Aligning an Early Childhood Assessment to State Kindergarten Content Standards: Application of a Nationally Recognized Alignment Framework

Abstract

This article describes an alignment study conducted to evaluate the alignment between Indiana's Kindergarten content standards and items on the Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting. Alignment is the extent to which standards and assessments are in agreement, working together to guide educators' efforts to support children's learning and development. The alignment process in this study represented a modification of Webb's nationally recognized method of alignment analysis to early childhood assessments and standards. The alignment panel (N = 13) in this study consisted of early childhood educators and educational leaders from all geographic regions of the state. Panel members were asked to rate the depth of knowledge (DOK) stage of each objective in Kindergarten standards; rate the DOK stage for each item on the ISTAR rating scale; and identify the one or two objectives from the standards to which each ISTAR item corresponded. Analysis of the panel's responses suggested the ISTAR inconsistently conformed to Webb's DOK consistency and ROK correspondence criteria for alignment. A promising finding was the strong alignment of the ISTAR Level F1 and F2 scales to the Kindergarten standards. This result provided evidence of the developmental continuum of skills and knowledge that are assessed by the ISTAR items.

Assessment in play-based kindergarten classrooms: An empirical study of teacher perspectives and practices

“…Recent educational reforms throughout North America have increased academic standards within kindergarten programming. This shift is accompanied by an increased accountability structure, requiring kindergarten teachers to integrate assessments throughout their instruction to support academic learning while retaining developmentally appropriate pedagogies (Ontario Ministry of Education, OME, 2010a; Roach et al, 2010;US DOE, 2010). Specifically, playbased learning has been championed as a developmentally appropriate practice (e.g., Mick-Wayne, 2010;Wallerstedt & Pramling, 2012) and has served as the foundation for revised curricular policies that mandate the use of play-based pedagogies in kindergarten classrooms (OME, 2010;Pyle & Bigelow, 2014).…”

Real World Compromises: Policy and Practice Impacts of Kindergarten Entry Assessment‐Related Validity and Reliability Challenges

“…To accomplish this appropriate‐evidence task, those tasked with selecting or developing an assessment often conduct what is known as a crosswalk or alignment study. One common crosswalk focus is the match between a state's learning standards for a specific age or grade and a measure's content domains and items (Cox, Rodriguez, & Edwards, n.d.; Irvin et al, ; Roach, McGrath, Wixson, & Talapatra, ). If the results of an assessment are to inform teachers' practice, another common alignment focus is whether the knowledge or skills that are focused on are targeted by the curriculum used (National Association for the Education of Young Children & National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education, ; Wakabayashi & Beal, ).…”

Comparing the Potential Utility of Kindergarten Entry Assessments to Provide Evidence of English Learners' Knowledge and Skills

“…Moreover, the specific topics to be covered within each of these domains often need to reflect a state's kindergarten learning standards. Therefore, assessment developers or those tasked with selecting a KEA typically investigate to what extent the measure contains age‐ and grade‐appropriate items that are aligned with these standards (Roach, McGrath, Wixson, & Talapatra, ).…”