Indicator: Developmental progress: language and literacy

What to know about measurement

Observational and direct child assessments are an increasingly popular option for assessing a broad range of early learning skills, including language and literacy. An estimated 43 states have or are developing kindergarten readiness or developmental assessments. These measures are mostly used as formative, not summative, assessments, and are not designed for accountability or high-stakes testing. For example, the past use of these assessments for accountability in Florida faced pushback and eventually was discontinued. By using formative assessments, framework users can understand the extent to which children are demonstrating growth over time, not just meeting benchmarks at a single point in time.

Observational developmental assessments are generally more feasible to conduct at scale than standardized direct child assessments, which have greater reliability and validity and thus allow for comparison across children, classrooms, and pre-K programs. However, direct child assessments may be burdensome to administer or may not be completed for every child. Direct child assessments such as the ECAD or IGDIs must be administered by trained assessors.

Current research is limited on the extent to which developmental assessments are reliable and valid for children who speak a language other than English at home. However, the DRDP has specific items for teachers to report on English language development for children who speak a non-English language at home and is a promising measure. Some research indicates that the TS GOLD functions well with children whose home language is not English.

In the System Transformation for Equitable Preschools Framework, Child Trends emphasizes the importance of using multiple forms of evidence to assess a child’s developmental progress. This could include observational or direct child assessments, as well as information from parents, pediatricians, counselors, therapists, or other organizations serving the child. Using multiple forms of evidence can help ensure that preschool systems do not over-rely on a single source that might not be culturally or developmentally appropriate for the child, as well as provide information that is meaningful for families.