November 2002 — Industry Perspective
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Technology Connects Assessment, Accountability Standards in Early Childhood Education
Pearson Early Learning offers the Work Sampling System (WSS), a research-based assessment tool for students in preschool through sixth grade that relies on a criterion-referenced approach. Its performance indicators and guidelines are correlated to national and state standards. WSS was researched and developed by Dr. Samuel Meisels, president of the Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development. WSS has been studied more intensively than any other comparable performance assessment.
When presented with the challenge of providing Work Sampling programs with an answer to the federal Head Start Outcomes requirements, Pearson Early Learning developed a comprehensive assessment system, Work Sampling for Head Start, which clearly aligns individual child assessments with the federally mandated outcomes. In response to stated needs from teachers and administrators to streamline this process — especially in situations where multiple funding and reporting mandates may exist — Pearson Early Learning partnered with SchoolSuccess to address these needs through technology.
The result of this partnership is Work Sampling Online (WSO), an Internet-based reporting and aggregation system. WSO assists teachers in transforming a mass of observational data into a more accessible profile of the child’s knowledge, skills and behaviors. It also enables administrators to aggregate data on an overall program performance, as compared against state, federal or other standards. Administrators can easily evaluate their program’s progress on federally mandated outcomes, as well as target key areas, such as language and literacy.
WSS is based on state standards for preschool and elementary education. States can now implement technology, enabling state administrators to publish enhanced reports on overall development against specific learning standards, while helping them to better understand the progress being made by preschool children in each of their schools. SchoolSuccess’ platform and suite of online products offer school systems flexible technology solutions to customize their assessment and reporting tools to meet their unique early childhood requirements.
Looking Ahead
The NCLB Act offers a proposed solution to the problem that a significant percentage of children are entering school lacking basic proficiencies, such as language, literacy and social skills. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching estimates that 35 percent of American kindergarten children arrive at school unprepared to learn. The statistics are even more alarming for children from low-income families, with 50 percent starting first grade up to two years behind their peers in preschool skills.
Studies consistently show that early inequalities in skills persist and increase with time. Children who encounter difficulty learning to read fall further and further behind their peers in their school careers. Early and ongoing assessment enables caregivers and teachers to deliver more effective instruction, which will certainly help close this gap. Research supported, ongoing assessments tied to standards will help ensure school readiness and school success. In addition, by using technology, teachers and administrators are more easily able to connect developmentally appropriate practices and performance assessments to accountability standards.
Contact Information
SchoolSuccessBoston, MA
(617) 542-6500
www.worksamplingonline.com
