Agenda
• Introducing Concepts in Assessment• Introducing the Work Sampling System• Developing Observation Skills • Understanding and Using Developmental
Guidelines and Checklists • Linking Observations to Performance
Indicators• Communicating with Parents• Next Steps and Wrap-up
Materials
• Developmental Guidelines• Developmental Checklist (in TAM)• Class Record Form• Sample Observation Tools (in TAM)• Work Sampling System Reference Table (in
TAM)
Workshop Legend
Activity
An activity A group discussion
Group Discussion
Check and Connect
Discuss with a partner
1. What is assessment and why do we do it?2. What assessments do you currently use?3. What are some “pros” and “cons” of your
current assessments?
What is Assessment?
Check and Connect
A tool or process of answering specific questions about various aspects of children’s knowledge, skills, behavior, or personality.
What is Assessment?
What is Work Sampling?
• Authentic Performance Assessment
• Curriculum Embedded
• Instructional Assessment
• Authentic Performance Assessment
• Curriculum Embedded
• Instructional Assessment
Authentic Performance Assessment
Work Sampling helps teachers:Work Sampling helps teachers:to docum
ent and
evaluate
children’s
skills,
knowledge, and
behaviors
use actual classroom
experiences, activit
ies, and
products
Curriculum Embedded Assessment
Text placed hereWork Sampling enables teachers to:learn about their students by encouraging
them to show what they know and what they can do.
Work Sampling enables teachers to:learn about their students by encouraging
them to show what they know and what they can do.
Activities might include:
Solving problems Writing in journals Interacting with peers Constructing with blocks Painting Doing experiments
Activities might include:
Solving problems Writing in journals Interacting with peers Constructing with blocks Painting Doing experiments
Instructional Assessment
Primary focus is on helping teachers
make instructional decisions in their
classrooms
Comprehensive means of monitoring
children’s social, emotional, physical,
and academic progress
Based on teachers’ observations of students who are actively working
and creating products within the context of their daily classroom
experience
Designed to provide meaningful feedback
to teachers, students, and their families, and other
educators and professionals
Evaluation
A student’s work is assessed through:
– Guidelines and Checklists
– Teacher observations
– Work samples
A student’s work is assessed through:
– Guidelines and Checklists
– Teacher observations
– Work samples
Domains
• Personal and Social Development
• Language and Literacy
• Mathematical Thinking
• Scientific Thinking
• Physical Development, Health, and Safety
Domains
Five domains that build on the school readiness work of the National Education Goals Panel (1995) have been cited as
important to assess:
• Social and Emotional Development• Language Development including Emergent Literacy• Cognition and General Knowledge including Mathematics
and Science• Physical Well-Being and Motor Development• Approaches to Learning
Five domains that build on the school readiness work of the National Education Goals Panel (1995) have been cited as
important to assess:
• Social and Emotional Development• Language Development including Emergent Literacy• Cognition and General Knowledge including Mathematics
and Science• Physical Well-Being and Motor Development• Approaches to Learning
National Research Council Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, and How (2008)
Domains
According to Head Start, the five essential domains of Child Development and Early Learning include:
• Language and Literacy Development• Cognition and General Knowledge including Mathematics
and Science• Approaches toward Learning• Physical Well-being and Motor Development• Social and Emotional Development
According to Head Start, the five essential domains of Child Development and Early Learning include:
• Language and Literacy Development• Cognition and General Knowledge including Mathematics
and Science• Approaches toward Learning• Physical Well-being and Motor Development• Social and Emotional Development
Head Start and Early Head Start School Readiness Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/sr
Assessment Cycle
The assessment cycle for Work Sampling begins with . . .
a. Asking questions
b. Taking action
c. Rating performance Check and Connect
Guidelines and Checklists
Guidelines and Checklists are organized by:
DomainsBroad areas of a student’s growth.
Functional ComponentsSubsets of a domain comprised of several performance indicators.
Performance IndicatorsSkills, behaviors, and accomplishments to be taught and assessed in the classroom.
