Assessment: Birth to Five Larry Schweinhart, High/Scope Educational Research Foundation Larry Schweinhart is Chair of the Research Division of High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. As such, he oversees all of the Foundation’s research initiatives, including the High/Scope Perry Preschool and Preschool Curriculum Comparison Studies. Schweinhart also served as Director of the Michigan School Readiness Program evaluation, an effort to evaluate the state’s preschool program for at-risk four-year-olds; Director of the Head Start Quality Research Center, leading an effort to define and assess quality in Head Start programs; and Director of the High/Scope Child Observation Record studies, designing and implementing studies of the feasibility, reliability, and validity of this tool in assessing children’s development in early childhood programs. He is the author of numerous publications and reports for High/Scope and has published extensively in external venues on early childhood education, curriculum, evaluation, and assessment. Schweinhart has also lectured widely in the U.S. and abroad. "The basic principle of child assessment in Head Start is that while high scores identify strengths, low scores identify opportunities for growth . . . not limitations." — Larry Schweinhart Presentation Highlights This presentation focuses on observational assessment, appropriate assessment tools, and methodology for using these tools to measure the domains identified in the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework. Assessment Through Child Observation Curriculum and assessment are two sides of the same coin. Curriculum identifies the goals and objectives for children’s development. Assessment measures the success in achieving these goals and objectives. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework Observational assessment is a preferred strategy that can be used to measure all domains identified in the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework. This type of assessment encompasses everything that young children do in the learning environment including: Speaking and communicating; Creative arts; Social and emotional development; and Approaches to learning. Identifying Appropriate Assessment Tools Observational assessment tools must meet five criteria: 1. Reliability—Users agree with each other in their scoring 2. Validity—Measures what it claims to measure 3. Sensitivity to program effects—Measures progress toward program goals, coinciding with the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework 4. Scorability—Provides data that can be averaged for groups of children 5. Usability—Trained users know how to use and interpret the assessment tools For more information, refer to the December 2000 Head Start Bulletin on Screening and Assessment. Video of Presentation Presentation Highlights No Handout for This Presentation List of Curriculum and Assessment presenters/presentations Information on how to view videos and view/download handouts

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