The Brain Motor Accountability Connection

Pre-k educators who began teaching before the dawn of the No Child Left Behind era remember some important concepts that have since fallen into disuse. Developing skills like thinking, feeling, talking, manipulating, and moving are no longer as important as knowing the answer to a narrow set of questions such as "What letter is this? What number is this? What color is this?" When I began teaching in 1995, the five domains of child development were actually considered to be equal to one another. The different fields include cognitive development, social emotional development, speech and language development, approaches to learning, and physical - motor development. Pre-k educators were able to develop the whole child through the natural flow of the school day. The social emotional domain was so integrated into the day that it was not difficult to address. Fine motor development was easily incorporated because we drew pictures every day and did at least three crafts per week. Reinforcing gross motor skills was easy, we would just sing, dance, run, jump, around and have fun.

Then the push for accountability took such a hold of the political consciousness that we had to become more focused on reading and, at least in the beginning, that was a good thing. We devoted more attention to emergent literacy (speech and language development) and I believe overall the children in our classes benefited from the increased effort. Over time however, cognitive development became the only thing administrators and policy makers outside of the classroom cared about, possibly because it was the only thing that was measurable. Over the past 15 years, pre-k has become more about testing and less about learning. Here is a recent rant from a pre-k teacher in Texas:

We are testing things that I used to test in first grade, so that is how the curriculum has bumped down. It is a waste of instructional time to ask our kiddos 40+ phonemic awareness questions, when they don't even know simple rhyming words or nursery rhymes. [At my school], Kids don't come with much home literacy experience, but many have the potential to learn in the right environment.

When I read something like this I know how this teacher feels. I have been there. I remember completing an individual developmental screening followed by the Head Start National Reporting System testing, then the state emergent literacy assessment, then the Child Observation Record (COR), and lastly a pre-k report card. Total time spent in assessment: 90 minutes per child in a class of 19 students plus entering and scoring anecdotes in the COR. This all happened in the first three months of school when, as a teacher, I was really trying to develop relationships with my students.

That much assessment can really warp your perception of what you are supposed to be doing in a classroom. But, thanks to the trend in brain research that looks at what happens with the brain while it is learning, we find that good-old-fashioned developmentally appropriate, touching, moving and playing type preschool practices are what kids need for optimal brain development. A recent article on Early Childhood News titled, Optimizing Early Brain and Motor Development through Movement describes "windows of opportunity" in the early childhood years for developing the brain. The authors, Carl Gabbard, Ed.D., and Luis Rodrigues write:

These windows begin opening before birth and then narrow as a child grows older. In theory, there are a series of windows for developing motor control, vision, language, feelings, etc. If a child misses an opportunity, his or her brain may not develop its circuitry to its full potential for a specific function.

 

So apparently, it is OK with scientists if we play in the mud again. Maybe it will be okay with policy makers too, as long as we can tell them, "We're building neural pathways with every mud pie."

Thanks to @balmeras of The Grass Stain Guru for the link on twitter.

Maryland Poised to Lead In the Long Run

Maryland seems poised to become a national model for effectively collecting and using early education data. Governor Martin O'Malley has proposed to the Maryland legislature the creation of a data collection system that would track its students from pre-k through 12th grade and beyond. This step, combined with the state's Work Sampling System, could provide the most developmentally appropriate and comprehensive data system in the nation. From FairTest.org:

The Work Sampling System is a continuous assessment format which helps teachers and families gain perspective on the students development over an eight-year period, from ages 3 to 11.  

Many states are moving towards a longitudinal system, but only Maryland has the child-centered assessments system to make the data valuable. Work Sampling has been shown reliable and valid up to 11 years old. This makes the Maryland system student-centered, longitudinal and able to answer important policy questions that guide accountability and funding decisions. Some of the answers that Michael Keller, former director of policy analysis and research for the Maryland Higher Education Commission highlighted are:

What achievement levels in elementary school indicate that a student is "on track" for later success? What effect does early grade retention have on later academic success? What evidence exists that students who pass courses have learned the course content? Which elementary, middle and high schools in the state are consistently highest performing in preparing different student populations? What high school achievement levels indicate that a student is ready for college or work?

