Pre-K Classroom Assessment and Routines

The process of learning shouldn’t be a mystery. Learning targets provide students with tangible goals that they can understand and work toward. Rather than the teacher taking on all of the responsibility for meeting a lesson’s objective, learning targets, written in student-friendly language and frequently reflected on, transfer ownership for meeting objectives from the teacher to the student. (See examples below from pg. 27 Leaders of Their Own Learning)

• Use explanations of content that are clear, coherent, and support student understanding of content. 
• Differentiate instruction as needed in response to student learning needs, including enrichment and extra support. 
• Provide choices for how students engage in the content. 
• Convey or provide accurate content (and all content necessary) for students to achieve the learning goal(s). 

Check out an example of using a learning target throughout a lesson in a kindergarten class:

Formative assessment is a process teachers and students use during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching moves and learning tactics. It is not a specific test, event, or bank of test items. When effectively implemented formative assessment as a process assists students in achieving intended instructional outcomes.

One type of formative assessment is Learning Stories.  Originating in New Zealand through the work of Margaret Carr and Wendy Lee, Learning Stories describe the young child as a learner and document his/her/their unique learning journey.  Learning stories focus on the child’s strengths, interests, growth, and successes in play and exploration.  The emphasis on documenting learning through a narrative form places the child at the center of the documentation, as opposed to centering instruction.  (Educa, 2017, The Magic of Learning Stories).  Photos, videos, and descriptive narratives bring moments of learning to life and weave detailed individual portfolios that celebrate the whole child.  Learning stories are meant to be a reflective tool for collaborating with families to interpret children’s learning and set intentions for supporting and extending learning.

A learning story has three central elements:

• NOTICE (observation of learning through a story and pictures)
• RECOGNIZE (Analysis of the learning)
• RESPOND (Identify what practices will strengthen, support, and extend learning)

Check out this video about Learning Stories

Educational Leadership Project: Learning Stories a Conversation with Wendy Lee

• Part 1: A Philosophical Approach 
• Part 2: The Key Components
• Part 3: Culture in the Classroom
• Part 4: Bi-cultural Identity
• Part 5: Don’t Have Time for Learning Stories?
• Part 6: What is the Best Age for Learning Stories to be Used?

Engaging in a collaborative process of analyzing student work allows a group of educators to analyze the learning experiences they have designed for their students and determine their effectiveness. When teachers collaboratively analyze student work they can build understanding and agreement about the consistent use and interpretation of a rubric with the goal of improving student learning. This process encourages teachers to consider:

• What are my students’ strengths with regard to the required knowledge and skills?
• What are my student’s learning needs with regard to the required knowledge and skills?
• Do students have sufficient foundational content and process skills to approach new learning?
• How can I support student learning through scaffolding and differentiation?

The most important benefit of analyzing student work is improved student learning. Student responses, work and interactions demonstrate that all or almost all students are on track to achieve stated or implied grade-level and/or IEP-aligned learning goals.

Teachers provide feedback that expands learning and understanding and encourages continued participation.

5 types of feedback include

1. Scaffolding: The teacher often scaffolds for students who are having a hard time understanding a concept, answering a question, or completing an activity.
2. Feedback loops: There are frequent feedback loops-back-and-forth-exchanges-between the teacher and the students.
3. Prompting thought processes: The teacher often queries the students or prompts students to explain their thinking and rationale for responses and actions.
4. Providing Information: The teacher often provides additional information to expand on students’ understanding or actions.
5. Encouragement and affirmation: The teacher often offers encouragement for students’ efforts that increases student involvement and persistence.

Summative assessments evaluate student learning, knowledge, proficiency, or success at the conclusion of an instructional period, like a unit, course, or project. Tests, exams, final essays, and reports represent more traditional summative assessments. Summative assessments are almost always formally evaluated (though they do not need to be). Summative assessment can be used to great effect in conjunction and in alignment with formative assessment. Because summative assessments are usually higher-stakes than formative assessments, it is especially important to ensure that the assessment aligns with the goals and expected outcomes of the instruction and that students have extensive opportunities to express their learning through academic writing and/or explanations using academic language.

Portfolios are a great way to demonstrate student progress over time in your early education classroom. They can be used as tools to demonstrate each child’s individual progress from the beginning to the end of the school year.