1. The Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Test Administrator Training
Welcome to the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Test Administrator Training. This Kindergarten Assessment training is required for District Test Coordinators and for anyone that will administer Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment in the school year.
Early Literacy and Math

2. What is and what isn’t Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment?
What it IS
What it is NOT
It is a quick assessment of students’ selected skills in Early Literacy, Early Math, and Approaches to Learning
It is designed to measure what students know when they enter kindergarten
It is used to help the state, districts, schools, and early learning providers target resources where they are needed most
It is a consistent tool, used across the state
It is not used to determine if students are ready (or not) for kindergarten
It is not a placement test
It is not a comprehensive assessment of all of students’ knowledge and skills
It is not designed to measure what students learn in kindergarten
will be the third year of statewide administration of Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment.
Before we move forward with this training, it is important to distinguish what the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment is intended to do and what it is not intended to do.
For the Kindergarten Assessment, children cannot pass or fail, there is no cut score. The Kindergarten Assessment is not designed to provide comprehensive information about what an individual child knows and can do, it is designed to be used to provide a quick “snap shot” of selected skills of groups of children. That’s why the Kindergarten Assessment is so different from other state assessments and that’s part of why we are speaking with you today.
At the state level, we look at the data from the Kindergarten Assessment:
For all of Oregon’s kindergarteners to see if there are differences in scores from year to year. By looking at the data from year to year, we can determine if the state’s investments in early childhood education are paying off.
For groups of kindergarteners to see if there are differences in scores by county, school, or district. By looking at the geographic data, we can determine which areas would benefit from additional state resources in early childhood education.
For groups of kindergarteners to see if there are differences in scores by students’ background characteristics like their race/ethnicity, gender, or first language to identify opportunity gaps early. Again, this information is used to help the state decide where to invest in early childhood education.
At the school or district level, the data from the kindergarten assessment can be used to determine:
If there are schools or classrooms in a district that would benefit from district resources for teachers, like professional development.
If there are groups of students in schools or classrooms that would benefit from additional resources for students, such as summer school or other interventions.
How to reach out to parents and start conversations about students as they enter kindergarten.
How to start conversations with early childhood providers in order to create better alignment between the preschool and K-12 systems.
Again, these scores are NOT used to:
Determine if an individual child or groups of children are “ready or not” for kindergarten. Young children develop at different rates and students cannot pass or fail the Kindergarten Assessment.
Make placement decisions about students. Kindergarten teachers and schools use many tools to determine the best instruction for each student.
The KA is not a comprehensive assessment of all of a student’s knowledge and skills. Because the Kindergarten Assessment provides a quick “snap shot” of students, the scores should NOT be used to determine if a student should be placed in programs such as Special Education or English Language Development. This is because this assessment isn’t designed to measure a child’s readiness for kindergarten, it is designed to measure how ready our system is for the children.

3. Which skills are assessed on Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment?
Early Literacy: One-on-one with teacher and student
English Letter Names (60 seconds)
English Letter Sounds (60 seconds)
Spanish Letter Sounds* (60 seconds)
Early Math: One-on-one with teacher and student
Number Concepts and Quantities
Number Relationships and Operations
Patterns
Untimed, approximately 6-9 minutes total
Approaches to Learning: Teacher observation of student
Interpersonal Skills
Self-regulation
Untimed, approximately 6 minutes (no student time)
Thank you Amber. This is Kara Williams, PreK-3rd Grade Coordinator in the Office of Learning- Student Services.
There are three segments in Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment.
Early Literacy, which includes measures in English Letter Names, English Letter Sounds, and, for officially identified Spanish Speaking English Learners, Spanish Letter Sounds. These are direct assessments that are timed for 60 seconds each.
Mathematics, which includes items focused on number concepts and quantities, number relationships and operations, and number patterns. This is a direct assessment that is not timed. It typically takes 6-9 minutes to complete.
The last segment is Approaches to Learning. This assessment is based on teacher observation of the student in the classroom. It looks at interpersonal skills and self-regulation.
*Officially Identified Spanish Speaking English Learners (ELs) only

