In collaboration with the federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, some Duke researchers are piloting a program to answer, "How young is too young to test?"
The program—which originated from a recommendation by the K-3 North Carolina Assessment Think Tank—is a collaborative effort between the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. North Carolina is currently leading a consortium of 12 states developing proposals to address the issue of holistically evaluating student performance, said Kenneth Dodge, director of the Center for Child and Family Policy and co-chair of the think tank. If successful, the program has the potential to create a national model for early elementary assessment that does not rely on standardized testing.
“We shouldn’t be stacking K [through third grade] students up against each other in very high risk, high stakes, anxiety provoking kinds of tests, but it’s very important to assess what a child knows and doesn’t know in order to decide what to teach,” Dodge said.
The need for more holistic evaluations prompted the think tank's recommendation for formative assessments, Dodge said. These assessments—which differ from traditional evaluations—hone in on aspects of students' approaches to learning as well as their cognitive, social and physical development. The evaluations stem from observations which occur through class instruction and one-on-one conversations.
Data collection for the pilot program concluded on Nov. 14, said Cindy Bagwell, the DPI K-3 assessment project administrator, who added that the initial phase impacted approximately 5,000 kindergarteners in 81 schools across the state. Bagwell added that the teachers will finalize their feedback later this week.
Preliminary feedback showed teachers' appreciation for how the new model expands beyond measuring single factors such as literacy, she added.
"Teachers are extremely receptive to the focus on the whole child," she said. "They appreciate the broadening of the lens we’ve been looking through for children."
Dodge noted that a recent feedback meeting emphasized a need for greater support towards teachers performing formative assessments in the classroom.
“They need more training on how to do the assessments and how to think about them in the context of their lessons.” Dodge said.
Bagwell, however, was enthusiastic about the prospect of higher education institutions providing teachers more formative assessment techniques.
“Teachers were more likely to have that 'aha' moment, a sense of understanding, if districts are providing professional development around formative assessments,” she said.
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