APPENDIX B – Description of EEC Approved Assessment Tools
High/Scope Child Observation Record (COR)[1]
Purpose of Measure
The High/Scope Child Observation Record for ages 2 ½ - 6 (COR) is an observational assessment tool that can be used in a variety of early childhood settings…It is developmentally appropriate, both in breadth of content and in process. (www.highscope.org/Assessment/cor.htm).
Developmental Domains Measured by the Assessment Tool
· Social/Emotional Development
· Physical Development
· Cognitive Development
· Language Development
· Approaches to Learning (e.g., initiative, creativity)
Age Range
Ages 2 years, 6 months through 6 years.
Specific Skills measured by the Assessment Tool
This measure focuses on six constructs, each involving several skills.
· Initiative includes expressing choices, solving problems, engaging in complex play, and cooperating in routines.
· Social Relations includes relating to adults, relating to children, making friends, solving social problems, and expressing feelings.
· Creative Representation includes making and building, drawing and painting, and pretending.
· Music and Movement includes body and coordination, manual coordination, imitating a beat, and movement and directions.
· Language and Literacy includes understanding speech, speaking, interest in reading, using books correctly, beginning reading, and beginning writing.
· Logic and Mathematics includes arranging in order, using comparison words, sorting, using the words some, not, and all, comparing numbers, counting objects, spatial relations, and sequence and time.
Who Administers Measure/ Training Required?
The COR is meant to work closely with methods used by schools to document children’s progress (e.g., portfolios, checklists, notes, or mixtures of these). For instance, teachers might take notes on instances in which children illustrate knowledge of letters and an increased ability to write their names, or they might collect samples of the children’s work that illustrates such growth. In the measure development/validation study, teachers wrote brief notes on index cards over the course of the school year describing the six aspects of development noted above for each child in their class.
Once teachers have recorded information on individual children for a substantial period of time, they are asked to assess each child’s level on a series of skills within each construct. This is done by choosing from a list of continuous indicators for each skill (e.g., Expressing Choices, Solving Problems, Engaging in Complex Play) within the larger construct (e.g., Initiative). For example, indictors for the “Expressing Choices” skill in the “Initiative” category include a) child does not yet express choice to others, b) child indicates a desired activity or place of activity by saying a word, pointing, or some other action, c) child indicates desired activity, place of activity, materials, or playmates with a short sentence, d) child indicates with a short sentence how plans will be carried out, and e) child gives detailed description of intended actions.
A three-day COR training session led by a professional trainer is recommended. Implementing the system correctly will likely require the initial training as well as some follow-up technical assistance
How do you interpret the information/data?
The teacher who maintains records for a child and completes the skill level ratings also interprets the results, using them to guide activities and instruction, and provide information to parents.
How is the Assessment Tool administered?
The teachers observe individual children over time, but the context for observations may be a group setting.
What is the Cost?
The cost is $174.95 (Manual Kit)
Curriculum
The measurement approach was originally created to accompany the High/Scope Curriculum.
Reliability
The COR has evidence of good inter-rater reliability.
Validity
Studies on the COR have shown evidence of concurrent and construct validity.
Norming of Measure (Criterion or Norm Referenced)
Criterion referenced.
Spanish Language Versions
There are no Spanish versions of the entire kit, but the family report forms are bilingual
On-line Version
There is an on-line version to assist in charting children's progress (COR computer assist) that is available for $50.00.
Parent Involvement
Provides forms for summarizing the progress of individual children and the group as a whole for parents, administrators, and other key audiences.
Publisher
High/Scope Press
313-485-2000 or
800-40-PRESS
Website
www.highscope.org
Desk Copy
Sample pages are available on the web-site
The Work Sampling System (WSS)
Purpose of Measure
The Work Sampling System is a validated, research-based observational assessment designed to enhance instruction and improve learning for preschool to grade 6. It is a curriculum embedded assessment based on national and state standards designed to systematically document children’s skills, knowledge, behavior and academic accomplishments.
Developmental Domains Measured by the Assessment Tool
· Social/Emotional Development
· Physical Development
· Cognitive Development
· Language Development
· Approaches to Learning (e.g., math, scientific thinking)
Age Range
Ages 3 years through Grade 6
The Ounce Scale is similar to the Work Sampling System but for younger children birth to 3 years. It is an observational assessment to help evaluate infants’ and toddlers’ development. www.ounceonline.com
Specific Skills measured by the Assessment Tool
· Personal and Social Development. Child’s feelings about self and interactions with peers and adults.