4. Why are these skills assessed on Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment?
Early Literacy
Early Math
Approaches to Learning
The Kindergarten Assessment assesses skills that are tied to academic and life success: early math, early literacy, and approaches to learning (self regulation and interpersonal skills). Research demonstrates that these skills have relationships with outcomes like 3rd grade literacy, 3rd and 5th grade reading and math skills, high school and college graduation and retention rates, and even later job performance.
The KA measures (easyCBM and CBRS) were selected because they are validated, highly reliable tools, that were already in use by school districts in Oregon.
Citations are included in this Training module that is posted to the KA resource webpage.
3rd grade literacy
high school graduation
college retention
college GPA
job performance
3rd and 5th grade reading and math skills
college graduation

5. Standardized Administration
First Priority: Minimize departures from standard administration. Every student gets the same opportunity.
Give directions verbatim
Time carefully
Keep materials secure
Second Priority: Maximize performance as much as you can given standard administration.
Perform the directions
Engage the student
Make eye contact
Business-like but not unfriendly approach
Sensitive to student’s needs and responses

6. Test Security
Only Test Administrators trained in the current year may administer the Kindergarten Assessment.
Give every student equal opportunity to perform their best in a non-distracting environment.
Keep assessment materials in a secure location.
When in doubt about a particular testing practice, before testing begins:
Check the Manual
Check your training notes
Ask your School Test Coordinator
If all else fails, assume the answer is “no”

7. Secure Assessment Environment
A quiet environment, void of distractions and supervised by a trained test administrator
Student access to only universal tools
Student data is treated as confidential
All paper assessment materials securely collected and accounted for after each assessment event
Do not leave the assessment environment unsupervised or allow untrained staff to enter the assessment environment
Here are the requirements for a secure assessment environment:
Assure a quiet environment, void of distractions and supervised by a trained assessment administrator.
Allow the student access only to universal tools. Universal tools are found in the Oregon Accessibility Manual, pg
Student data must be treated as confidential. Requirements for maintaining student confidentiality are described in Section 2 of the Test Administration Manual.
Paper assessment materials must be collected and accounted for after each assessment event, with the exception of the A2 Assessor booklet, which is now non-secure.
Do not leave the assessment environment unsupervised or allow untrained staff to enter the assessment environment.

8. Do Not Coach Students
Do not Provide students with any type of assistance that may affect how a student responds
Do not give verbal or nonverbal cues to the correct answer
Limit interactions with students to the student directions included in the Assessor Booklets and to identified accessibility supports
A potential impropriety that is particularly relevant to the kindergarten assessment is student coaching.
Student Coaching is defined as providing students with any type of assistance that may affect how a student responds.
This includes both verbal and nonverbal cues.
For the Kindergarten Assessment, Test Administrators are given text and allowable phrases to use during assessment administration. There are accommodations listed for the KA that allow changes to how the assessment is administered. These can be found in the Oregon Accessibility Manual.
To avoid coaching, Test Administrators should limit interactions with students to the student directions included in the Assessor Booklets and to providing appropriately identified and administered accessibility supports.

9. Report Problems If you have an irregularity with one of your tests…
Tell your Principal or Lit Specialist on the same day it occurs.

10. Kinder Assessment Materials
Secure Materials
Non-Secure Materials

11. Accessibility Supports
Accessibility supports allow students to participate but do not affect what the test measures.
Approved supports include:
Enlarged fonts.
Audio amplification devices.
Sign Language
Markers or rulers to focus student attention on a single line.
Testing in a separate location.
See Appendix L of the Test Administration Manual for a full list of allowable supports

12. Online Resources for Administration, Accessibility, and Security
Kindergarten Assessment Resource Webpage:
Test Administration Manual:
Oregon Accessibility Manual:
Assessment Security Forms:
Here are some online resources available for use.

13. Preparing for the Early Literacy Segment
Assessors need:
Clipboard
Stopwatch/ timing device
Pencil
Assessor booklet (Green)
Student booklet (Orange)
Student Score Sheet (White)
A quiet location
There are two early literacy measures in this assessment: Letter names and letter sounds.
They are timed measures which means the assessor will need to have a stopwatch or timing device. It is best practice to have a stopwatch that can be set at one minute and count down—such as those used for DIBELS assessment.
We are aware, however, that not everyone has this kind of timer. Other kinds of quiet timing devices are acceptable as well. The assessor also needs a clipboard, pencil, place marker or cover sheet (optional for student use), the assessor booklet, the student booklet, and a quiet location.

