1. Early Education and Care Assessment Systems – Panel Discussion
Board of Early Education and Care Meeting
April 10, 2012

2. Standards, Assessment and Accountability
Strong Child Outcomes
Family
Context
Community
Context
Program Quality QRIS
Teacher Quality

3. Norm Referenced Summative Assessment
EEC Comprehensive Assessment Strategy
Formative Assessment
Norm Referenced Summative Assessment
Access to educational screenings and assessments for all children
Types: Work Sampling, High Scope, Creative Curriculum
Provider: Public schools, community ECE programs
Program Environment (Adult/Child Interactions)
Types: PPVT, EVT, Woodcock Johnson Social/Emotional
Provider: Public schools, community ECE programs
Screening Assessments (e.g., ASQ, ASQ-SE)
450,000 children: in communities, EEC programs, and schools – including Child Find, CFCE programs

4. Screening and Assessment Types
Massachusetts Early Learning and Development (MELD) assessment system
MELD is a system of screening and assessment for children from birth to third grade, including the Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA), that aligns seamlessly with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)
Screening:
Ages and Stage Questionnaire (ASQ), and Social-Emotional version (ASQ-SE)
Formative Assessment:
Work Sampling System,
Teaching Strategies-GOLD
High Scope COR
Diagnostic Inventories
Battelle Developmental Inventory – 2 (EI)
Kindergarten Entry Assessment
The state will implement the Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA) to produce a common statewide measure of children’s school readiness.
The state will train kindergarten teachers on the use of formative assessment as a measure of school readiness and the effective use of data to inform instruction and curriculum planning through state Readiness Centers.
The state will also conduct psychometric testing, such as item analysis, of approved assessment tools to develop a common statewide kindergarten readiness metric.
Norm Referenced
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)
Woodcock-Johnson, and the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT)
Two fine motor tests and one gross motor test to be developed
QRIS
Child observation
Assessments of environmental quality
Teacher-child interactions
Formative assessments of children's learning progress

5. Key Focus of Assessment (Outcomes)
Individualizes supports for children
Improves Teaching and Learning:
Development of Classroom Supports and Individual Teacher Professional Development Plan
Improves Program Quality.
Improves Local and Community supports for child development
Informs State Policy
Communication:
Engage Parents,
input in assessment

6. Panelists’ Perspectives on the Value of Formative Assessments
Pearson Education, Inc.
Teaching Strategies, LLC
Hannah Gebretensae
Director of Early Childhood Programs Aspire Institute at Wheelock College
Wayne Ysaguirre
President and CEO
Associated Early Care and Education, Inc.