FAQs on Early Childhood Assessment

1. How do kindergarten school readiness assessments work?
2. How much time do kindergarten school readiness assessments take?
3. How are school readiness assessments currently used?
4. What is the definition of a valid, reliable, and research-based assessment?
5. What criteria was used when the kindergarten school readiness assessments were reviewed?
6. Can a district create a kindergarten school readiness assessment?
7. Do CDE or assessment publishers share personally identifiable information from early childhood assessments with the federal government or other states?
8. Does the state require programs to use photos and videos as part of the assessment process?
9. Could a child's image be used in CDE's Results Matter video library without the consent of parents?
10. Why is assessment a requirement for preschool aged children with a disability?
11. How is the assessment information used?
12. Does CDE review the documentation we collect?
13. Is it an option for a district to administer assessments only to their preschool students with disabilities (funded through IDEA) but not to their other preschool students?

How do kindergarten school readiness assessments work?

As children engage in ongoing classroom learning activities, teachers capture children's acquisition of concepts and skills through observations and determine how they match up to widely held expectations for development. Teachers document learning through notes, quick reference checklists and collection of student work.

How much time do kindergarten school readiness assessments take?

Kindergarten school readiness assessments are not direct assessments administered to children. They are tools that teachers use to determine a child's growth and development through informal observations and interactions with their students. Observing and informally documenting children's learning and development is embedded in everyday instructional activities. As such, this part of the assessment takes place on an ongoing basis within the context of the teachers planning activities. Dedicated time is required for teachers to learn the tool and complete the assessment rating for each child. As with any assessment system, in-service training and teacher experience decrease the amount of time needed for implementation.

How are School Readiness Assessments currently used?

Results are used to inform individual child learning plans. Teachers use progress data to inform instructional planning and to communicate progress information with parents. Assessment tools contain reports that are available to teachers and administrators. Depending on the tool, reports can either serve as the Individual Readiness Plan or a report card.

What is the definition of a valid, reliable, and research-based assessment?

Reliability
In measurement theory, reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. This means that a survey, assessment, or instrument will measure the same construct every time. However, it does not mean that it will accurately measure that construct.

Validity
In measurement theory, validity refers to the accuracy of a measure. This means that a survey, assessment, or instrument will measure whatever construct it intends to measure. However, this does not mean that it will accurately measure that construct over time.

It is the combination of reliability and validity working in tandem that makes surveys, instruments, and assessments work. This is because when a survey, assessment, or instrument is both valid and reliable, then one can safely assume that the survey, assessment, or instrument not only accurately measures what it intends to measure (validity), but does so consistently over time (reliability).

Research-based
“Research-based” means that parts or components of the method or program are based on practices that are proven to be effective through research. This is differentiated from “evidence-based," when the entire program or method has been demonstrated to be effective through research.

What criteria was used when the kindergarten school readiness assessments were reviewed?

View the rubric that CDE used when recommending to the State Board of Education assessments suitable for measuring students. The department was required to consider assessments that were research-based, recognized nationwide as reliable instruments, and suitable for determining the instruction and interventions students need to improve their readiness to succeed in school. Each assessment publisher has conducted its own research studies that they may provide, upon request.

Can a district create a kindergarten school readiness assessment?

Any assessment created would need to meet the following minimum requirements as established within statute (section 22-7-1004 C.R.S.) and be approved by the Colorado State Board of Education:

• The assessment tool has strong psychometric properties that provide evidence that it is valid and reliable.
• The assessment meets the requirements of the enacting legislation, addressing both developmental as well as academic domains.
• The assessment tool is based on child development and education research.
• The assessment tool is based on principles of authentic assessment.

Do CDE or assessment publishers share personally identifiable information from early childhood assessments with the federal government or other states?

No. Individual child level data is not shared with the federal government, federal agency, or other states. The accountability reports that CDE is required to produce always show only aggregate outcome information.

Does the state require programs to use photos and videos as part of the assessment process?

No, the use of pictures and videos in observational assessment is optional. This functionality is a convenience for teachers to easily record and store children's work sample to share progress with families and inform planning and instruction. If a program chooses to use these functions of the assessment tools, pictures and videos captured in a child's portfolio are never used for marketing, advertising, or promotional material. Any pictures/videos used for marketing, advertising, or promotional materials that one may see from assessment publishers is independent of those in the online systems, and the assessment publishers obtain permission from families and programs. In addition, photos and videos included in public reports and websites published by CDE are not taken from children's portfolios. Rather, early childhood programs obtain parental waivers for every child in such images and share them directly with CDE.

Could a child's image be used in CDE's Results Matter video library without the consent of parents?

No. The videos in the Results Matter video library are produced expressly for professional development use with written permission of all involved. Videos are never derived from actual assessment records.

 Why is assessment a requirement for preschool aged children with a disability?

The primary purpose for assessment in early childhood programs is to provide child growth and development information to teachers and families to best support the continued learning of children. The state must report on outcomes for children served by preschool special education to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). These reports can then provide partners with an indication of the effectiveness of preschool programs by showing the aggregate outcomes of the children who participate.

 How is the assessment information used?

Classroom Level Use

Teachers share assessment information with families and collect input from families that helps to inform the assessment. Together, teachers and families use this information to develop an Individual Learning Plan, identifying next steps for each child. District teams use assessment results to make informed decisions about how best to support positive outcomes for children.

Program Level Use

At the program level, administrators use aggregated assessment data to target areas for needed improvement, to make decisions about how to allocate resources such as professional development dollars, and to inform the educator effectiveness process. They also use aggregate data to inform the local school board and the community about the growth children are making in the program and how those children fare throughout their education in the district.

State and Federal Level Use

CDE uses Preschool Outcomes data that is collected for the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to inform improvement strategies and direct technical assistance to programs.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires all U.S. states and territories to report annually to the OSEP on outcomes for preschoolers with disabilities as part of their Annual Performance Report (Indicator 7). Preschool Outcomes (Indicator 7) are tied to child progress made between their entry and their exit from preschool special education services.

Does CDE review the documentation we collect?

In general, CDE does not inspect individual pieces of documentation. However, we may periodically inspect documentation reports (i.e., tallies of how much documentation has been collected). Also, local administrators are certainly encouraged to review both components, and they do in many cases.

 Is it an option for a district to administer assessments only to their preschool students with disabilities (funded through IDEA) but not to their other preschool students?

Yes, this is an option. Teachers know which students have an IEP, as they are required to develop and implement individualized education programs for students with disabilities and engage in parent partnerships for those students.