Assessment of Children’s Developmental Progress Aligned to California’s Early Learning Foundations: The Desired Results Developmental Profile

• In Event: Desired Results Developmental Profile Assessment System: Supporting Early Education Programs in California

Abstract

Objectives of the presentation:
Describe the DRDP© assessments, the alignment of the DRDP© assessments to California’s Learning and Development Foundations, and the articulation of the DRDP© assessments to assess children from infancy to age twelve.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework:
The California Early Learning and Development system provides an integrated set of resources based on state-of-the-art information on early learning and development and best practices in early education. The DRDP© assessments are the assessment component of the system. There are currently four DRDP© assessments: Infant/Toddler (birth to 36 months), Preschool (age 3 to kindergarten entry), School Readiness (kindergarten entry) and School-Age (kindergarten through age 12). Teachers use DRDP© assessments to observe, document, and reflect on the learning, development, and progress of all children in a program.

Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry:
The DRDP© is an observational assessment which assists teachers with documenting individual children’s progress. It provides teachers with a profile of each child’s progress on a continuum of development in key domains, which helps guide curriculum planning for individual children and small groups of children. The content experts who developed the foundations contributed to the development of DRDP© measures, with input from experts in assessment and program evaluation, and practitioners and experts for each age group.

Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials:
The Foundations are standards-like statements that identify and describe the knowledge and skills that young children typically develop when provided with developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate learning experiences. Other components of the system include curriculum frameworks; program guidelines; professional development, including Early Childhood Educator Competencies; and the Desired Results© system, all of which are aligned to the Foundations.

Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/points of view:
DRDP© assessments are aligned to the Foundations in three ways. First, the DRDP© items are organized according to the same developmental domains as are the Foundations. Second, each DRDP© item taps the same continuum of development as the corresponding Foundation. The Foundations describe expectations at specific transition points in the continuum along which children typically develop with appropriate support. Each DRDP© item documents a child’s level of development along the same continuum. Third, DRDP© assessment is grounded in the same research and early childhood development literature as the Foundations.

Significance:
The DRDP© is an assessment that documents the level of development on a continuum for each individual child. Each DRDP© continuum corresponds to a Foundation that describes knowledge or skill on that continuum that most children with appropriate support typically demonstrate at the time of a major developmental transition (for example, the end of the first year of preschool) and at a specific age. A teacher can use the DRDP© to identify the level of development of each child and to plan curriculum to support the learning of individual children and small groups of children. A teacher can use the foundations as a guideline to understand the overall direction of all children’s learning in the program and for general planning to support learning and development.

Authors

• Kerry Kriener-Althen, WestEd

• Ann-Marie Wiese, WestEd

• Peter L. Mangione, WestEd