Why a widen again each summer. Kindergarten Entry Children often - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Why a Kindergarten Entry Assessment?

The full extent of achievement gaps are present when children enter kindergarten. Schools do not significantly increase gaps; in fact they may reduce them somewhat- only to see the gaps widen again each summer. Children often come to Kindergarten up to two years

• behind. Research shows that even the best teacher and

instruction only is able to close that gap by 1 to 1 ½ years only to have the summer slide widen the gap once again. Due to COVID19, Alabama’s early learning programs, childcares and livelihoods of families have been disrupted. This disruption has put many of Alabama’s children at risk of entering kindergarten behind the widely held expectation of a typically developing five-year-old.

Whole Child Assessment

Whole child assessments allow teachers to begin immediately meeting the individual developmental learning needs of each child by informing instructional practices and program development. Assessing the whole child is inclusive of Executive function skills not in isolation from academic learning. Executive functioning skills are mediate prediction of higher literacy scores in third grade.

• Sasser, Bierman, & Heinrichs, 2015;

Cavanugh et al, 2016

It is currently being aligned to the state's newly revised Alabama Standards for Early Learning and Development (ASELD). The revision of the standards was accomplished in collaboration with DHR, Head Start, ADECE, Higher Ed, and Early Childhood professionals in Alabama. AlaKIDS is fully aligned to the Alabama Course of Study for Kindergarten: English Language Arts (2016) and Mathematics (2015).

AlaKIDS is a whole child assessment that will provide the Kindergarten teacher with needed information on a child's independent skills and abilities.

KEA 2017

How is AlaKIDS Different from previous KEA?

AlaKIDS 2020

ADECE Lead Agency 51 objectives Observation based Finished in October IRR Required Weekly guide and subs provided to enter documentation weekly *Teachers could continue to use the tool to form daily instruction beyond first checkpoint Collaboration between DHR, ALSDE, and ADECE 34 objectives Hybrid with standardized prompts and materials Completed in first 3 to 4 weeks of school IRR is not required to do the survey Guide for daily small group and individual child Kindergarten Entry Assessment *Teachers can continue to use tool to form daily instruction beyond first checkpoint

List of Whole Child Objectives for AlaKIDS

Comprehensive Objectives for Development and Learning

Social-Emotional

• 1. Regulates own emotions and behaviors
• a. Takes care of own needs appropriately

2. Establishes and sustains positive relationships

• b. Responds to emotional cues
• c. Interacts with peers

3. Participants cooperatively and constructively in group situations

• d. Balances needs and right of self and others
• e. Solves social problems

Physical

• 4. Demonstrates traveling skills
• 5. Demonstrates balancing skills
• 6. Demonstrates gross-motor manipulative skills
• 7. Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
• a. Uses fingers and hands
• b. Uses writing and drawing tools

Language

• 8. Uses languages to express thoughts and needs
• a. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary
• b. Uses conventional grammar
• c. Tells about another time or place
• 9. Uses appropriate conversational and other

communication skills

• d. Engages in conversations

Cognitive

• 10. Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
• a. Persists
• b. Solves problems
• c. Shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking
• 11. Remembers and connects experiences
• d. Makes connections

Literacy

• 12. Demonstrates phonological awareness
• a. Notices and discriminates alliteration
• b. Notices and discriminates smaller and smaller

units

• f sound
• 13. Demonstrates knowledge of the alphabet
• a. Identifies and names letters
• b. Uses letter-sound knowledge
• 14. Demonstrates knowledge of print and its uses
• a. Uses and appreciates books
• b. Uses print concepts
• 15. Comprehends and responds to books and other texts
• a. Interacts during read-aloud and book conversations
• b. Uses emergent reading skills
• c. Retells stories
• 16. Demonstrates emergent writing skills
• a. Writes name

Mathematics

• 17. Uses number concepts and operations
• a. Counts
• b. Quantities
• c. Connects numerals with their quantities
• 18. Explores and describes spatial relationships and shapes
• a. Understands spatial relationships
• b. Understands shapes
• 19. Demonstrates knowledge of patterns

Implementation Timeline 2020

June/July Kits will be assembled and delivered to kindergarten teachers. June Trainings for the Trainers- Establish a cohort of certified trainers (Regional Coaches from ADECE and ALSDE) throughout the state to partner in providing introduction to AlaKIDS training and support implementation after year one. July 6 Hour Training for Teachers August/September AlaKIDS will be administered to all kindergarten children within the first 3 to 4 weeks of the start of school.

Reporting

Information collected through the tool provides data to inform planning and individualizing instruction for each child, as well as helps share information with family members and other key stakeholders. Administrators can attend a virtual training on ways to support teachers’ use of the assessment tool and gain understanding of embedded reports to inform instructional practices.

1 2