100 Points

As some of you move toward asking to be assessed by the UW for Early Achievers, this may be a good time to remind you about the 100 points that will identify which level you will be assigned.

The Companion to the Quality Standards (the booklet with the Red title bar) lists the 100 points.  You all received this with your welcome packet and it is also online here http://del.wa.gov/publications/elac-qris/docs/EA_facility_companion.pdf

There are 100 possible points.  The number of points you are assessed will determine your Early Achievers level.

If you are assessed 30-69 points, you will be Level 3
If you are assessed 70-90 points, you will be Level 4
If you are assessed 91-100 points, you will be Level 5

Here is how the points break down.

The Environment Rating Scale is worth up to 15 points.  When the UW does the ERS assessment, they will average the scores from each classroom assessed.  If the average is a 4, you will get 5 points.  If the average is a 5, you will get 10 points.  If the averages is a 6+ you will get all 15 points.

You will find this on the top of page 14 of the Companion.

 

The CLASS assessment (the one done via video) is worth up to 40 points!  This is a biggie for sure!  You will find this on page 13 of the Companion. 

The CLASS is divided into 2 parts, each worth up to 20 points.  For the Emotional Support and Classroom Organization/Emotional and Behavioral Support sections, if you score an average of 3.5-4.9, you will get 10 points;  if you score an average of 5.0-5.9, you will get 15 points; and if you score an average of 6.0+ you will get 20 points.  You will find this on the bottom of page 13 in the Companion.

The other part of the CLASS assessment is also worth 20 points.  The Instructional Support/Engaged Support for Learning part of the CLASS sets the bar very high and looks at advanced skills.  Because it is a high bar, the point threshold is a bit lower.  If you score 2-3.4 you will get 10 points, if you score between 3.5-4.4 you will get 15 points, and if you score 4.5+ you will get all 20 points.  You will find this on the top of page 13 in the companion.

So the possible 15 points from the ERS plus the possible 40 points from the CLASS gets us up to 55 of the 100 points.

If you look on pages 17 and 18 in the Companion, you will see the 10 points for Professional Development.  Once you have all your staff’s professional development listed in MERIT, you will have a pretty good idea of where your score will be in this section.

That leaves 35 other points.  Those are the total of all the little items included in the companion.  One point for this, 2 points for that… 

Next month, our staff will be meeting with the DEL and UW to go over more of the details of these 35 points.  The way they are listed in the companion is quite ambiguous.  As soon as we get clarity on this, I will be sure to detail it to all of you.

What the Heck Were You Thinking??

OK, that question is usually used in a different way, but wouldn’t it be great to get into the mind of a child? 

Developing reasoning skills is an important part of a child’s development.  In order to make good decisions as a teen or adult, to come up creative solutions, to assess goals, and to analyze situations, children need to practice thinking for themselves.

As a teacher of young children, you want to know each child well.  You want to assess where they are in their development so you can plan accordingly to provide them with activities to practice the skills they are developing. 

A great way to do that is to get into their little brains!  Maybe you can ask,

 ”How did you know that?” 

“How did you figure that out?”

“What do you think about that?”

 

I heard a great example of this just the other day.  During the holidays, one of my coworkers brought her child to the office with her.  As they passed my desk, I heard a small voice say, “If your parking garage was any smaller, your car wouldn’t fit.”  And in a great parenting moment, mom said, “What made you think of that?”  It’s just that simple!

Being a problem solver, independent and creative thinker is a hallmark of success.  And you can help children develop these skills. 

Ask children for their opinions

Share/model your decision making – let them see your thinking process

Help a child list pros and cons of a situation

Encourage them to be curious, to experiment, to take safe risks

Ask follow up questions like. “Why?”  “Why do you think that?”

Practice making predications with them, then see what happens

In the CLASS assessment, you’ll see this in the Quality of Feedback section.  In the PreK CLASS, Ask students to explain thinking.  In the Toddler CLASS, Prompting Though Process. 

As we elevate our practice to help children be more successful in school and in life, encouraging them to think for themselves is an important step.

Test Your Knowledge

A little something fun to start 2013!

Across
4. If you score 91-100 points your are Level _______
7. What Early Achievers helps you do to your current practices
8. If you score 71-90 points you are Level _____
10. The "Q" in QRIS
13. How many years you COULD take before applying for the UW assessment
14. If you score 31-70 points you are Level ____
15. The "R" in the ERS assessment
16. Where you complete your Level 2 application and professional development records
17. Child _______ is one section of the Quality Standards
19. The "E" in the ERS assessment
Down
1. How many months you have to complete the 10,000 foot level items for Level 2
2. Early Achievers helps children become more successful when they enter ________
3. The "s" in the ERS assessment
5. When you are rated level 3-5 you will have this person to help you continue to grow
6. The state agency who received the Race to the Top funding that funds Early Achievers (acronym)
9. The "S" in QRIS
11. The "I" in QRIS
12. The acronym for the assessment done by videotape
18. Who benefits most from Early Achievers?