 

These are just a few of the questions this system could answer. It could also answer a big pre-k question: When do the effects of pre-k show up the most? Is it by third grade as the fans of the "fade effect" suggest or is it, as I suspect, as cumulative and important in middle and high school?

You got the money, what do you do with it?

You got the money, now what do you do with it? The recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) put additional Title I funds into schools. Now it is up to school boards, superintendents, and constituents to decide how to use it. Pre-K Now just published a guide for school administrators to help with those decisions. Many school systems face achievement-gap problems associated with the psycho-social delays in children related to poverty. Title I funds are legislatively targeted to address those deficits.

How can your school system encourage literacy among all of your students by first grade? How do you target the kids that need help the most? How can you proactively address the inequalities of poverty within the budgetary constraints of the current climate? A number of reports have discussed the importance of early education in increasing high school graduation rates.

Essentially, these new funds are meant to support already existing and effective programs. The U.S. Department of Education does not want these funds used for pilot programs that haven't proven their worth. This is why using Title I to support public pre-k makes so much sense. From the report:

Districts may only use Title I funds to expand access to and/or supplement existing services. For example, Title I can be used to expand a half-day pre-k program to full day. There are strong stipulations against using Title I funds to “supplant” other resources, i.e. using Title I money for something previously paid for with state or local dollars.

School districts – maybe even your own -- may be sitting on a bucket of cash for at-risk kids, and just need to access those dollars. If your district is in that position, you should consider investing in the future by supporting your pre-k program in your school, locality, or state. Maybe you have one pre-k classroom in your school with a wait list. This is the perfect time to start up an additional classroom to give more kids access to a high-quality early learning experience. Maybe your school system needs to align its pre-k through 3rd grade strategies or establish common goals for pre-k programs. Now is the time. Read the report and learn how Title I works for pre-k.

Image: http://prekvt.blogspot.com/2008/02/pre-k-rules-challenge-cap.html

Pre-K in Tennessee Makes the Grade

Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson commissioned a report highlighted in the Memphis Daily News on the effectiveness of its state funded pre-k program. The study found that the effects of pre-k diminished by second grade. While I found the report to be informative, it raised more questions for me regarding how well Tennessee's schools are educating their Pre-K - 3 students.

 

If the state has a history of under-preparing their students, then it seems understandable why the positive effects of a pre-kindergarten education would be shredded by the 2nd or 3rd grade. Although national studies have shown that pre-k positively affects student achievement, most notably in the longitudinal ECLS studies, the "fade out effect" is cited when pre-k goes under the microscope of a political opponent to public pre-k. The mythological "fade effect" beast continues to survive, mostly due to sensational reporting, despite the presence of numerous studies that support the idea that high quality pre-k supports student achievement even through 5th grade. The Tennessee researchers might not necessarily agree with the article in the Memphis Daily either. In the report they write, "Although the effects of Pre-K on long-term academic achievement are not evident in the present study, the lack of a statistically significant difference in measures of student achievement in the long term cannot logically be attributed to an ineffective Pre-K intervention."

I decided to do  a little research into Tennessee's academic record and found some ideas that should be considered whenever pre-k is attacked by that mythological monster the "fade effect". You can read the report yourself on the EdWeek Quality Counts page, but I'll share some important caveats to consider. EdWeek's Chance for Success indicator - a combination of early childhood services, school performance and educational and economic opportunities for adults, was a C-. How did this happen when the state has an A- in early childhood education transition and alignment? The State's pre-k program, meeting 9 out of 10 of NIEER's Quality Benchmarks, catapulted Tennessee's score above the D mark. It was mostly K-12 that made Tennessee's grade so low. I know there are likely incredible teachers in Tennessee just like every where else, but it is where the buck hits the blackboard that many state school systems fail. Essentially, we have a high quality pre-k program feeding into a low quality K-12 system. Here is the breakdown:

Rep. John Deberry's reply really captures my initial reaction, “This report says that we have been successful with pre-K. We need to ask ourselves why, and then why can’t we be equally successful in the second, third, fourth and fifth grades.”

A Real Life Story Problem

Math was never a favorite subject of mine.  I think it stems back to a difficulty with story problems throughout my elementary school years.  I attended a Math Institute this past week put on through the MN Department of Education.  I am pleased to say that we are incorporating many of the strategies in our classrooms already – always a good sign!

