Kindergarten Entrance Assessment Updates and Understanding March 2015

What do we know now about the KEA? MDE is planning for widespread KEA use in Michigan We are excited at the Governor’s proposed investment TS Gold will be the tool this coming year, with continuous modifications to inform differentiated instruction This data will inform instructional decisions from the classroom to the state We will continue to build partnerships with stakeholders There is a professional learning construct in development

Why a Kindergarten Entrance Assessment? Classroom Instruction and Parent Engagement Principal Awareness District Awareness ISD Awareness State Awareness Why? Provide accurate information to parents about their child’s development Standardized assessment at the beginning of a student’s career; Provide comparison data for widely held expectations for Kindergarten students; Identify Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) needs early; Provide comprehensive information about incoming K students to teachers, principals, districts, ISDs, and state leaders for the purposes of meeting needs of students and designing professional learning for staff; Better alignment of curriculum and instruction across early learning and K-12.

What is it? The KEA is a construct used to determine how our students are developing upon entry into kindergarten; It is NOT a screener for readiness for kindergarten! The information can be used to: Inform instruction in classrooms, including suggestions for instruction in early literacy and numeracy; Inform support and professional learning needs at a building; Provide standardized formative information to better assess children to structure their success at the beginning of their first three years in school; Create a platform/bridge between early childhood and K -12 to support students’ transition and improve curriculum alignment.

The Tool—TS Gold Observational Assessment 6 TS Gold Domains Language MI KEA Objectives of Development and Learning (handout) 6 TS Gold Domains Language Literacy Mathematics Social Emotional Physical Health Cognition See MI KEA Objectives of Development and Learning (handout) for specific indicators.

What is TS Gold? Teaching Strategies GOLD: An authentic, ongoing observational system* for assessing children from birth through kindergarten; Helps teachers to observe children in the context of every day experiences, which is an effective way to learn what they know and can do. *A system of observation, documentation, and analysis that helps track a child’s/student’s progress toward meeting learning expectations or standards and is considered a crucial part of a teacher’s curriculum planning and instructional strategy. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from: https://ec.thecenterweb.org/sites/ec.thecenterweb.org/files/uploads/lp_spring-12_1-6_lr.pdf Authentic in this case refers to the everyday classroom setting that the child attends. An ongoing observational system refers to the time frame (Sept. 8-October 31, 2015) from which the data is gathered about each child.

Indicator and Measurement Data input Example This view is what teachers would see as they are entering data about each individual child. The colored bands on the progressions indicate the age and class/grade ranges for widely held developmental and learning expectations. While there is a typical progression for each objective, it is not rigid; development and learning are uneven, overlapping, and interrelated.

Reports from TS Gold include: Reports offer a variety of information useful for teachers to meet the needs of their students. Examples include: Individual Child Report Provides checkpoint levels on each child’s progression Widely Held Expectations Report Provides information on which children are meeting widely held expectations for incoming kindergarteners Performance and Growth Report Is this child or group of children meeting widely held expectations? (Performance) Is this child or group of children demonstrating progress toward meeting expectations? (Growth)

Individual Child Report (Teacher) Objectives/ Dimentions Age or Grade/ Class Not Yet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 15a. Notices and discriminates rhyme Fall 2014 15b. Notices and discriminates alliteration 15c. Notices and discriminates smaller and smaller units of sound 16a. Identifies and names letters 16b. Uses letters-sound knowledge 17b. Uses print concepts 18a. Interacts during read-alouds and book conversations

Widely Held Expectations Report (Administrator) Sample District

Performance and Growth Report (Teacher) Guideline Literacy & Knowledge Skills VI.D - Print Concepts & Conventions: The concepts about print and early decoding (identifying letter-sound relationships). 17b. Uses print concepts Sample District

Administrator Report: Comparative Report

Principal AND Administrator Training Learn about the TS Gold tool Learn how the registration process works Learn about teacher support options to consider Principals and other Administrators will be given opportunity to learn about the TS Gold KEA tool as well as a deeper understanding of the registration process and support options to consider.

Professional learning Instructional Coaches Through ISD/RESAs Supporting regional educators Teacher Advisors By district Supporting time on the assessment Teachers Face to face Online modules as resource support Inter Rater Reliability

The PROPOSED incentives The budget process is ongoing Updates will be shared as soon as decisions are final

The PROPOSED incentives concerning the KEA Parameters The district administers a department approved KEA TS Gold is the only approved KEA To ALL incoming Kindergarteners Including all forms of Developmental Kindergarten Assessment window is September 8-October 30, 2015. (40 days of school)

Likely Next Steps The KEA is the first step to Michigan’s comprehensive approach to Career and College Readiness Continuous quality improvement will be emphasized throughout the development and implementation of the Michigan’s KEA