14. English Language Learners
If the student has not yet been identified using the Pre-LAS as a Spanish-Speaking ELL, the classroom teacher will administer the English Literacy and Math Segments of the KA.
If the student has been identified using the Pre-LAS as a Spanish-speaking ELL, the ELD Specialist (or IAs) will administer the English Literacy and Math Segments of the KA.
Spanish Literacy Segments of the Kindergarten Assessment
If the student is later identified as an ELL using the Pre-LAS, the ELD specialist will administer the additional Spanish Literacy measures of the KA at that time.

15. Approaches to Learning
Early Literacy
Early Math
Approaches to Learning
Early Literacy
Early Literacy
Letter Names

16. The Letter Names Measure
Measures students' ability to name the letters of the English alphabet, in both lower case and capitalized forms
All students participate
Students are shown letters in a chart
This is a 60 second timed assessment
The letter names assessment measures the students’ ability to name the letters of the English alphabet, in both lower case and capitalized forms.
All students will have the opportunity to participate in this assessment, with accommodations if determined to be necessary for equal access for that individual student.
In this assessment, the student is shown a chart with letters.
This is a 60 second timed assessment. Students have 60 seconds to name as many letters as they can in 60 seconds. It is important to note that this timed assessment measures fluency (which we know is a strong component in reading at grade level).
All Spanish-speaking ELL Kindergarteners will be assessed in literacy in both English and Spanish. Spanish-speaking ELLs will take the English letter names and letter sounds assessment, and will also be administered the Spanish syllable sounds assessment. This is required for all Spanish-speaking ELL Kindergarteners.

17. Procedure for the Letter Names Measure
Seat yourself across the table from the student who is also seated
Position yourself so the student cannot see the documents on the clipboard or the stopwatch/timing device
Place the Student Copy English Letter Names in front of the student
The assessor should be seated across a table from the student who is also seated.
The assessor should be positioned so that the student cannot see the documents on the clipboard or the stopwatch/timing device.
It takes some practice to do the timing and scoring in such a way that is not obvious to the student. We want to remember that these are young kindergarteners entering a whole new learning environment-- and we want them to walk away feeling successful—regardless of how they performed on the assessment.
The only thing that the student will see is a chart of letters. It is important to note that it is okay to use a guide or marker for the student to track the rows. This could be as simple as a sheet of paper used to reveal one row at a time. The student can be asked if this makes it easier for them or not. The assessor will need to determine (after observing the student) whether the student can move the marker down independently or whether they will need assistance.

18. Sample Student Chart (not the actual form included in the fall 2013 kindergarten assessment)
This is an example of what the student will see. This is not the actual form included in the statewide assessment—but it gives you an idea of what the student will be looking at.
As you can see, a sheet of paper could be placed on top of the chart to reveal the first row, then moved down to reveal the second row, and so on….
SAMPLE

19. Read the directions verbatim to the student
Start the stopwatch/timing device when the student says the first letter name
At 60 seconds mark the last letter with a bracket and then say “Stop”
The assessor copy includes a script and directions for gesturing. It is very important that the assessor reads the directions verbatim to the student and performs the gestures exactly as indicated.
The assessor will start the stopwatch/timing device when the student says the first letter name.
At 60 seconds, the assessor will mark the last letter named with a bracket and then say “stop.” This piece should be handled very sensitively—we don’t want the student to be abruptly cut-off. What is important is that the last letter named at 60 seconds is bracketed. The assessor can wait to say stop until the student completes their thought or completes the row—whatever makes the most sense.