 

What was more interesting was to look at standards for mathematics at the early childhood level.  There is a slight difference in our state standards, or Early Childhood Indicators of Progress, and those put out by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children). 

 

As we discussed these standards and indicators of progress, our group was split pretty evenly.  One third of the programs represented were required to follow the standards and assess students to show progress.  One third used these indicators as a guide for their curriculum and used their own assessment model.  The final third were learning about these standards for the first time, although they include most of them in the programming already. 

 

As our state gets closer and closer to mandates related to Early Childhood Education, it will be interesting to see how programs respond to new or more strictly enforced standards.  Our director is currently researching curriculums, programming options and student contact time.  Quality rating systems are starting to play a role in funding and the choices parents have for early childhood opportunities. 

 

So now the story problem reads like this: 

 “Karissa is a teacher in an urban setting.  She has been told her 20 students need to show progress in all the areas of mathematics or her school will receive 3 stars instead of 5.  90% of her students start school without any knowledge of the English language and they have 6 hours of contact time a week due to budget cuts.  What would you do next?”

Getting Ready for the DC-CAS (in pre-k)!

This week, third through fifth grade students at my school are taking the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS).  The results of this standardized test, which is administered every April, will be used to determine whether our school meets the goals set forth by No Child Left Behind.  The stakes are high, and the focus on the test is mounting.  From staff meetings and professional development to homework packets and parent meetings, it seems that DC-CAS is high on everyone's radar.

As a pre-k teacher, I sometimes find myself tempted to tune out all the hype about the test.  It can be hard to see the connection between what happens in my classroom on a daily basis -- students working in centers, collaborating with peers, solving problems, etc. -- and a standardized test that my students will take in five years.  However, when I stop to think about it, I realize that I am teaching many of the foundational skills that will help my students excel throughout their education, including on the DC-CAS.  Here are just a few examples:

• Throughout the year I intentionally incorporate nonfiction, fiction, and poetry books into each of our thematic units.  Before I read these books aloud to my students, I tell them a little bit about the genre and why we are reading each book.  While I don't expect my students to master the concepts of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in pre-k, many of them are catching on to the vocabulary and concepts associated with each genre of literature.  As they do so, my students are developing the knowledge that people write and read for a variety of purposes, and each of those purposes has a specific name. 
• Every Monday we make a class bar graph.  The topic of the graph can be anything from "How old are you?" to "Which book do you like the most?" or "Have you been to the zoo?"  Students answer the question in a complete sentence and then put a square on the graph under the appropriate column.  As students answer the question, I ask them questions such as "How many other people chose the same answer as you?"  or "Which column has the most votes?"  By creating and interpreting our class graph, students are developing foundational skills related to data analysis and statistics, both of which are covered on the DC-CAS. 
• Our classroom culture is focused around the idea that hard work will lead to success.  I set goals with each of my students and we talk explicitly about how they can work to achieve their goals.  I constantly reinforce my students' hard work by commenting on what they have done (e.g. "I can tell that you're working so hard on that writing because you're taking time to stretch out the words and make your letters.") and provide encouragement when they are frustrated (e.g. Help a child calm down and then say, "You wrote the curved part of your 'J,' now all it needs is a line across the top!  I saw you draw a line on your paper this morning, let's see if you can do it again.") My students have learned to identify hard work in themselves and in their peers, and often provide support and encouragement to one another!  With this, they are developing the mindset that they can see success through hard work. 

Given all of this, it is not surprising to find that students who attend pre-k score better on standardized tests in fourth grade!

Explanation Provided?

Liz Willen of EarlyStories asked for an explanation of how pre-k students will be tracked in the Maryland P-12 education system. I am not sure I can find the answers she is looking for but I thought I would give it a try.

I think that Willen may have really wanted to know what types of data would be used to track students and if the data would be collected through standardized testing. I did a little research and found this on Maryland's accountability system from the National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center website (NCCIC).

Each fall, all kindergarten teachers assess children using a modified version of the Work Sampling System and report this data to the Department of Education. The Department of Education submits a report based on this and other data to the General Assembly each November about the level of school readiness statewide.

