Challenge in Virginia Amanda Williford & Daphna Bassok October - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Defining the School Readiness Challenge in Virginia Amanda Williford & Daphna Bassok October 22, 2019 Early Childhood Education Policy Summit

Overview ▪ Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) ▪ History, Background, Preliminary data ▪ Lessons from the 2019 Virginia Early Childhood Workforce Surve y

Amanda Williford

Most States Have Adopted a Statewide Multidimensional Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Note: * = State-mandated and multidimensional KRA/KEA, however kindergartens have a choice of assessments.

How Statewide Readiness Data Can be Used in Virginia

How Statewide Readiness Data Can be Used in Virginia

How VKRP Measures Kindergarten Readiness Readiness is defined as having foundational skills in all areas

History of VKRP 2015 - 2018 2019 and on 2014 - 2015 2013 - 2014 Tool selection Piloted Voluntary Statewide measures roll out participation • Literacy- PALS • Math- Teacher And estimated With expansion standardized statewide of time points administration representative in 2018-19 sample of • Self-regulation- readiness Teacher report via rating scale • Social-skills-Teacher report via rating scale

What is VKRP VKRP is a set of coordinated assessments Literacy (PALS), math, self-regulation, and social skills combined to provide teachers with a more comprehensive picture of students’ skills at the beginning of kindergarten VKRP is a reporting system Provides detailed and integrated information about students’ skills at the student (for teachers and families), classroom, school, division, and state levels VKRP is a set of instructional resources Supports teachers to understand students’ skill levels and to use instructional practices to support their learning and growth

VKRP Assessments – Literacy  The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening is used to assess students’ early literacy skills.

VKRP Assessments – Mathematics  The Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS)/The Party  Assesses skills in the areas of Numeracy, Computation, Patterning, Geometry and Spatial Sense.  Teachers administer the assessment to students individually using a flip book and manipulatives.  Teachers enter children's responses into an online application, recording student responses as they administer the assessment.

VKRP Assessments – Self-Regulation and Social Skills  Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS)  Short rating scale completed by the teacher that measures students’ approaches to learning, self-regulation, and social-emotional development.  Teachers rate their students’ classroom -based behavior based upon their observations of their students in the school setting and input responses in an online interface.

Reports: Classroom Overview Easy to ✓ interpret Interactive ✓ Printable ✓ Exportable ✓ Linked to ✓ instructional resources

Reports: Student Overview

Reports: Family Report

Teacher Resources – Skill Example Sample activity to support the skill

Family Resources

2018 VKRP Participation 2018 Participating Divisions in Orange N = 89

What We’ve Learned In terms of child skills, Virginia was too narrowly representing readiness Estimates of children entering kindergarten who are not ready to be successful:  When only using literacy (PALS)  16%  Using VKRP — literacy, math, self-regulation and social skills  42%  For students who are economically disadvantaged  48% 2017 Fall PALS and VKRP Data

Readiness Results for 2017-18 Fall 2017 100% 17% 18% 18% 20% Percent of Students 80% 60% 83% 82% 82% 40% 80% 20% 0% Literacy Math Self-Regulation Social Skills (n=19754*) (n=16580*) (n=16653*) (n=16653*) Meeting Benchmark Below Benchmark Note.* = All students who had data on each measure were included to obtain these estimates.

There is Variability across Divisions Discrepant Self-Regulation & High Literacy Social Skills 100% 100% 2% 7% 15% 15% 17% 22% 22% 25% 80% 80% 60% 60% 98% 93% 83% 85% 85% 40% 40% 78% 78% 75% 20% 20% 0% 0% Literacy Math Self-Regulation Social Skills Literacy Math Self-Regulation Social Skills Division A Division B 39% Not Ready 35% Not Ready Meeting Benchmark Below Benchmark Meeting Benchmark Below Benchmark High Math High Social Skills 100% 100% 4% 8% 12% 15% 18% 17% 18% 19% 80% 80% 60% 60% 96% 92% 88% 85% 83% 40% 82% 81% 40% 82% 20% 20% 0% 0% Literacy Math Self-Regulation Social Skills Literacy Math Self-Regulation Social Skills Division C Division D 34% Not Ready 33% Not Ready Meeting Benchmark Below Benchmark Meeting Benchmark Below Benchmark

