Including Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities in KEA’s

1. Including Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities in KEA’s Kathy Hebbeler SRI International Presented at State Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) Conference San Antonio, Texas February, 2012

2. Starting point • Good EC assessment is good EC assessment • Principles that apply to typically developing children apply to children with disabilities • See NAEYC position statement http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/cape Early Childhood Outcomes Center

3. Non-negotiable Exclusion of children with delays or disabilities from KEA’s is not an option Early Childhood Outcomes Center

4. Considerations Related to Assessment Development or Selection • Type of assessment • Some key concepts • Universal design • Construct irrelevant variance • Adaptations • Floor effects • Sensitivity Early Childhood Outcomes Center

5. Children with special needs: Pages 260-280

6. Types of assessments • Direct assessment • Tasks administered to the child • May be norm-referenced • Observation-based assessment • Criterion referenced or curriculum based • Authentic or naturalistic assessment • Teacher checklists

7. Features of direct assessments • Child is asked to perform or respond to a series of assessor administered tasks • Many have strict rules for how the items are administered and scored • For many direct assessments, tasks must be administered the same way to all children • Child may or may not be familiar with the assessor • Examples: Woodcock-Johnson, PPVT

8. Features of observation-based assessments • Multiple ways for child to show mastery of the item or objective • Assessor is familiar with the child; not a stranger. • More flexibility than direct assessment but there are “standards” • criteria for the behaviors addressed in the item and scoring • Examples: GOLD, High Scope COR, Work Sampling

9. Interesting dilemma • Observation-based assessment widely regarded as the better way to assess young children • Many large scale assessment efforts (especially program evaluations) use direct measures. • Few notable exceptions: statewide EC efforts in KY, CO, NE, PA. Direct assessments with rigid standardized procedures pose far more problems for assessing children with disabilities

10. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) • UDL is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. • UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs. http://www.cast.org Early Childhood Outcomes Center

11. Principles of UDL • Provide multiple means of representation • Provide multiple means of action and expression • Provide multiple means of engagement Early Childhood Outcomes Center

12. Construct Irrelevant Variance • Child has the concept but does not get credit for the item because • Can’t point • Can’t speak • Can’t attend for even short periods of time • Can’t understand the instructions • Etc. • Major problem with rigidly standardized direct assessments. **Standardizing the conditions does not standardize the experience for the child.**

13. Adaptations • Develop assessments to allow the widest range of participation (UDL); minimize the need for adaptations • E.g., refer to “communication,” not “spoken language” • Modifications in presentation, response format, timing, setting (Some of which assessors do in EC anyway) • Validity of adaptations in standardized direct assessments? • Desired Results Developmental Profile access • http://www.draccess.org • EC assessment with adaptations

14. Adaptations in DRDP access • Augmentative or alternative communication system • Alternative mode for written language • Visual support • Assistive equipment or device • Functional positioning • Sensory support • Alternative response mode Early Childhood Outcomes Center

15. Floor effects and sensitivity • Floor effects – not enough or any items for children who are lower functioning • E.g., assessment is geared for 5 year olds – developmentally the child is 2 • (for measuring progress) Lack of sensitivity – increments between items too large to capture growth of children who progress slowly

16. If your KEA will provide useful information…. • Exclusion of children with disabilities is not an acceptable option. • All children and their families are entitled to the benefits of KEA’s • Inform instruction • Social benchmarking • etc.

17. Resources Early Childhood Outcomes Center • www.the-eco-center.org • Promoting Positive Outcomes for Children with Disabilities: Recommendations for Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation • Available free from the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) http://www.dec-sped.org/uploads/docs/about_dec/position_concept_papers/Prmtg_Pos_Outcomes_Companion_Paper.pdf • Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, How • Available from the National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12446