· Language and Literacy. Acquisition of language and reading skills.
· Mathematical Thinking. Patterns, relationships, the search for multiple solutions to problems. Both the aspects of concepts and procedures and knowing and doing are addressed.
· Scientific Thinking. How children investigate through observing, recording, describing, questioning, forming explanations, and drawing conclusions.
· Social Studies. Ideas of human interdependence and the relationships between people and the environment.
· The Arts. How children engage in dance, drama, music and art, both actively and receptively.
· Physical Development and Health. Addresses fine and gross motor development, control, balance and coordination, along with personal health and safety.
Who Administers Measure/ Training Required?
Data are collected by child care providers throughout the school year, through portfolios, developmental guidelines and checklists and then compiled in summary reports.
Training is available for different skill levels and types of users through Pearson Clinical Assessment (1-800-627-7271). Customizable one to three day trainings are available to address implementing the system, correct behavioral observation techniques and use of the computerized version- Work Sampling Online. Trainings that address the Work Sampling Online component can be delivered on-site in a computer lab or via webinar/conference call.
How do you interpret the data/information?
Each developmental guideline provides a detailed description of the skill to be assessed. The teachers who maintain the records should also interpret the results and use them on an ongoing basis to inform instruction and provide feedback to parents. Skills can be rated on a continuum up to three times a year (fall, winter, and spring).
How is the Assessment Tool administered?
The teacher assesses the progress of individual children over time in the classroom setting – what the child is currently learning, what skills have been mastered and what skills need development- using researched based curricula and developmental standards. WSS addresses the indicators listed in the MA Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences and the federal OSEP reporting guidelines.
What does it Cost?
A Work Sampling Classroom Implementation Kit costs $149.50 in 2008. (Kit includes Teacher’s Manual, 30 Checklists, Scoring Rubrics, Wall Chart and Reproducible Summary Report and Documentation Masters.)
Optional staff development training is available for both the print and on-line versions of WSS.
Curriculum
WSS can be used with any developmentally appropriate curriculum and is aligned to Opening the World of Learning (OWL) curriculum. Skill building interventions are also available using the WSS Preschool Activity Cards for ages 3 through 4.
Reliability
A Work Sampling System reliability study conducted with 100 kindergarten-age children showed Work Sampling Checklist and Summary Reports to have very high internal and moderately high inter-rater reliability (alphas = .84 – .95) (Meisels, Liaw, Dorfman, & Nelson, 1995).
Validity
The Work Sampling System has good evidence of validity through a study of 345 children from 17 classrooms in schools in Pittsburgh. Correlations between WSS Checklist ratings in literacy and mathematical thinking and Woodcock-Johnson standardized test scores were moderate to high, demonstrating that WSS is a valid and effective indicator of student learning. Over three-fourths of the correlations were between .50 – .75 indicating WSS ratings were a strong predictor of academic achievement test scores (Meisels, Bickel, Nicholson, Xue, & Atkins-Burnett, 2001; Meisels, Atkins-Burnett, Xue, Bickel, Nicholson, & Son, 2003).
Norming of Measure (Criterion or Norm Referenced)
Criterion referenced.
Parent Involvement
There is a parent form- called the Family Report which allows for parent or guardian input to this process.
Spanish Language Versions
There is a Spanish language version of the WSS Parent Report.
On-Line Version
The on-line version allows for collecting, managing and reporting assessment data: www.worksamplingonline.com
It costs $11.10 to $19.95 per child depending upon the quantity served.
Publisher
Pearson Clinical Assessment
5601 Green Valley Drive
Bloomington, MN 55437
800-627-7271
Website
www.pearsonassessments.com
Desk Copy
Complimentary Samplers are available and Review Copies can be requested on 30 day preview
Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)[2]
Purpose of Measure
The ASQ, by Jane Squires, LaWanda Potter, and Diane Bricker, screens infants and young children for developmental delays from 4 months to 5 years. Parents or caregivers complete the 30-item questionnaires at designated intervals, assessing children in their natural environments to ensure valid results.