Guidelines and Checklists
Domains
•Personal and Social Development•Language and Literacy•Mathematical Thinking•Scientific Thinking•Physical Development, Health, and Safety
Guidelines and Checklists
Functional Components
• Process and Practices
• Number• Operations &
Algebraic Thinking• Measurement• Data Analysis• Geometry
Guidelines and Checklists
Performance Indicators
• Reasons quantitatively and begins to use some tools
• Identifies patterns and makes generalizations
Guidelines and Checklists
Domain •Personal and Social Development, Language and Literacy, Mathematical Thinking, Scientific Thinking, Physical Development/Health and Safety
Functional Component •Process and Practices, Number, Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Measurement, Geometry
Performance Indicator •Begins to recognize patterns and makes simple generalizations.
Guidelines – Preschool 4Domain with Description
Components labeled with letters
Performance Indicators with Rationale and Examples
Checklist Ratings Not Yet In Process Proficient Skill,
knowledge, or behavior is not yet demonstrated.
Skill, knowledge, or behavior is emerging but not consistently demonstrated.
Child can perform part of a skill, but not all of it.
Skill, knowledge, or behavior is consistently demonstrated and observed in child’s range of performance.
Proficiency is determined within context of what is expected for the child’s age.
Key Points to Remember
Developmental Guidelines and Checklists
• Performance indicators across five domains
• Formally rated in the first thirty days of school
• Evidence includes teacher observations, work
samples, and other sources of information
Documentation Steps
Step 1• Gather data through
recorded observations, work samples, and/or photographs.
• Make ratings on the Checklist in response to your informal observational notes.
Documented Observations
Importance of Observation
Helps teachers remember what children know and can do.
Observations provide the support and evidence to support evaluations.
Helps the teacher see patterns in learning and behavior over time.
Help teachers plan instructional activities that are responsive to children’s interests, strengths and needs.
Documented Observations
Sample 1:9/4 at 10 a.m.- Jeremy is too distracted to do his work
Sample 2:9/4 at 10 a.m. Jeremy has worked on math for 15 minutes-completed one problem of five. Builds with rods. Talks continually with others about baseball. Walked to and from pencil sharpener and water fountain five times.
Group Discussion
Documented Observations
Notes:
•9/04 at 10 a.m. •Jeremy has worked on math for 15 minutes-completed one problem of five. •Builds with rods. •Talks continually with others about baseball. •Walked to and from pencil sharpener and water fountain five times.
Interpretations:
•Distracted?•Will linking math to baseball interest him?
Before Observing
The context for
the observation
How to record
observational
information
Tools for recording
observation
Context for Observing Participating in the action Stepping out of the action Reflecting on the action after the fact
Stepping Out of the Action
Take 3-5 minutes to step back and observe one child, a pair of children, or a small group
Do this multiple times per week
4/6 Recci: Dramatic PlayAs I approach the house area, Recci is playing with the doctor’s kit. He silently administers oxygen to a doll, takes its temperature, and tests its reflexes. He uses the stethoscope and says “I can hear his heart for real.” He uses the blood pressure cuff asking for help from Lisa in attaching it to the doll’s arm.
Reflecting After the Fact
Norman is currently working on controlling the computer mouse. He understands that he needs to put the cursor arrow on an object to activate it, but has difficulty coordinating movements to do so. When using the keyboard, he presses the screen occasional instead of pressing a key.
Let’s Look at an Observation
Text placed here
What skills and behaviors do you note from this observation?
Documentation Steps
Step 1• Gather data through
recorded observations, work samples, and/or photographs.
• Make ratings on the Checklist in response to your informal observational notes.
Let’s Practice! Activity
Work with a partner. Link the WSS Performance Indicators to the FL Standards for Approaches to
Learning. Write the Domain, Functional Component, and Performance Indicator in the
box next to each standard. See next slide.
Also use the Work Sampling Developmental Checklist.
Work with a partner. Link the WSS Performance Indicators to the FL Standards for Approaches to
Learning. Write the Domain, Functional Component, and Performance Indicator in the
box next to each standard. See next slide.
Also use the Work Sampling Developmental Checklist.
FL Standards and WSS - Responses
What is the WSS domain, functional component, and performance indicator represented by these responses, e.g., I.C.1?