20. English Letter Names: Scoring
If the student:
is correct, do not mark the letter and count as correct.
says incorrect letter name, slash through the letter, and count as incorrect.
skips letter, slash through the letter and count as incorrect.
is non-responsive on a letter for longer than three seconds, slash through the letter, count as incorrect and move to the next letter, giving encouragement if needed (If the student is trying to answer, they can be given a few seconds more to respond).
self corrects, write SC above the letter and count as correct.
Once all measures for the session have been completed:
Record on the Assessor Score Sheet:
Test Attempt Code Y or N
Admin Code (codes provided on score sheet)
Number of correct letters in # correct
Number of attempts in # attempted
The assessor will keep the student response record on the English Letter Names chart in the Assessor Score Sheet (Secure). Scoring guidance is available in the assessor booklet (A2).
Once all measures for the session have been completed, the assessor records: Test Attempt Code, Admin Code, number of correct letters, and number of attempts on the space provided on the Assessor Score Sheet.
Please note that scoring procedures for English Letter Names is the same for FT items.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

21. Practice ] Correct: 13 Attempted: 18 SC O, Y, A,…, O, B, E, O, T, Q
E, R, S… uhm…Z , S, L, T, P, N
Correct: 13
Attempted: 18

22. Additional Considerations
If a student:
Provides the letter sound instead of the letter name, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed one time): “Say the name of each letter”
Provides the letter name in a language other than English, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed on time): “Say the name of each letter in English”
Loses his/her place and skips a line, redirect the student to the correct row
is non-responsive on a letter longer than 3 seconds, say: “Ok, do you know this one?” and point to the next letter
Does not name a letter in the first row, move to second row. If the student still does not identify a letter in the second row, the timed fluency assessment can be discontinued
Here are some additional things to consider when administering English Letter Names.
If a student provides the English letter sound instead of the letter name, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed one time): “Say the name of each letter.”
If a student provides the letter name in a language other than English, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed on time): “Say the name of each letter in English.”
If a student loses his/her place and skips a line, redirect the student to the correct row.
If a student does not name a letter in the first row, move to second row.
If the student still does not identify a letter in the second row, the timed fluency assessment can be discontinued. The score will be 0. At this point, it is best practice to ask the student if he/she recognizes any letters on the page (remove the guide if used). While this does not contribute to the score, it is still valuable information.

23. Field Test
In response to recommendations made by the Kindergarten Content and Assessment Advisory Committee, ODE is field testing alternative letter name and letter sound grids reorganized with easier letters towards the top or smaller grids with fewer letters overall. The intent is to implement Early Literacy measures in future years that measure improvement across the full range of student performance.
Bridgeport
Byrom
Metzger

24. Sample Student Chart (Field Test Items)
English Letter Names Field Test A
40 English Letter Names Grid
(found on page 2 of the student booklet)
English Letter Names Field Test C
100 English Letter Names Grid
(found on page 2 of the student booklet)
If your school has been selected to participate in an English Letter Names FT measure these are examples of what students will see.
Schools that are assigned a FT item will only see one FT item, and also the operational item. Schools selected to administer a field test form have been chosen to be representative of the state and comparable across the four alternate forms, so it is important that all assigned schools participate and include all students.
Field Test A is Short form of English Letter Names (found on page 2 of student booklet)
The short form displays a grid of 40 letters rather than 100.
When conducting this assessment, follow the same administration procedures as for English Letter Names.
Field Test C is an Alternate form of English Letter Names (found on page 2 of student booklet)
The alternate form displays a grid of 100 letters that are different than the letters on the form currently use on the operational Kindergarten Assessment.
***If your school has been chosen to participate in Field Test A or Field Test C, all your KA materials will come marked with an Form ID of “A” or a “C” in parentheses . All booklets and score sheets will be coded to the exact same field test version, and will be packaged accordingly. For example, the field test student booklet would be called “S (A)” instead of the simple “S” version if your school is participating in the “English Letter Names” short form.

25. Early Literacy
Letter Sounds

26. The Letter Sounds Measure
Measures students' ability to produce common sounds associated with letters of the English alphabet and common digraphs
All students participate
Students are shown letters and digraphs in a chart
This is a 60 second timed assessment
Students have 60 seconds to produce as many of the corresponding sounds as they can
The letter sounds assessment measures the students’ ability to produce common sounds associated with letters of the English alphabet and common digraphs.
All students will have the opportunity to participate in this assessment, with accommodations if determined to be necessary for equal access for that individual student. This includes English language learners. All Spanish-speaking ELL Kindergarteners will be assessed in literacy in both English and Spanish. Spanish-speaking ELLs will take the English letter names and letter sounds assessment, and will also be administered the Spanish syllable sounds assessment. This is required for all Spanish-speaking ELL Kindergarteners.
In this assessment, the student is shown a chart with letters and digraphs.
This is a 60 second timed assessment. Students have 60 seconds to produce as many letter sounds as they can in 60 seconds. Again, it is important to note that this timed assessment measures fluency which we know is a strong component in reading at grade level.

