Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment
Welcome!
This webinar will begin at 2:00 PM CST
• While you are waiting, please locate the
“chat” box on your screen. Use the chat
feature to post questions.
• Your questions will be answered via a Q&A
that will be posted on the Texas KEA website:
http://www.texaskea.org/
Texas Kindergarten Entry
Assessment (TX-KEA)
Children’s Learning Institute at UTHealth
May 4, 2015
Overview
• Welcome
• What is TX-KEA?
• Explore TX-KEA
– TX-KEA Item Review
• TX-KEA Timeline
• Stakeholder Input
Welcome
The Texas Kindergarten Assessment System (TXKEA) is a collaborative effort between the US
Department of Education, the Texas Education
Agency, and the Children’s Learning Institute at
UTHealth.
Our Development Team
Children’s Learning Institute (CLI)
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Principal Investigators
Susan Landry
Jason Anthony
Statewide Coordinator, ECE
Howard Morrison
Co-Investigators
Technology Department
UTHEALTH and TEA
Michael Assel
Ursula Johnson
Janelle Montroy
Heather Taylor
Jeff Williams
Tricia Zucker
What is a Kindergarten Entry
Assessment, or “KEA”?
– KEAs are administered during the first few months of
kindergarten
– KEAs covers all essential domains of school readiness
– KEAs closely align with Early Learning and
Development Standards
– KEAs conform with recommendations of the National
Research Council reports on early childhood
– KEAs must be valid and reliable for their intended
purposes and target populations
Intended Populations &
Purposes of TX-KEA
• Target Population of TX-KEA
– Kindergarteners’ across Texas
– Dominant language is either English or Spanish
• Purposes of TX-KEA
– Screen what children know and can do
– Help identify children in need of further
assessment
– Help inform instruction
Political Context for KEA in TX
• Currently, schools districts are required to test
literacy in kindergarten – 2nd grade
• SB 172 requires using a multidimensional test
that tests literacy, as well as at least two other
developmental skills (e.g., mathematics,
language, social and emotional development).
TX-KEA Implementation
• TX-KEA will not be mandatory in Texas public
schools
• TX-KEA will be listed on the Commissioner’s List,
with at least one other multidimensional
assessment
• School districts can choose to use TX-KEA (full
assessment or specific subtests) or another
approved assessment
• TX-KEA will provide coverage of legislativelymandated school readiness domains
About TX-KEA
• TX-KEA will:
– Be available in English and Spanish
– Provide reports to parents, teachers, and school district
personnel
– Will be linked with TEA’s state-wide longitudinal data &
tracking system (LDTS)
– Provide on-line training in administration procedures
– Provide on-line instructions for loading data into LDTS
– Provide on-line training in reporting functionality
– Be available on a variety of platforms and devices
– Be freely available to all entities who will use it for its
intended purpose, including technology platform providers
and public schools, charter schools, private schools in
Texas and all other states
TX-KEA
• TX-KEA will be “comprehensive” in that it will
evaluate many learning domains critical for
academic success.
• Two methods of assessment:
– Direct assessment
• Student selects response(s) or
• Student states a response that is scored by examiner
– Teacher-reported behavior checklists
• TX-KEA administered in approx. 45 min.
– Not necessarily all at one time
Children with Special Needs
• Research study includes a sub-sample of
children with a diagnosis
• List of accommodations and adaptations will
be provided to teachers
• TX-KEA will not be validated for children with
severe special needs
TX-KEA Domains
• Domains:
– Oral Language
– Literacy
– Cognition
– Physical Well-being
– Social and Emotional
• Each domain has a contributing nationally
recognized expert as a consultant outside of
UTHealth
Oral Language
• Base measure for TX-KEA
• Children who score low on
Oral Language will receive
an alternate form
– Vocabulary
– Math
Oral Language Subtests
• Oral Language Subtests:
– Vocabulary
– Listening Comprehension
Oral Language Domain
Expressive Vocabulary
“What is this?”
Oral Language Domain
Listening Comprehension
“Point to the girl’s cat and
then to the boy’s dog.”
(Two-Step Direction
with Possessive Suffix)
Oral Language Domain
Listening Comprehension
“The snowman melted in the sun.”
(Past Tense)
Literacy Domain
• Literacy Subtests:
– Letter Knowledge
– Phonological
Awareness
– Early Writing
Literacy Domain
Letter Names
“Point to the letter ef.”
(uppercase letter names)
Literacy Domain
Phonological Awareness
Literacy Domain
Phonological Awareness
“Forks.”
Literacy Domain
Phonological Awareness
“locks.”
Literacy Domain
Phonological Awareness
“fox.”
Literacy Domain
Phonological Awareness
“socks.”
Literacy Domain
Phonological Awareness
“Pont to… f…ox.”
Literacy Domain
Writing
Cognition Domain
• Cognition Subtests:
– Mathematics
– Science &Engineering
Cognition Domain
Mathematics
“Look at this pattern…
What should come
next?”
Cognition Domain
Mathematics
“The elephants are walking across the savanna. Touch the first
elephant in line. Touch the third elephant in line. Touch the
second elephant in line. Touch the last elephant in line.”
Cognition Domain
Science
“Which of these is a planet?”
Cognition Domain
Science
“When you knock the
red ball into the
others... which picture
shows how the balls
will look?”
Physical Well-being Domain
• Physical Well-being Subtests (checklists):
– Gross and Fine Motor
– Physical Health Status
Social and Emotional Domain
• Social and Emotional Subtests:
– Social Competence (checklist)
– Self-Regulation
– Approaches to Learning (checklist)
TX-KEA Items – Self-Regulation
In this item, the child will see the vehicles appear at the top, and then move
into position below. Then, the vehicles will disappear and the child will
select the order that vehicles appeared in the correct position.
Project Timeline
• Spring 2014
– Pilot Test
• Fall 2014 – Spring 2016
– Scaling Study with over 2,000 children across TX
• Fall 2016 – Spring 2017
– Validity Study with 200 kindergarten students
– Development of training materials
2014-2015 Scaling Study
Houston Area
• Houston ISD
• Aldine ISD
• KIPP Charter School
San Antonio Area
• San Antonio ISD
• South San Antonio ISD
Rio Grande Valley
• Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD
• La Joya ISD
Dallas/Ft. Worth Area
• Ft. Worth ISD
Austin Area
• Kids R Kids Child Care Centers
2015-2016 Scaling Study
• Continue to work with school districts, charter
schools, and child care centers we
collaborated with in 2014-2015
• Request collaboration with more schools
districts in Austin, TX, West Texas, and rural
areas.
Stakeholder Input
• Pilot Study, Scaling Study, and Validity Study
– Currently recruiting participants for year 2 of the
scaling study
• Focus Groups
– Social/emotional focus groups with teachers from the
2014-2015 scaling study
– Special needs focus groups with specialists and
teachers from the 2014-2015 scaling study
– Item review focus groups in Houston at the TSR Early
Childhood Summer Institute in July 2015
TX-KEA Contact at CLI
Ursula Y. Johnson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Children’s Learning Institute
University of Texas – Health Science Center at
Houston
[email protected]
713-500-3767
www.texaskea.org