This month’s resources include:
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Resources on Inclusion
resource on working with Latino families
resources on Transition
resource on Autism
Kindergarten resources
resource on Learning Disabilities
New SpecialQuest Preschool Inclusion Series (Free)
This announcement is being posted on behalf of SpecialQuest Birth–Five: Head Start/Hilton
Foundation Training Program.
SpecialQuest Birth–Five recently announced the availability of new materials supporting high
quality inclusion of preschoolers (ages 3 to 5) in early care and education settings. The
Preschool Inclusion Series highlights children with disabilities participating in inclusive
environments. Classroom staff, administrators, specialists, and families share their
perspectives on what makes inclusion work. The target audiences are early childhood
professional development providers, faculty from colleges and universities, family leaders,
and policy makers. The Preschool Inclusion Series contains four video programs with
training scripts and handouts. For more information about these new resources, to watch a
video preview, or to order an individual copy of the Preschool Inclusion Series at no cost,
go to http://www.specialquestlibrary.org
then click on the box entitled Preschool Inclusion Series Added.
NECTAC Database of Inclusion Resources
The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) has developed a
searchable online database of resources derived from over 110 presentations at the 20072009 national Inclusion Institutes. You can search by year, presenter name, or topic
to find PowerPoint presentations and handouts. This should be a useful resource for faculty
members, professional development providers, and others who want to share relevant and
current information related to the inclusion of young children with disabilities and
their families. Click here (Inclusion Institute Presentation Finder) to check it out or go
to http://www.nectac.org/search/presentationfinderInclu.asp.
States' Efforts to Serve Young Latino Children and Their Families
The National Council of La Raza has released a white paper entitled Responding to the
Needs of Young Latino Children: State Efforts to Build Comprehensive Early Learning
Systems (February 2010). The report finds that states are still lagging behind in developing
early childhood education programs that are responsive. It outlines recent developments in
U.S. policies and federal funding that can help states to better serve young Latino children
and their families. To learn more and to access the report, go to
http://www.nclr.org/content/publications/detail/61855/
Source: National Council of La Raza - February 25, 2010
Including Children with Disabilities in State Pre-K Programs (February 2010)
http://www.edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/Publications/PDF/PreKPolicyBrief_InclusionChildrenW
ithDisabilities.pdf
Provides an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) and recommends policies to help ensure that preschool-aged children with
disabilities receive an appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
Transition and Alignment of Pre-K - 3 Systems
Source: Education Commission of the States - April 9, 2010
The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has published a new policy brief, entitled
Transition and Alignment: Two Keys to Assuring Student Success (2010). The brief
discusses the importance of creating continuity as children move from early learning
programs to early elementary classes and provides examples of successful state efforts. It
is available online at http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/84/07/8407.pdf
New Resources to Help Promote Social Emotional Development
Source: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning - Retrieved April
20, 1010
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has
added new titles to Book Nook, its collection of easy-to-use guides to help teachers and
caregivers embed social emotional skill building activities into everyday routines. Each
Book Nook guide includes ideas designed around a popular children’s book. The most
recently added titles include: No Biting, Baby Cakes, Mouse Was Mad, Llama Llama Misses
Mama, I Have a Problem, and Quiet Loud. To download the guides, go to
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/resources/strategies.html#booknook
Autism Spectrum Disorders: Diagnosis, Prevalence, and Services for Children and
Families
Source: Society for Research in Child Development - Retrieved April 30, 2010
The most recent issue of the Society for Research in Child Development's Social Policy
Report provides a summary of selected recent studies on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
diagnosis, prevalence, and intervention. The authors include strategies for developing
social policies to help improve the outcomes and independence of children and adults with
ASDs. Autism Spectrum Disorders: Diagnosis, Prevalence, and Services for Children and
Families (2010), by Catherine Lord and Somer L. Bishop is available online at
http://www.srcd.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=910
Summary and Recommendations of Crisis in the Kindergarten; Why Children Need
to Play in School
A report from the Alliance for Childhood by Edward Miller and Joan Almon
www.cde.state.co.us/early/downloads/CHILDFIND/CrisisinKindergarten.pdf
From: The What Works Clearinghouse <[email protected]>
Subject: New WWC Topic Area: Early Childhood Education for Children with
Disabilities
WWC to Review Research on Interventions for
Students with Learning Disabilities
A new topic area from the What Works
Clearinghouse (WWC) will give educators
the tools needed to make important decisions
about curriculums, products, and classroom
methods. The Early Childhood Education
for Children with Disabilities topic area will
review research related to improving the
school readiness of 3- to 5-year-old children
with disabilities.