27. Procedure for the Letter Sounds Assessment
Seat yourself across the table from the student who is also seated
Position yourself so the student cannot see the documents on the clipboard or the stopwatch/timing device
Place the Student Copy English Letter Sounds in front of the student
The assessor should be seated across a table from the student who is also seated.
The assessor should be positioned so that the student cannot see the documents or stopwatch/timing device. It takes some practice to do the timing and scoring in such a way that is not obvious to the student. We want to remember that these are young kindergarteners entering a new educational environment, and we want them to walk away feeling successful—regardless of how they performed on the assessment.
The only thing that the student will see is a chart of letters and digraphs. It is important to note that it is okay to use a guide or marker for the student to track the rows. This could be as simple as a sheet of paper used to reveal one row at a time. The student can be asked if this makes it easier for them or not. The assessor will need to determine whether the student can move the marker down independently or whether they will need assistance.

28. Sample Student Chart (not the actual form included in the fall 2013 kindergarten assessment)
The above slide is an example of what the student will see. This is not the actual form included in the statewide assessment—but it gives you an idea of what the student will be looking at. As you can see, a sheet of paper could be placed on top of the chart to reveal the first row, then moved down to reveal the second row, and so on….
SAMPLE

29. Read the directions verbatim to the student
Start the stopwatch/timing device when the student says the first letter sound
At 60 seconds mark the last letter with a bracket and then say “Stop”
The assessor copy includes a script and directions for gesturing.
It is very important that the assessor reads the directions verbatim to the student and performs the gestures exactly as indicated.
The assessor will start the stopwatch/timing device when the student says the first letter sound.
At 60 seconds, the assessor will mark the last letter named with a bracket and then say “stop.” This piece should be handled very sensitively—we don’t want the student to be abruptly cut-off. What is important is that the last letter named at 60 seconds is bracketed. The assessor can wait to say stop until the student completes their thought or completes the row—whatever makes the most sense.

30. Correct Letter Sounds Long and Short Vowel sounds are acceptable
eh or E sounds
Uh or U sounds
Etc…
Hard and Soft sounds are acceptable
K or S sound for C
Guh or juh sounds for G
If a student encounters a letter blend and gives isolated (separate) letter sounds, it is scored as incorrect.

31. English Letter Sounds: Scoring
If the student:
is correct, do not mark the letter and count as correct.
says incorrect letter sound, slash through the letter, and count as incorrect.
skips letter, slash through the letter and count as incorrect.
encounters a letter blend and gives isolated (separate) letter sounds, count as incorrect.
makes long or short vowel sound, count as correct. Either is acceptable.
makes hard or soft consonant sounds, count as correct. Either is acceptable.
is non-responsive on a letter for longer than three seconds, slash through the letter, count as incorrect and move to the next letter, giving encouragement if needed. (If the student is trying to answer, they can be given a few seconds more to respond).
self corrects, write SC above the letter and count as correct.
Once all measures for the session have been completed:
Record in the Assessor Score Sheet:
Test Attempt Code Y or N
Admin Code (codes provided on score sheet)
Number of correct letters in # correct
Number of attempts in # attempted
The assessor will keep the student response record on the English Letter Sounds chart in the Assessor Score Sheet (Secure). Scoring guidance is available in the assessor booklet (A2).
Once all measures for the session have been completed, the assessor records the Test Attempt Code, Admin Code, number of correct letters, and number of attempts on the space provided on the Assessor Score Sheet.
Remember that scoring procedures for English Letter Sounds is the same for FT items.