Developmental Domains Measured by the Screening Tool
· Social/Emotional Development
· Physical Development
· Cognitive Development
· Language Development
Age Range
Ages 4 months through 5 years
Specific Skills measured by the Screening Tool
· Communication, which addresses babbling, vocalizing, listening, and understanding
· Gross motor, which focuses on arm, body, and leg movements
· Fine motor, which pertains to hand and finger movements
· Problem solving, which addresses learning and playing with toys
· Personal-social, which focuses on solitary social play and play with toys and other children
· An Overall section asks about general parental concerns.
Who Administers Measure/Training Required?
The questionnaires are designed to be completed by the child’s parents or caregivers in the home or child care setting. Scoring can be done by clerical staff or paraprofessionals who have been instructed by professional staff; scoring can take as little as 1 minute and no more than 5 minutes. An ASQ Information Summary Sheet is included for each age interval. This form provides space for scoring the questionnaire as well as space to record demographic information about the family and overall comments of the parents or caregivers. This sheet permits professional staff to keep a one-page summary of questionnaire results while allowing parents to keep the questionnaire for further reference about their child’s developmental level.
Although the questionnaires are designed to be completed by parents, the system requires professional involvement. One or more professionals will be needed to establish the system, develop the necessary community interfaces, train individuals who will score the questionnaires, and provide feedback to parents of children who are completing the questionnaires. Paraprofessionals can operate the system once it is established, score the questionnaires, and provide routine feedback to families of children who are not identified as requiring further assessment. On site training seminars are offered through the publisher. As well, training related video tapes ($49.95) are available through the publisher, but these videos primarily focus on home visits.
How long does it take?
Each questionnaire can be completed in 10-15 minutes.
How do you interpret the data?
Each Ages & Stages Questionnaire is accompanied by an Information Summary Sheet, which has the following two purposes: 1) to assist with scoring and 2) to provide a summary of the child’s performance on the questionnaire. The Information Summary Sheet can be kept by program staff as a record of the child’s performance on the individual questionnaires so the questionnaires themselves can be returned to parents or service providers for future reference. The scoring section of the sheet is designed to be used primarily by service providers.
How is the Screening Tool administered?
The parent or caregiver administers the test in a one-on-one setting.
What is the Cost?
The complete ASQ system costs $199.00
Reliability
The ASQ is a reliable measure. (1) Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha): Communication (.63 to .75); Gross Motor (.53 to .87); Fine Motor (.49 to .79); Problem Solving (.52 to .75); Personal-Social (.52 to .68). (2) Test-retest reliability: percent agreement between administrations was 94 percent. (3) Inter-rater reliability: percent agreement between observers was 94 percent.
Validity
The ASQ is a valid measure. Concurrent validity: percent agreement between the ASQ and other measures (the Revised Gesell and Armatruda Developmental and Neurological Examination and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development) was 84 percent overall and ranged from 76 percent for the 4-month questionnaire to 91 percent for the 36-month questionnaire.
Norming of Measure
Norm referenced.
Parent Involvement
The ASQ™ system primarily relies on parents to observe their child and to complete the simple questionnaires about their child's abilities. In addition to being cost effective, having parents complete the developmental questionnaires enhances the accuracy of the screening process because of the variety and array of information parents have about their children.
Alternative Language Version
Spanish, French and Korean versions of the ASQ are available. An ASQ CD-ROM with all instructions and forms in Spanish is available for $175.00.
On-line Version
The ASQ Manager, that assists with scoring and produces reports, is being released in August 2005 for $199.00.
Publisher
Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
Website
http://www.pbrookes.com/store/books/bricker-asq/
Is a Desk Copy available?
No but sample questionnaires are available on-line: http://www.pbrookes.com/store/books/bricker-asq/asq-sampleforms.pdf
Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5[3]
Purpose of Measure
The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5 is an assessment instrument used by teachers to guide them in observing what preschool children can do and how they do it over the course of the year. The Developmental Continuum shows the sequence of development for three-, four-, and five-year-old children on each of the 52 objectives in the Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood. The individual Child Profile shows the developmental indicators for each objective that enable teachers to summarize a child’s progress three times a year. (Abbot-Shim, 2001, p.3).