Brief Note
Text placed here
1/15- Raelee• Skit of Mrs. B. with TW, GK, ES• Org. grp into roles• Raelee acted w express/--phys & verb
Running Record
A: picks up rec prism block, stacks on end, “I did it!”
S: “No, that’s not right, it isn’t a tower. It’s…” Puts hand on A block
A: grimaces, slaps at S hand, screams “NO!”, throws self backwards onto floor, hitting head, arching back
T: quickly comes over to A, puts herself between A and S, says “A, it looks like you’re upset. I’ll help you calm down. Remember, can I rub your back? (voice tone anxious?)
A: “No!” thrashes fists by side, arches back again
T: “Well, I’ll just sit here then” (calmer voice tone?)
Making the Most of Observations
Consider ways to collect evidence for a
whole class or large group to document
observations efficiently.
• Matrixes
• Tallies
• Domain Process Notes
• General Process Notes
Recording Tools
Legal pads Index cards Calendars Butcher
paper Sticky notes
Carpenter’s aprons
Audio recorders
Digital Cameras
Video cameras
Tablets
Group Discussion
Let’s Practice!
Choose one activity that kindergarten teachers do every day.
Which performance indicators could you observe during that activity?
Activity
Bonus:
Describe how you could collect evidence of those indicators for multiple students at one time.
Bonus:
Describe how you could collect evidence of those indicators for multiple students at one time.
Ideas for Managing Evidence
• Set up one folder for each child containing records listed previously.
• Use a large three-ring binder with a separate section for each child. Include the Checklist, along with all the other observational data and notes in each child’s section.
• Store all students’ Checklists together in one folder and keep observational data for the whole class in a binder organized by domain.
Linking Observations to Performance Indicators
• Let’s revisit the observation for Mina.
• Rate Mina for the fall rating period.
• Only focus on the Reading Component under the Language & Literacy Domain.
Activity
Inter-rater reliability
Inter-rater reliability is the degree of agreement between two raters and is
important for keeping the fidelity of the assessment high.
• Using the checklist you’ve just completed, add the number of “NOT YETs” and then divide your number with your neighbor’s.
• We are looking for 95% inter-rater reliability. Check
and Connect
Linking Observations to Performance Indicators
• Now that you have been through both steps of the documentation process, let’s try a Case Example.
• Mark the Developmental Checklist in the
appropriate areas, based on your documented observations.
Activity
Step 1• Gather data through
recorded observations, work samples, and/or photographs.
• Make ratings on the Checklist in response to your informal observational notes.
Inter-rater reliability
Dalia (Kindergarten)
• Using the checklist you’ve just completed, add the number of “NOT YETs” and then divide your number with your neighbor’s.
• We are looking for 95% inter-rater reliability
• What was difficult? What was easy?
Sharing the Data
The classroom teacher has a wealth of specific knowledge about how the child
approaches learning.
By using work samples and Checklists, the classroom teacher can communicate clearly with specialists and family members about how
the child performs in the classroom.
The Work Sampling System provides rich,
detailed, individualized portraits of children, including those with
special needs.
Checklist ratings become more accurate when
specialized teachers include their own observations and
evidence to paint a complete picture of the child.
Check and
Connect
Observational Assessment
• Provides a representative and complete view of a student – classroom-based and ongoing.
• Observation data reveal whether or not the child solved a problem correctly, and also illustrate the manner in which the child approached the task and solved the problem.
Guidelines and Checklists:Making Modifications
Modifications may include:
• Interpreting performance indicators in a more inclusive way.
• Deleting certain performance indicators or functional components.
• Supplementing the Work Sampling System with other, more specialized assessments.
Modifications may include:
• Interpreting performance indicators in a more inclusive way.
• Deleting certain performance indicators or functional components.
• Supplementing the Work Sampling System with other, more specialized assessments.
Assessing Diverse Learners
When using Work Sampling with students with special needs, it is permissible to modify the Developmental Checklists.
a. True
b. False Check and
Connect
Assessing English Language Learners in the Selected Domains
• For the Language and Literacy domain, many teachers rate the child based on his or her performance when using the English language.
• It is recommended that teachers use a child’s preferred language to document the skills in the other domains.
• It is up to the district’s policies in terms of how teachers should best use Work Sampling for these learners, and what additional assessments might be necessary.