32. Sample Student Chart (not the actual form included in the fall 2013 kindergarten assessment)
The above slide is an example of what the student will see. This is not the actual form included in the statewide assessment—but it gives you an idea of what the student will be looking at. As you can see, a sheet of paper could be placed on top of the chart to reveal the first row, then moved down to reveal the second row, and so on….
SAMPLE

33. Practice ] Correct: 14 Attempted: 19
jhhh, Juh, T, G, NNN, LL, eye, err, LL, y
K, f, ih, t - h, shhh, k - h, Zee, Q, shhh
Correct: 14
Attempted: 19

34. Additional Considerations
If a student:
Provides the letter sound instead of the letter name, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed one time): “Say the sound of each letter”
Provides the letter name in a language other than English, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed on time): “Say the sound of each letter in English”
Loses his/her place and skips a line, redirect the student to the correct row
Is non-responsive on a letter longer than 3 seconds, say: “Ok, do you know this one?” and point to the next letter
Does not name a letter in the first row, move to second row. If the student still does not identify a letter in the second row, the timed fluency assessment can be discontinued
Here are some additional things to consider when administering English Letter Names.
If a student provides the English letter sound instead of the letter name, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed one time): “Say the name of each letter.”
If a student provides the letter name in a language other than English, repeat the directions verbatim (allowed on time): “Say the name of each letter in English.”
If a student loses his/her place and skips a line, redirect the student to the correct row.
If a student does not name a letter in the first row, move to second row.
If the student still does not identify a letter in the second row, the timed fluency assessment can be discontinued. The score will be 0. At this point, it is best practice to ask the student if he/she recognizes any letters on the page (remove the guide if used). While this does not contribute to the score, it is still valuable information.

35. Approaches to Learning
Early Literacy
Early Math
Approaches to Learning
Early Math
Early Math

36. Early Math: Numbers and Operations
Measures students' ability to understand numbers, number systems, relationships among numbers and meanings of operations
All students participate
The student booklet has one item per page
There are two sample items and sixteen assessment items
This assessment is not timed
The early math-numbers and operations--measures students' ability to understand numbers, number systems, relationships among numbers and meanings of operations.
All students will have the opportunity to participate in this assessment, with accommodations if determined to be necessary for equal access for that individual student. A Spanish/English side-by-side version is available in the Spanish/English student assessment booklet.
The student booklet has one item per page.
There are two sample items and sixteen assessment items. The two sample items give the student a chance to practice using the assessment format. The assessor can use these sample items to make sure that the student understands how to look at items and choose their answer.
This assessment is not timed

37. Sample Item #1 English Spanish/English
The above slide displays Sample Item #1 in both the English Student booklet and the Spanish/English student booklet. You can see that there is some minimal text in some of the items. This is what will be shown in front of the student.
In this item, the assessor directions for the assessor on the assessor form are:
“We are looking at numbers, counting, adding to, and taking away. Here is one to practice. Look at what is here.” Demonstrate by pointing to the box and then sweeping your finger from the first to last number below. “How many? Point to or choose the answer.”
We will discuss more about the assessor form in the next few slides.

38. Recording Student Answers
Circle the student’s selected answer on Assessor Score Sheet
For each item, the three possible answers fall under columns A, B, C
Verbal or pointed responses are accepted. If the student:
Verbalizes their answer and doesn’t point, the verbalized answer is accepted.
Points to an answer and doesn’t verbalize, the pointed answer is accepted.
Verbalizes an answer and points to a different answer, prompt the student one time to point to their final answer, the pointed answer is accepted
Verbalizes in either English or Spanish, or both intermittently, the bilingual answers are accepted (officially identified Spanish Speaking ELs only)
Appears to verbalize an answer in a language other than English, prompt the student to point to their final answer.
If the student still does not know the answer or does want to select an answer, then select NA (no answer) and go to the next item
The assessor will circle the student’s selected answer on the Assessor Score Sheet. For each item, the 3 possible answers fall under columns A, B, C. There is an additional choice of “NA” which the test administrator can circle if the student did not choose an answer.
Note: This year, the Answer key includes a shaded response (indicating correct response)
Again, new in : Verbal or pointed responses are accepted in the Early Math segment. If the student:
Verbalizes their answer and doesn’t point, the verbalized answer is accepted.
Points to an answer and doesn’t verbalize, the pointed answer is accepted.
Verbalizes an answer and points to a different answer, prompt the student one time to point to their final answer, the pointed answer is accepted
For officially identified Spanish Speaking ELs ONLY: Verbalizes in either English or Spanish, or both intermittently, the bilingual answers are accepted.
Appears to verbalize an answer in a language other than English, prompt the student to point to their final answer.

