PCPO
Please forward this to all families in your preschool.

May 5, 2014

Hello, PCPO parents and teachers.

Your kindergartner, upon entering an Oregon public school, will be given a state-mandated kindergarten assessment. The PCPO board - as well as many PCPO teachers and other early childhood professionals - are very concerned about this test for a number of reasons.

We are urging all parents to investigate this testing further. The test itself could be detrimental to children who do not already know the end-of-kindergarten items. Imagine the effect of having one of your first kindergarten experiences clearly show your teacher that you do not know "anything," or being given a final exam in high school on the first day of class. The test also does not help or inform teachers, because they do not get the results. The kindergarten teacher will have his or her own assessment to help her plan for the class and your child.

The use of letter names and sounds and addition and subtraction as a beginning kindergarten assessment can only increase the "schoolization" of preschools. We know, through much research, that young children perform better in elementary school if they explore their environment and interact with others in preschool. We call this play, but it is really the important work of early childhood. It is wrong for preschoolers to be drilled on letters instead of learning them through their play activities. We also know, through the same research, that this early drilling of information shows no benefit to children in later years.

If you are interested in learning more about the testing and what you can do, please read the document below. There are people you can email and talk to (such as your principal). You should also know that, if you choose, you are legally entitled to opt out of the state testing.

Attached is a summary research report on play-based preschool and its benefits. Feel free to make copies and share with others who may have similar concerns.

Kathy Ems
PCPO President
  
Why Parents Should Be Concerned about the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment
  

What is the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment (OKA)?

  

The OKA was developed by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Early Learning Council (ELC), part of the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB). The OKA is given to all Oregon public school children at kindergarten entry. The assessment has several parts. The Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) is a worthwhile tool for teachers to assess children's abilities to control their behavior and get along with others. The academic component of the ODA consists of these sections of the easyCBM test. 

  1. Upper and lower case letter names in a one-minute timing of random letters
  2. Letter sounds (including blends) also in a one-minute timing and
  3. Math concepts related to numbers and operations (including addition and subtraction problems) presented in a multiple choice format with the child pointing to the answer he or she chooses.

What is wrong with the OKA System?

The easyCBM Does Not Measure Readiness: The results of these particular literacy and math tests cannot tell us if our children are ready for kindergarten - because:

  • They assess what children will learn in Kindergarten, not what they should know before they get there. Therefore the test is designed for a first-grader, not a kindergartner.
  • They omit important aspects of lieracy and math such as writing and comprehension.

Faulty Data Lead to Faulty Conclusions, Which Lead to Faulty Solutions:  This happened when our State's educational leaders used the OKA results to decry how few children are ready to start school because they know so few letters and numbers. Putting pressure on young children to memorize symbols is not the way to get more children ready.

 

What children need to succeed in school is simple.  They need  safe, language-rich, nurturing homes, communities, child care, and preschools; good nutrition and health care, and opportunities for interesting experiences; and schools that are ready to effectively both teach all children and support their natural love of learning and investigative thinking.

 

Research studies overwhelming support child-centered, play-based preschools - and kindergartens - as the learning style that is most correlated with student success at the end of third grade.

 

 

An analogy: Learning to drive - When you teach a 16 year old to drive, how do you know that he/she is ready? Do you just put him/her behind the wheel?Of course not. That is why the learner's permit test is very different from the driving test.

 

When it comes to academics, the OKA expects kindergartners to already know "how to drive." It tests knowledge of the kindergarten curriculum, not what they should know before kindergarten. Solving a single digit addition equation is a kindergarten skill; counting ten objects is a skill that shows a child is ready to learn addition. 

 

Also, the test only looks at a few literacy skills and not the most important ones. This would be like a driver's test that only includes parking and making a U-turn. The OKA completely leaves out many important factors that predict success in school (and in life) including physical health, motor skills, problem solving skills, and motivation.

 

If our driver-in-training knows that he/she will only be tested on parking and making a U-turn that is all that he/she will focus on. He/she may pass the test, but will be an incompetent driver. In this same way, bad tests in education negatively influence teaching practices. If literacy is measured only with letter and letter-sound tests, then parents and teachers will emphasize these skills over all the other important aspects of literacy, as well as other key components of an excellent preschool program.

 

Why the OKA is Not a Good Thing for a Child who is about to Enter Kindergarten

 

 

Children deserve a positive transition to kindergarten. Asking a child questions that are too difficult - both the content and the test format - is unfair and stressful, particularly during the first days of school.  In an article in the Statesman Journal (September 12, 2013), reporter Queenie Wong wrote:

 

Kindergartner M correctly identified the missing number in a sequence verbally. But...M pointed to a different number in the three choices provided in the assessment booklet. When naming/sounding out letters, M repeatedly said [the same] letter until time ran out."

 

How would you feel if this were your child?  Why should the child have to begin kindergarten feeling as though he or she has failed before school has even started?

 

It may impact preschool curriculum: What is measured has consequences because it suggests what is important. Preschools and families may feel that they need to focus on the narrow academic content of this assessment instead of providing rich and meaningful learning experiences for children.

Preschoolers have many important tasks - learning to communicate, share, problem solve, explore, figure out how the world works.  Learning to read is not part of a preschooler's job; becoming a learner is.

 

Many of a child's strengths will not be seen or considered important. Many children, boys in particular, will not do well on tests of letters and math, but they can do many things very well - create complex block structures, tell fantastic stories, organize games, negotiate with friends - all important skills for kindergarten.

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Everyone can take action to get the easyCBM test portion of the OKA revised or discontinued.

 

Parents
Preschool Teachers and Administrators

Kindergarten Teachers and Administrators

Share your concern with teachers and administrators in your child's school.

 

Share the issue with other concerned families.

 

Opt-out your child from the OKA test (it is allowed!) 

Talk about the OKA with your colleagues and director.

 

Discuss it at parent and school meetings.

 

Express your concerns to the administrator of the school the children will be entering.  

Share your concerns with your colleagues, principal, district, union, and professional organizations.

 

Talk about the OKA at PTA, school and parent meetings.  

 

Email your concerns to Nancy Golden, Chief Education Officer, OEIB nancy.l.golden@state.or.us; serena.stoudamire@state.or.us and hilda.roselli@state.or.us staff for Early Childhood Transitions, Jada Rupley jada.rupley@state.or.us Director, Early Learning Division; your state legislators (oregonlegislature.gov) and Governor Kitzhaber (Oregon.gov website). Write to a local newspaper, on relevant blogs and tell your friends.

 

For more information go to: http://oregonka.weebly.com

 

This flyer was written by a group of concerned early childhood educators and child development specialists. We support teaching academics in ways that are responsive to children's abilities and how they learn best. We support kindergarten assessments if they are comprehensive and designed for that purpose. And we support more funds for high quality early childhood programs because they promote children's development, assist working families, and help children succeed in school and life.  

PCPO | (503) 293-6161 | pcpo@pcpo.info | http://www.parentchildpreschools.org
PO Box 230327
Tigard, OR 97281-0327