This was really intriguing to me because our system currently uses a combination of the HighScope Child Observation Record (COR) and the Phonemic Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS). Both of these assessments are teacher intensive. In some areas, they overlap. The COR uses teacher observations that are scored on a developmental scale from 1-5 with five meaning the child is roughly at a five year old level. This data is reported to Head Start but not the state. The state funded program uses a pre-test post-test system based on Virginia's Foundation Blocks (pdf). The PALS is an excellent assessment tool that provides detailed information on students reading skills including letter identification, begining sound awareness, rhyming, and print and word awareness. This data is then used to develop individual learning plans for every student.

The Maryland Model for School Readiness has been touted as an outstanding example of effective early childhood intervention and accountability system that incorporates instruction, assessment, communication, programmatic collaboration, and professional development. On closer inspection, the Work Sampling System acually seems to be the strongest accountability tool I have ever seen. I can't do it justice by describing it myself so here is a paragraph from FairTest.org the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

The system is based on seven domains or categories, each with performance indicators: Personal and Social Development (focusing on self identity, the self as a learner, and social development); Language and Literacy ( based on the theory that students learn to read and write the way they learn to speak, naturally and slowly); Mathematical Thinking (focusing on children s approaches to mathematical thinking and problem solving); Scientific Thinking (emphasizing the processes of scientific investigation, because process skills are embedded in and fundamental to all science instruction and content); Social Studies (understanding from personal experience and by learning about the experiences of others); The Arts (focusing on how using and appreciating the arts enables children to demonstrate what they know and to expand their thinking); and, Physical Development (developing fine and gross motor skills and a growing competence to understand and manage personal health and safety).

As a teacher who uses assessment to drive instruction in my classroom I am actually starting to get a little data envy at this point. The assessment uses developmental checklists and portfolios to collect data. FairTest goes on:

The Work Sampling System is a continuous assessment format which helps teachers, families and students gain perspective on the student s development and skills over an eight-year period, from ages three to 11. It allows schools to create mixed-age groupings in classrooms if desired, and allows for longitudinal study over time to examine how a child has developed. The continuous use also allows parents and families to become extremely familiar with the assessment system and its benefits.

Wait a minute! The Work Sampling System actually goes from age three to 11? That means that pre-k isn't considered an add-on program in Maryland. No wonder they were named the nation's best state school system by Education Week. With an assessment tool that already tracks from three to 11 it will be much easier than I thought for Maryland to take that system all the away up to college. Heck, most of the work is already done by addressing the hardest to assess grades, the pre-literate grade levels.

Bridges to Kindergarten

In just one short week, I will start my third summer school session. I am excited for the opportunity to be a part of a groundbreaking program that hopefully will grow in the coming years. I will be co-teaching with a kindergarten teacher and the students will have an opportunity to have class in a kindergarten classroom. There are several goals we are hoping to accomplish with this bridge to kindergarten.
Students and their families will become familiar with their child’s elementary school. It will provide an opportunity for students and their families to do this without the “first day of school distractions.” In addition, students will participate in learning readiness activities that encourage language development and social emotional interaction. Students will also have an opportunity to participate in a Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop. This model of teaching allows students to work at their own pace, represent what they have learned in their own creations and share their work with peers, teachers and their families. Our half-day program will serve as a shortened version of the all day Kindergarten classes. Students will participate in all daily activities including time allotted for specialties: art, physical education, music and media center. Students will learn how to use materials and what to expect from each of the classrooms. Last, but not least, the hope is that students will be energized and excited to start the school year!
One thing I am looking forward to is the feedback and reflection of this new endeavor. It will be interesting to see what the kindergarten teachers, parents and school administrators observe during the first few weeks of the school year. As I make my reminder calls, I hear the voices of so many five- and six-year olds. They are excited to get back to school and more than ready to cross over the bridge…to kindergarten!

Counting and Accountability ... Part 2

My last post opened this topic of accountability and funding. In this post, I hope to demonstrate how accountability directly links to funding. As I have said, I work alongside some highly respected Early Childhood Special Education teachers. They are committed and dedicated to maintaining the highest level of education to their students and families. One major difference between their program and mine is the required documentation for each child. This got me thinking…

I wonder if we could gain more support for Early Childhood Education statewide and nationwide if there was an adequate way to link funding to the “results” we see in the classroom?