There is Variability across Students Ready Self- % or Literacy Math Social Skills Regulation Not Ready     2.9    ✓ 1.9   ✓  2.7   ✓ ✓ 0.7 16%  ✓   0.9  ✓  ✓ 1.5  ✓ ✓  0.8  ✓ ✓ ✓ 4.6 Not Ready ✓    0.8 ✓   ✓ 0.6 11% ✓  ✓  4.8 ✓  ✓ ✓ 4.5 ✓ ✓   7.8 15% ✓ ✓  ✓ 2.8 ✓ ✓ ✓  4.3 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Ready 58.4 Total Sample 100.0 Academic Only (Literacy or Math) = 9.8% That is 23% of students who are identified as not ready Self-Regulation and/or Social Skills = 77% of students identified as not ready

2018 Data — Overall Readiness Variability Across Divisions Division average % of students 90% 80% ready across all domains 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Comparison of Fall 2018 Readiness Data for Students Who Are and Are Not from Low Income Backgrounds 100 90 Percent of Students 34.7 80 49.5 70 60 50 Not Ready 40 65.3 Ready 30 50.5 20 10 0 Not Disadvantaged Disadvantaged n=13,275 n=11,392 25

Comparison of Fall 2018 VKRP Readiness Scores Between Children from Low Income Backgrounds who Attend VPI and Those With No Preschool Experience 100 90 Percent of Students 80 41.9 70 62.1 60 50 Not Ready 40 Ready 30 58.1 20 37.9 10 0 VPI No Preschool n=4,694 n=2,578 26

Preliminary findings from the 2019 Virginia Early Childhood Workforce Surve y Daphna Bassok Associate Professor of Education & Public Policy

Linking kindergarten readiness to early elementary success… Proficiency on Third Grade Reading SOL by performance on the PALS at Kindergarten Entry 100 90 92 80 82 70 Percent Proficient 71 60 63 50 45 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 Quintiles of PALS Scores Bassok, Herring, McGinty, Miller, & Wyckoff, 2019

Linking kindergarten readiness to early learning experiences…  High quality early learning opportunities set the stage for school success and can narrow achievement gaps  The adults who care for, interact with, and teach young children are the key drivers of “high quality” early learning opportunities  Children learn through consistent and engaging interactions with adults.

The early childhood workforce as critical partners for school readiness and beyond

The 2019 Virginia Early Childhood Workforce Survey As part of Virginia’s Preschool Development Grant, we  invited all teachers and assistant teachers working full-time in child care centers, Head Start programs, and pre- kindergarten programs in 27 Virginia communities to take a survey. About 2,500 teachers invited   Unprecedented response rates: 75 percent replied (!)  Broad coverage: ➢ Curricula ➢ Professional development ➢ Leadership ➢ Compensation ➢ Well-being (job satisfaction, stress, financial/food insecurity)

Who are Virginia’s early childhood lead teachers…

Most work with four-year-olds … Infants 12% Toddlers (ages 1 & 2) 19% 56% 3 year olds 13% 4 year olds

Over a third have a high school degree or less High School or Less 22 35.3 Associate's Degree Bachelor's Degree 30.8 Master's Degree or Higher 11.9

Many would like additional professional development… Percentage of lead teachers who indicate “not enough” professional development on each topic 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Supporting children with disabilities/special needs 48 Supporting development of English Language Learniners 43 Strategies for addressing trauma 34 Strategies for managing behavior 33 Tools for assessing children 33 Creating culturally responsive learning environment 30 Providing high quality teacher-child interactions 29 Support using a specific curriculum 26 Strategies for engaging families 26

Only about a third of lead teachers work in schools Schools 32% Centers 68%

Comparing early educators in schools and child care centers…

The racial composition of the child care workforce mirrors Virginia’s children Racial Composition of Early Educators 100 86 90 80 70 56 60 50 40 30 24 20 10 8 5 5 10 3 2 1 0 Hispanic, any race White, non- Black, non- Asian, non- Other, multi-racial Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic Centers Schools

Educational attainment is much higher in schools Differences in Education Level across Program Types 60 55 52 50 44 40 30 25 17 20 10 6 1 1 0 High School or Less Associate's Degree Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree or Higher Centers Schools