39. Early Math Responses: Verbalized or Pointed To
Remember, new for , students are allowed to verbalize responses if they choose to do so instead of pointing.
If there is ever a confusion (such as student says one response but points to another), ask the student to point to his or her final answer. That pointed response is what should be recorded on the Assessor Score Sheet.
As mentioned, students are now allowed to verbalize responses if they choose to do so instead of pointing.
If there is ever a confusion (such as student says one response but points to another), ask the student to point to his or her final answer. That pointed response is what should be recorded on the Assessor Score Sheet.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

40. Sample Item #2 English Spanish/English
The above slide displays Sample Item #2 in both the English Student booklet and the Spanish/English student booklet. You can see that there is some minimal text in some of the items. This is what is in front of the student.
In this item, the directions for the assessor on the assessor form are:
Point to the box. Read the text: “What number is missing? Point to or choose the answer.” Record the number the child points to.
“Would you like me to read the directions again?” Turn student copy to Item 1.
After these two sample items, the assessment will begin. The student booklet will be turned to item #1 and the assessor will record the students choices.

41. Sample Item #2 in Assessor Score Sheet
This is Sample Item Number 2 from the Assessor Score Sheet. The Directions for the Assessor are provided in English and Spanish (as shown in the sample picture above.) Remember the bilingual version is ONLY for officially identified Spanish speaking English Learners. All other students should be assessed using the English only version.
The assessor reads the directions on the assessor copy verbatim to the student and follows the directions for gesturing. Directions that are to be vocalized are in quotes and are bolded. Directions for gesturing are not bolded.
Here the assessor points to the box and says: “What number is missing? Point to or say the answer.” Record the number the child points to or verbalizes.
If the student does not indicate understanding, the assessor can ask: “Would you like me to read the directions again?” If student doesn’t respond or doesn’t seem to understand, repeat the directions. Turn student copy to item 1.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

42. Additional Considerations
The Early Math assessment items are in order of difficulty
It is important to persist through the assessment to get a true picture of what the student knows
If the student does not provide an answer, remind the student to do their best
Some additional considerations for the early math portion:
The Early Math assessment items are in order of difficulty
It is important to persist through the assessment to get a true picture of what the student knows
If the student does not provide an answer, remind the student to do their best
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

43. Providing Encouragement
Avoid providing visual or auditory clues about the correctness of response during the assessment
It is allowable to say these encouraging words:
“Good effort”
“Keep trying”
“Next”
“Do your best”
“Thank you”
“Buen esfuerzo”
“Sigue intentando”
“La siguiente”
“Haz lo mejor que puedas”
“Gracias”
The Early Math assessment is a direct assessment which requires the assessor to stick to the verbatim directions and directions for gesturing. To assure consistency, it is critical that the assessor avoids providing visual or auditory clues about the correctness of the student’s responses during the assessment.
It is okay to say encouraging words to make the student comfortable and to encourage them to keep trying. For the sake of consistency, the assessor booklet offers a list of approved encouraging words to use with the student.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

44. Administering Approaches to Learning
Objectives
Understand the purpose of the assessment
Learn procedures for administration
In the “Administering Approaches to Learning” section, participants will
Understand the purpose of the assessment, and
Learn the procedures for administration of approaches to learning
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

45. Assessment Security
Approaches to Learning (Booklet A-1) is a secure booklet that contains confidential student information
Keep the assessment materials in a secure, locked location
This segment is a little different than the others:
The Approaches to Learning segment uses an observation tool and is not administered directly to students, however, it should be treated as a secure assessment.
As with other statewide assessments, all Oregon test materials and questions are considered secure materials and should be kept in a secure location such as a locked drawer, file cabinet or storage room.
After completion, the assessment materials will contain confidential information about student abilities and behaviors.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

46. Approaches to Learning
Conducted through teacher observation of children’s behavior with other adults and children in a classroom setting
Includes items that measure
Self-Regulation
Interpersonal skills
Based on the Child Behavior Rating Scale which has been
Demonstrated to be strongly predictive of reading and math achievement in elementary grades
Validated in a wide range of cultural contexts
The approaches to learning assessment is conducted through teacher observation of children’s behavior with other adults and children in a classroom setting
It includes items that measure self-regulation and interpersonal skills.
The assessment is based on the Child Behavior Rating Scale which has been demonstrated to be strongly predictive of reading and math achievement in elementary grades and validated in a wide range of cultural contexts.