High quality early childhood education and care -- the kind of education that benefits children the most -- must include funding for licensed or certified teacher salaries, transportation. and free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs, parent involvement programs and safe, stable access to facilities and resources.  I know there are reports out there that show how high-quality early childhood opportunities set our families up for life-long success. Anecdotally, we are able to demonstrate that early childhood learning opportunities enhance a family’s lifelong commitment to learning and their overall positive contribution to society. However, we are not quite at a point where our findings are significant enough to merit a comprehensive and ongoing investment.  The big sticking point, for most people, is a lack of patience.  Many tax payers, investors, and politicians find it hard to think about an investment that may not produce visible or tangible results until much later in a student’s life.

If we could find a way to accurately and efficiently demonstrate what our work is doing for our families’ -- right here, right now -- we could pave the way for more consistent and ongoing funding.  This is not something that can be done without careful thought.   School rating systems are not the answer. Increased pay for teachers that produce good test scores are not the answer.  Our job now is to help establish a framework for how to financially support these programs locally and nationally.

In an effort to make these opportunities available to all families, we must find a way to prove that the investment in pre-k is worth every penny! 

Future Presidents

Treat each child in your classroom as if he or she is going to be the next president of the United States.

I don’t remember the first time I heard it or even who said it, but I have adopted this philosophy and made it my own over the years. It may sound crazy to some, but it’s the only way to level the playing field in a profession that is fraught with what us Texans refer to as “Pobrecito Syndrome”.

The word pobrecito is spanish slang for “poor little thing”.  More specifically, Pobrecito Syndrome refers to teachers who feel sorry for disadvantaged students instead of holding them to the highest of standards. This syndrome runs rampant in inner city schools, all too often staffed with the most inexperienced teachers instead of those most seasoned in their craft.

Working in an urban setting in the Dallas area, I often feel that Pobrecito Syndrome is an epidemic. I have worked with more than my fair share of teachers who refuse to teach their students and give them the tools they need to succeed in school so they can rise above their circumstances. Instead, teachers afflicted with Pobrecito Syndrome take pity on their students. The pity can take many forms such as buying students material things (i.e. clothes), passing students who have earned failing grades, or showing one's students lots of affection and ignoring bad behavior. Don’t get me wrong, these teachers usually have big hearts and mean well.  What they don’t understand is that they are actually hurting their students. I show my students plenty of affection, but I also hold them to extremely high standards for their own benefit. 

The saddest part of Pobrecito Syndrome is that the students can tell which teachers are afflicted. Those teachers usually have the worst classroom management (because their students are just poor little things after all) and their students are constantly taking advantage of them. Students in Pobrecito classrooms are often demanding and unruly; they know they don’t have to behave because their teacher feels sorry for them. This is how the cycle begins, if students have more than one Pobrecito teacher in their primary years it becomes almost impossible for them to catch up.

Recently, an interesting article by Mike Schmoker was called to my attention (thanks Angela!). In his article, Crayola Curriculum, Mr. Schmoker visited a number of schools across the country and discussed a similar phenomenon in his piece:

“One of the questions I would occasionally ask teachers…, especially if it was late in the school year, was whether or not students knew the alphabet and its sounds. The teachers would regularly say no, but add that, after all, these were either poor or second-language students. The question in my mind, never uttered, was this: "Why wouldn't they be learning the alphabet? Why are they coloring instead of being taught to read?"

His findings suggest that students are given more coloring assignments than mathematics or writing assignments- thus spawning his clever title, Crayola Curriculum.

He urges all teachers to examine our teaching practices closely, especially those of us working within the early grades and with disadvantaged students.

“Kids, especially those in disadvantaged settings, don't have a chance unless we teach them to read, early and well. This can happen the moment we charge teachers and administrators in every school and district to give reading and language arts instruction the thoroughgoing, common-sense review it so desperately needs.”

One educator who has taken the "future president" philosophy to heart is Ron Clark.  Mr. Clark exemplifies a teacher who not only holds his students to higher standards, but also helps them to surpass even their wildest dreams. His inspirational story should be required viewing for all new teachers. Equally inspiring is his book The Essential 55.

I urge all of us, both teachers and non-teachers alike, to avoid falling into the Pobrecito Syndrome trap.  Make a point to set high standards for everyone, regardless of their socio-economic status or skin color, so we can all do our part in creating America's future presidents.