Presented at State Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) Conference

San Antonio, Texas February, 2012

Including Children with Developmental Delays and

Disabilities in KEA’s

Kathy HebbelerSRI International

Early Childhood Outcomes Center 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

Non-negotiable

Exclusion of children with delays or disabilities from

KEA’s is not an option

3Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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

Children with special

needs: Pages 260-280

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

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

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

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

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.

10Early Childhood Outcomes Center http://www.cast.org

Principles of UDL

1. Provide multiple means of representation

2. Provide multiple means of action and expression

3. Provide multiple means of engagement

11Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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.**

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

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

14Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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

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.

Early Childhood Outcomes Center 17

Resources

• 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