The first report looks at the research on
dialogic reading, an interactive reading
practice which uses picture books
designed to enhance language and
literacy skills. Read the full report
now.
Visit whatworks.ed.gov to learn more about this new area and see which intervention reports are
coming out soon. Stay tuned for other WWC updates and new releases throughout the year.
A project of the U.S. Department of Education, the WWC is a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what
works in education. The WWC develops and implements standards for reviewing education research, assesses the rigor
of research evidence on the effectiveness of interventions (programs, products, practices, and policies), and produces
user-friendly practice guides for educators. The WWC is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of
Education Sciences through a contract with Mathematica Policy Research.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this WWC update, visit http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/help/webmail/ to send us an email. Select
“Other” as the subject and type “Subscribe” or “Unsubscribe” in the message box.
Welcome to the seventh issue of New Developments, a quarterly e-newsletter from SRI
International’s Center for Education and Human Services. Earlier issues are available on our
website. In this issue, we highlight important findings about best practices for implementing
a kindergarten assessment process.
Best Practices for Kindergarten Assessment
Because school readiness is related to later educational outcomes, states and school
districts across the United States are increasingly focusing policies and funding on building
and improving early childhood systems. To inform accountability efforts, many states have
implemented or are developing some form of a kindergarten assessment process in order to
achieve the following:
Understand the school readiness of kindergartners
Support transition and alignment between early education
programs and K-12 schools
Guide individual instruction
In a report to Washington State’s Department of Early Learning (DEL), SRI provided
recommendations for developing a statewide kindergarten assessment process (KAP) based
on a review of literature related to assessment practices, including position papers, policy
briefs, and journal articles. SRI also based its recommendations on two surveys: a survey of
stakeholders about their priorities for a KAP and a survey of schools and districts about their
current KAP practices. Articulating a set of best practices of
Full report available at:
http://policyweb.sri.com/cehs/projects/
displayProject.jsp?Nick=WADEL-KA
an assessment process, understanding the priorities of stakeholders for a KAP, and knowing
the current KAP processes used by districts before developing a KAP is more likely to help
states develop a KAP that will produce more accurate and useful information about
children’s skills and competencies. Below are some of the most important best practices
found in the literature review. Recommendations for how best practices, stakeholder
priorities, and current practices should guide development of Washington’s KAP are
available in the full report.
Best Practices For Development of a Kindergarten Assessment Process
1. Benefit children and do no harm. An assessment process should identify a child’s positive skills and
unique strengths that can serve as a basis to build new and better skills. It should not be
used to keep children from entering kindergarten or used to deny children opportunities or
services.
2. Use only for the purpose(s) for which the assessment process is designed. The
purpose(s) of the assessment process must be clear up front before tools can be selected.
Purpose is important because assessment tools are typically developed for a single purpose
and cannot be easily used for other purposes.
3. Collect information on multiple areas of development. Measures should include a range
of skills, across multiple areas of development. The National Education Goals Panel (NEGP)
identified five areas of children’s development and learning that are important to school
success: (1) physical well-being and motor development, (2) social and emotional
development, (3) language development, (4) approaches to learning, and (5) cognition and
general knowledge.
4. Include multiple sources of information, including family participation and input.
Gathering information from multiple sources, such as kindergarten teachers, trained
assessors, parents, and early care and education (ECE) providers, is recommended for best
understanding young children’s skills and competencies.
5. Make appropriate for the population being assessed, including being culturally and
linguistically responsive. Assessment processes should be designed and validated for use
with the ages, cultures, languages, socioeconomic levels, and abilities and disabilities of the
children who are being assessed. Using assessment tools or processes that are inappropriate
may underestimate children’s true abilities and competencies and thus lead to inaccurate
conclusions.