Subtext Still Fearful After All this Time

1
SubtextStill Fearful After All this Time

• State Kindergarten Readiness Assessments
• Purposes, Designs, Hopes Fears

2
Present Realities

• Perspectives have shifted over last two decades
• Interest in such testing has shifted from local
  school districts to the state level
• Interest in testing the whole cohort rather than
  only children participating in state Pre-K
• Policymakers are insisting on the testing absent
  much understanding or input
• Public officials given little choice but to carry
  out mandates

3
Old Unintended Consequences

• Local testing was undertaken with the best of
  intentions in the 70s
• But heres what happened
• Young and poor children were excluded
• Middle class parents developed anxieties
• Median age of kindergarteners steadily rose
• Curriculum acceleratedyoung and poor children
  were then viewed as even less ready

4
Rationales are compellingbut questions remain

• Readiness not a unitary concept
• That challenge not met even when assessment is
  comprehensive
• Measurement challenges massive
• Unintended consequences have not received
  sufficient consideration in these new realities

5
What evidence do we have that --

• That testing with state reporting will not
  continue these unacceptable trends
• It will result in investments in better
  assessment tools
• Results will be used for helpful purposes
• Existing local assessment will diminish

6
From a recent state policy brief

• Early efforts to improve students educational
  outcomes expand lifelong opportunities for
  children.
• School readiness data provide families, schools
  and communities meaningful information to
  determine how best to help young students
  succeed.
• Many states and local counties are utilizing age-
  and developmentally appropriate kindergarten
  readiness observation tools to measure school
  readiness.

7

• Short and long-term steps toward a statewide
  kindergarten readiness observation system in
  every state must include policymakers, early
  childhood and elementary teachers, parents,
  school principals and district level
  administrators, researchers and other
  stakeholders.
• WOULD THAT WE COULD BE CONFIDENT
• THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

8

• The Geranium On The Windowsill Just Died But
  Teacher You Went Right On
• Legislator
• Governor
• ?????
• (Albert Cullum, 1971)