1. Robyn Sutton Kindergarten Teacher Kenansville Elementary School
Kindergarten Entry Assessment: Critical Component: Interpreting the Evidence
Robyn Sutton
Kindergarten Teacher
Kenansville Elementary School

2. About Me: North Carolina Teaching Fellow
Graduate of North Carolina State University
Attended Meredith College for K-5 Licensure
20 years of teaching experience
Mother to two boys~ages 15 and 12
Received my National Board Certification in 2010
Served on the District Implementation Team for KEA
Passionate about kindergarten!

3. Formative Assessment
Addresses the “whole child” and all 5 domains of learning and development
Is embedded…a natural part of daily instruction
Immediate feedback or planned future instruction
Guides teaching and learning
Collects data in multiple ways
Uses evidence from multiple assessments
Natural process throughout the day

4. NC’s K-3 Formative Assessment Critical Components
Selecting Learning Targets
Developing Criteria for Success
Eliciting Evidence of Learning
Interpreting the Evidence
Adapting/Responding to Learning Needs

5. Interpreting the Evidence- What exactly does that mean?
-Teachers use a variety of data -Teachers interpret the evidence -Teachers locate the current learning status -Teachers adapt and respond instruction -Teachers adjust learning targets as appropriate

6. Why interpret the evidence?Research shows:
-Data collected becomes meaningful because it is linked to decisions about teaching and learning (Jablon, Dombro & Dichtelmiller, 2007).
-Teachers can make well- informed decisions about next steps by uncovering what the students currently know, identifying the appropriate understandings and skills the students need to learn next, and tailor instruction to the students’ needs (Heritage, 2007) .

7. How do we interpret evidence to improve teaching and learning?
Uncover what a student knows and can do
Discover gaps, patterns, and areas needing attention
Identify the current learning status on the progression
Pinpoint the next learning target
Instruction is tailored to the student’s needs
During or after the instructional moment

8. Is this a new concept or educational trend?
No! Interpreting evidence is a best practice
Effective teachers have always used evidence to determine
…where to go RIGHT THEN
…where to go NEXT
… HOW to get there
KEA provides a platform to document, interpret, and store evidences of learning

9. Construct Progressions
Are not standards, pacing guides, or curriculum scopes
Are building blocks of learning of concepts and skills over time
Are developmental stages that lay out increasingly more complex understandings of core concepts, principles, and skill development
Provide a picture of what it means to develop in an area of learning (Heritage, 2008.)

10. Learning Status A point along a construct progression
Evidence is used to locate the learning status
One or more pieces of evidence can be used
Learning status=what a child knows and is able to do

11. Learning Target Building blocks of learning along progressions
Reflect where teachers expect a child to go next
Evidence is used to pinpoint learning target
What we want a child to know/ be able to do
Learning target= next step/goal

12. Book and Print Awareness

13. Print Awareness ^
Learning Status ^
Learning Target

14. Book and Print Awareness

15. Print Awareness ^
Learning Status
(Mastery)

16. Object Counting

17. Object Counting ^
Learning Status ^
Learning Target

18. Implementation How? When? Where?
1st day of staggered enrollment
-Naturally observed students in the reading center and math tubs
-Snapped pictures, videos, and anecdotal notes
-Pinpoint a learning status and learning target from day 1
Throughout the school day
-Centers Math Groups
-Guided reading groups Math Tubs
-Partner reading Literacy Stations

19. KEA has enabled me to: Assess children in their natural environment
Observe students while they are engaged
Understand where they are (learning status)
Know where they need to go (learning target)
Give immediate scaffolding and feedback ….or
Inform my future instruction and planning
Conveniently share with MTSS and families

20. Kenansville Elementary School
Questions?
Robyn Sutton
Kenansville Elementary School
Duplin County Schools