten – Grade 3;
• Data obtained from WSS accurately discriminate between children who are and are not at risk. Meisels et al., 2001; 2008
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Mean change scores on ITBS for third - fourth graders
Meisels et al., 2003
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Conclusions
• WSS is a valid and effective assessment of children’s learning.
• Students in WSS classrooms make significant achievement gains.
• Teachers and families are satisfied with the system and become more so as they have more experience with it.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
The best way to improve a child’s performance is to teach the child, not test the child.
Four Conclusions About Testing and Early LearningBuffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Tests used for high-stakes change what is taught.
1.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Accountability should be concerned with what is taught and what is learned, not with rewards and punishments.
2.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Standards are best thought of as benchmarks, not thresholds.
3.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Understanding the child within context is key to understanding the child.
4.
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Measure whatwe treasureBuffett Early Childhood Institute
Buffett Early Childhood Institute
Start early. Start well.
Samuel J. Meisels, Ed.D.Buffett Early Childhood InstituteUniversity of [email protected] www.buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu
Buffett Early Childhood Institute