Supporting the Use of Child Assessment
Systems in Preschool Settings
Board of Early Education and Care
December 8, 2009
Early Education and Care System
Components: Child Assessment
 Workforce
 Early
and Professional Development (Q, WF)
Education and Care and K-12 Linkages (FS, C, I, WF)
 Standards,
Assessment and Accountability (Q, FS,WF)
EEC Strategic Directions:
Q = Quality
FS = Family support, access, and affordability
WF = Workforce
C = Communications
I = Infrastructure
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Context and Proposal
Need:
 In FY09, EEC contracted with Abt Associates to conduct an evaluation
of the level of quality in a statewide sample of early childhood settings
that serve at-risk preschool children


Programs scored high in emotional support and classroom
organization, though performed significantly lower on instructional
support
EEC intends to support the use of child assessment systems in
preschool settings to help educators individualize instruction for
children and improve program practice
Target: All program types serving three and four year olds with 50% or
more subsidized children
Proposal: Allocation of $800,000 of UPK funding through a competitive
process to support the implementation of assessment systems in
settings serving preschool children across the Commonwealth by:
providing information on the theory behind assessment practices;
 targeting specific strategies for assessment implementation and
sophisticated use in programs; and
 providing intentional professional development with hands-on
guidance and ongoing technical support.

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Assessment to Enhance
Instructional Support

Child assessment systems are used to capture information on
children’s developmental progress through teacher
observations of each child’s work and abilities

Results from the assessment can show an educator what
children in their care know and need to learn, and where
their own strengths and weaknesses as an educator lie

Assessment is becoming increasingly regarded as a marker
of high quality programming and can be used as a valuable
method for educators to:
Improve their instruction to meet the needs of individual
children and promote their progress across
developmental domains
 Inform their general program practice and target
professional development
 Communicate with and engage families

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EEC’s Proposed Initiative

EEC envisions that the selected vendor will help programs
implement or advance their use of child assessment systems
through three primary means, listed below:
provide information on the theory behind assessment practices;
 target specific strategies for assessment implementation and
sophisticated use in programs; and
 provide intentional professional development with hands-on
guidance and ongoing technical support


The vendor will also:
take into account programs’ point of entry into assessment
system use and level of complexity, as well as the capacity of
staff;
 aid programs in supporting effective training, professional
development, and reflective supervision over time

• Must be integrated with the conducting of assessments in order for
educators to understand the information they are gathering and to
analyze and use the data reports for their intended purpose
• Higher-level supervisors require more expertise in data management
and analysis to be able to support and instruct their staff

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A portion of the $800,000 will be used for programs to purchase
an EEC-approved child assessment system and materials.
EEC’s Proposed Initiative
Child Assessment System Implementation and Ongoing Development
Program and System-Level
Administrators
Educators
Aligning Guidelines for Preschool
Learning Experiences, Standards,
Curriculum & Assessment Systems
Using Assessment Data to
Communicate with and Engage
Families
Appropriate Assessment
Materials & Technology
Selecting, Organizing &
Implementing a Child
Assessment System
Meaningful Professional
Development
Using Assessment Data to
Individualize Instruction for
Children
Strong Curriculum
Continuous Improvement and
Ongoing Support
Using Assessment Data to
Guide Instruction
& Inform Program Practice
Analyzing &
Interpreting Data
Parents/Families
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Observation & Data
Collection
Feedback from Program & Policy
Board Subcommittee
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
This initiative needs to be applicable to providers;
seek out their perspective

Ensure there is collaboration with community partners
in order to leverage this effort

Consider the Train the Trainers model, as this may be
effective

Address how underserved areas will access these
services locally if the vendor(s) are regionally based
(not in their community)

Ensure that providers have access to alternative hours
and methods for professional development (satellite
classrooms, on-line, Saturdays etc.)
Proposal for Consideration
Allocation of up to $800,000 of UPK funding
through a competitive process to support the
implementation of assessment systems in
settings serving preschool children across the
Commonwealth.
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