47. Approaches to Learning: Preparation
Approaches to Learning must be completed by the student’s classroom teacher
Teachers need:
A writing utensil
The assessor booklet for Approaches to Learning (A1)
The Approaches to Learning segment is the only segment that must be completed by the student’s classroom teacher.
The teacher needs a writing utensil and the Assessor booklet for Approaches to Learning (A1)

48. Approaches to Learning
15 Items
Teacher responds to each item by circling numbers on a scale, based on observation of individual students during regular classroom routines and activities
The scale:
1 - The child never exhibits the behavior described by the item
2 - The child rarely exhibits the behavior described by the item
3 - The child sometimes exhibits the behavior described by the item
4 - The child frequently or usually exhibits the behavior described by the item
5 - The child always exhibits the behavior described by the item
Approaches to Learning has 15 items. The teacher responds to each item by circling numbers on a one to five scale—based on observation of individual students during regular classroom routines and activities.
The 1-5 scale is consistent on all items:
1-The child never exhibits the behavior described by the item.
2-The child rarely exhibits the behavior described by the item.
3-The child sometimes exhibits the behavior described by the item.
4-The child frequently or usually exhibits the behavior described by the item.
5-The child always exhibits the behavior described by the item.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

49. Recording Teacher Response
Read the Item
Sample
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently/usually
Always
1. Follows directions 1 2 3 4 5
In the Assessor Booklet (A1), there are instructions for the teacher at the top of the page. The definitions for each of the response numbers are included.
Read each item and consider if the individual student rarely, sometimes, frequently, or always demonstrates the skill.
Circle the value that best describes the student’s behavior. It is important to choose one value--please do not circle two values or place a circle in the middle of two values. Given that there are five choices, the level of granularity should be sensitive enough.
Circle a Response
Sample
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently/usually
Always
1. Follows directions 1 2 3 4 5
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

50. Additional Considerations
The scale is not a direct assessment, it can be completed outside of classroom time
It is highly recommended to complete the scale in the last three weeks of the six week assessment window
Circle one value per item
Complete all 15 items for each student in the order they appear in the assessor’s booklet 
Some things to remember about the Approaches to Learning segment:
The scale is not a direct assessment, it can be completed outside of classroom time.
It is highly recommended to complete the scale in the last three weeks of the six week assessment window.
It is important to circle one value per item.
All 15 items should be completed for each student.
Complete all 15 items on this instrument for each child in the order they appear in the assessor’s booklet .
You may choose to rate all of the students in your classroom on one item at a time. For example, you may rate all students on the first item, then all students on the second item, etc.
Or you may rate all 15 items for one student before moving on to rate all 15 items for the next student.
Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Fall 2015

51. Next Steps
Review the required sections of the Oregon Test Administration Manual (TAM):
Sections 1 – 4 (Overview, Test Security, Test Improprieties, and Accessibility)
Section 10 – Kindergarten Assessment
Sign the Test Administrator Assurance of Test Security
Send a copy to Theda Pansevicius
This presentation has given you an overview of the Kindergarten Assessment, directions for administering the Approaches to Learning segment, and the basics of test security as they relate to this specific segment of this particular test. In order to complete the Oregon State requirements and begin testing you’ll also need to review the Oregon Test Administration Manual sections 1 through 5, the Testing Schedule, The Glossary of Terms and Appendix L - the Kindergarten Assessment. After you’ve reviewed the manual, please sign the Test Administrator Assurance of Test Security form that was provided and send a copy either by courier or scan to Theda Pansevicius at the district office.

52. Questions? Brian Bain District Test Coordinator x4120
Laurie Dilbeck
District Literacy Coordinator
x4119
Theda Pansevicius
Assessment Assistant
x4052
If you have any additional questions about the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment you can contact Brian Bain or Theda Pansevicius. Thank you and remember, surveys must be completed by October 11th.