summative progress monitoring) and guidance for teachers and students to monitor progress. ● Materials include a variety of diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate
(e.g., observational, anecdotal, formal).
● Materials provide guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of diagnostic tools.
● Materials include tools for students to track their own progress and growth. ● Materials include diagnostic tools to measure all content and process skills for
prekindergarten, as outlined in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines.
Meets 2/2
The materials do provide diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate. They include opportunities for students to track their progress in an age-appropriate way. The assessment covers all content and process skills for prekindergarten. The implementation of the assessment does not allow for consistency because it is an observational checklist and not a direct
assessment of skills.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials include diagnostic tools that are observational, anecdotal, and informal. The cumulative assessment provided is an informal and observational checklist completed by the teacher. The materials include an “Assessments” instructional guide, which provides teachers with guidance and tips on how to assess children’s learning in the priority domains and skills, every day, in real-time. It stresses that real-time, formative assessment is the most appropriate for pre-K and identifies the five assessment models used in the materials: “Observe & Record,” “Question & Record,” “Task & Response,” “Prompt & Response,” and “Assessment (Analysis) of Student Work Progressions.” The guide also discusses the importance of assessing by keeping a portfolio of students’ work throughout the year. The guide explains how assessment in pre-K is different from other grades, as it happens throughout the day and in different settings. It details how to assess children during whole group, small group, centers, meal times, outdoor time, and rest time. The teachers also read a reminder at the start of each day to have a
notebook, checklist, or portable device to add notes about student progress as well as a camera to take pictures. The materials do not specify a timeline of assessment administration and leave that up to the teacher/school/district.
The informal assessment tool is based on the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines (TPG), and teachers can use the tool to assess students on all 10 domains. There are three skill levels: approaching, on target, and advanced. The teachers simply complete the checklist for each TPG, determining their skill level based upon observations within the classroom. Teachers use the online assessment tool to add evidence by making notes, adding videos, or adding pictures. By clicking on the “Help” button, the teacher accesses a tutorial that takes him/her step-by-step through the process of setting up a class, managing and assessing student progress, and
reporting data. The assessment does not allow for consistent administration because it is not a direct assessment with a script. It is simply used as a checklist and portfolio of student work. In the “Lesson Guides,” there are embedded tips for the teachers, including assessment tips, identified by a green checkmark. These tips include how to assess students in all domains and in different group settings throughout the day; they cover all domains. Some tips include
assessing problem-solving skills through questioning in small groups and assessing story comprehension through students’ making personal connections. On the first day of class, the teacher is reminded that many of the difficulties a child will have in pre-K are related to speech and language abilities; materials direct teachers to begin assessing language and
communication skills first, starting on day one and during the first six weeks of school. Following this suggestion, the teachers gather a baseline for improvements and also collect data in the event a child needs diagnostic evaluations. In Unit 2, the teacher assesses how students use books. The teacher puts out a variety of books, magazines, and classmate books, and then observes and takes notes to see how students use the books. In Unit 5, during a small group activity, teachers assess a range of math skills. Teachers create nests using 10 brown paper bags, rolling down the sides. The numbers 0 to 9 are written at the bottom of each bag. The teacher receives clear guidelines of what can be assessed by this activity, such as counting, subitizing, adding, subtracting, and creating word problems. In Unit 7, students use paper to create bridges; the teacher can assess skills in multiple domains. This domain includes science, as students create different bridges and observe which ones work better; communication skills, as students describe and discuss the bridges; and math, as students name different shapes when creating the bridges and measure each one.
Teachers also provide the opportunity for students to reflect on or analyze their own learning in an age-appropriate way. In Unit 2, the teacher does a lesson utilizing the globe to learn about water and land. At the end of the lesson, the teacher asks students to share their learning from the lesson. The teacher provides reflection time to be used for students to think back on their day and discuss what they accomplished and did well that day. This discussion can be academic or social, such as when a student helped another student. There are also lessons that include times for students to show and discuss their work in small groups or “Circle Time.” These are just some of the examples of students self-tracking progress.
In the “Engaging Parents of Pre-K Children” guide, there is a section that discusses different ways to discuss a students’ progress with families. It suggests having three conferences