FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS SCHOOL COMMITTEE MAY 27, 2014 Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA)

Agenda Background MKEA Initiative MKEA Details  Teaching Strategies Gold  Domains  Technology Requirements  Timeline  Professional Development Future Questions

MKEA Initiative From MKEA website:  In collaboration with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, EEC is implementing the Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA) system, which will support school districts in using a formative assessment tool that measures growth and learning across all developmental domains during the child’s kindergarten year. As part of the MKEA initiative, school districts will use a formative assessment tool that is evidence based and aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. EEC has identified Teaching Strategies-GOLD System as the assessment tool for cohorts 3 and 4.

MKEA Background MKEA initiative stems for the federal identification of the need to improve Grade 3 test results across the country  Identified that Birth-5 is where the greatest need is Ability for federal and state government to impact Birth- 5 arena is limited, therefore the impact is on Kindergarten Federal requirement for compliance is mandatory for Race To The Top states  Must implement a kindergarten entry assessment  Massachusetts is a RTTT state  Franklin receives no RTTT funding, but this impact our Full Day Kindergarten grant monies

MKEA Background Kindergarten entry assessments provide a snapshot of a child’s development At least 25 states now have laws mandating some type of kindergarten entry assessment Kindergarten entry assessments can be used for a variety of purposes  Screening children to identify possible developmental concerns  Providing information to teachers to inform instruction  Providing policymakers information on trends over time to inform policy and funding decisions

MKEA Background Massachusetts has chosen to extend beyond the federal requirements  All districts with full day Kindergarten grants are required to participate regardless of RTTT status  K Grant funding in Franklin exceeds $200,000 annually  MA is implementing the assessment using a four year phase-in process  We are part of cohort 3 and required to administer these assessments in or we will lose our K grant funding  Massachusetts selected and is requiring use of a commercial product called Teaching Strategies Gold

Teaching Strategies Gold From MKEA website:  Teaching Strategies GOLD is an assessment system for children from birth through kindergarten designed to help teachers: observe and document children’s development and learning over time; support, guide, and inform planning and instruction; identify children who might benefit from special help, screening, or further evaluation; and report and communicate with family members and others. Teaching Strategies GOLD also enables to teachers to (1) collect and gather child outcome information as one part of a larger accountability system and (2) provide reports to administrators to guide program planning and professional development opportunities. Teaching Strategies GOLD addresses the following Developmental Domains: (1) Social-Emotional, (2) Physical, (3) Language, (4) Cognition, (5) Literacy, (6) Mathematics, (7) Science and Technology, (8) Social Studies, (9) The Arts, and (10) English Language Acquisition.

Teaching Strategies Gold Compatible with NAEYC Teaching Strategies Gold is a comprehensive assessment system  All assessments are based on observing children and recording data  Children are not “tested” using paper/pencil  Will administer a formative (diagnostic) assessment in the fall  Will administer a summative assessment in the spring to determine growth over time  Designed to look at program quality and outcome data  Not a kindergarten readiness tool

Domains There are 10 domains and 38 objectives covered by Teaching Strategies Gold Aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Covers all aspects of development and learning  MA is requiring that we test all K children next year in parts of 2 domains  Social-Emotional (all objectives)  Cognitive (not all objectives this year) Approaches to Play and Learning

In will assess all 10 domains:  Social-Emotional  Physical  Language  Cognitive  Literacy  Mathematics  Science and Technology  Social Studies  The Arts  English Language Acquisition

Technology Requirements Software program and licenses provided in year one, possibly longer  Long term costs not yet addressed Teachers must take data while working with students Teachers will be able to generate reports to access data  Class profile, individual students, development and learning  Family communication tools in the assessment system Use of a portable device makes this more efficient  Purchasing laptops in this fiscal year from remaining grant funds and operating budgets  Will replace current desktops used by teachers  These will be repurposed in the district All data must be uploaded to DESE

Professional Development State mandated training for all teachers involved in administering assessments: Classrooms, special education, Title I, ELL Two full days of training is required  State offering limited stipends or compensation for subs to districts Training to be done by Collaborative Education Services- consulting group  They are the only state approved provider

Timeline Assessments must be administered by mid-October Data upload by mid-November Spring assessment dates not yet set Training of K teachers arranged for 9/3 and 9/4 Start date for K student 9/5 (Friday) which will be an orientation day  Principals will develop plan for that day and communicate with families Students will begin full day K on 9/8 (Monday)

Questions education-and-care/mkea/