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Early Learning Assessment FAQs - For Administrators

Contact Information

ELA Help Desk

844-K12-OHIO
(844-512-6446)
http://www.ohio-k12.help/

ELAHelp@education.ohio.gov

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Early Learning Assessment FAQs - For Administrators

General Questions

What is the Early Learning Assessment?

Ohio’s Early Learning Assessment (ELA) is a tool teachers use with preschool-age children. Teachers use the tool to determine the current level of each child’s skills, knowledge and behaviors. The ELA is an ongoing formative assessment that gives teachers information to support the continuous growth of preschool-age children.

The ELA is not a test. Teachers do not remove children from the classroom to assess. Teachers use the tool to determine a child’s current developmental level based on observation. Then, teachers use the information they collect to plan activities for the growth of each individual child.

What is a Learning Progression?

A Learning Progression defines a series of skills, knowledge or behaviors for children 36 months to 72 months. This series of skills, knowledge or behaviors includes children who may be at earlier developmental levels than their peers. There are 32 Learning Progressions in the ELA.

What Ohio programs are required to use the ELA?

Only programs serving children funded by ECE or PSE are required to use the ELA. For the 2023-2024 school year, there are two options to meet the requirement for ECE and PSE programs:

Option 1: Assess children funded by Early Childhood Education (ECE) or Preschool Special Education (PSE) in the set of Ten Required Progressions (including 24 skills, or SKBs) in the fall and spring and report ratings in the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system. This is the same set of SKBs that ECE and PSE programs have been using for many years.

Option 2: Participate in an optional Early Learning Assessment Pilot. Assess children funded with a set of 25 SKBs in the fall and spring and enter ratings in the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system. This is a different set of SKBs derived from the comprehensive ELA and includes a new Oral Motor progression.

See this 2023 ELA Pilot Overview document for a list of SKBs included in the pilot.

How do I explain the Early Learning Assessment to families?

There are a number of resources for talking with families about the Early Learning Assessment that could be used at family visits, orientations, or sent home.

Here is one resource created specifically to welcome families to preschool:

Handout: Welcome to Preschool

Administering the Early Learning Assessment

How does the Early Learning Assessment (ELA) support the Child Outcomes Summary (COS) for a preschool child with a disability?
Although the ELA is required for every preschool child with a disability, there is no requirement that the entire assessment must be completed within 30 days of eligibility for special education to complete the COS. Multiple sources of information should be documented, including evidence from the ELA. However, it is not necessary or required to administer or refer to all 72 Skills, Knowledge and Behaviors (SKBs) in the entire ELA to gather the required evidence needed for the outcome performance measure areas. To clarify the requirements for the COS, please refer to the resources found on the Preschool Special Education Webpage.

Should the results of the ELA be used as part of the teacher evaluation?

Child specific scores should not be tied to a teacher’s performance evaluation. Rather, the focus should be on the quality of the evidence that the teacher has produced using the ELA.

What are the similarities and differences between the ELA and the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment

The ELA and KRA are part of Ohio’s comprehensive assessment system addressing all essential elements of school readiness.

Both the ELA and KRA are directly aligned to the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards (OELDS)

ELA	KRA
Serving Preschool-Age Children	Benefiting Kindergarten-Age Children
Ongoing throughout the Year	Administering runs not earlier than the first day of July and not later than the twentieth day of instruction.
Evaluating is Entirely Observational using Learning Progressions as a Guide	Evaluating includes Performance Tasks/ Direct Response Items and Observational
Reporting Child Performance Results Twice per Year to the State	Reporting Child Performance Results Once to the State

What are the Ten Required Learning Progressions?

The Ten Required Learning Progressions are: Awareness and Expression of Emotion, Cooperation with Peers, Relationships with Adults, Communication, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, Number Sense, Coordination-Small Motor, Personal Care Tasks and Safety and Injury Prevention.

For each of the required progressions, the users must gather a minimum of one piece of evidence for each observational rubric and assign a score for each observational rubric.

What is the Implementation Schedule?

Programs that are serving Early Childhood Education or Preschool Special Education funded children are required to use Ohio's Early Learning Assessment Ten Required Learning Progressions twice annually (fall and spring) and report scores on Ten Required Learning Progressions for those funded children.

System and Technology

What is the Ready for Kindergarten Online system?
The Ready for Kindergarten Online system (also called KReady) is a comprehensive assessment system that contains the Early Learning Assessment (ELA) and the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Revised (KRA-R). KReady stores student demographic and assessment information as well as professional development resources on the ELA. The data collection side allows programs to assign ratings to students, collect and analyze data and create various reports. The professional development side includes training modules, the two assessments need for reliability, technology guides, and instructional resources.

What is the role of the Data Manager?

A Data Manager is the individual who has access to teacher and student demographic information. It is this person’s responsibility to add teachers, students, and enrollment data to the Ready for Kindergarten Online system. You have to be registered in the Ready for Kindergarten system as a Data Manager in order to enter or access any data.

ODE Programs: Each participating program must assign the role “Assessment Data Manager-Preschool and Kindergarten” in the Ohio Educational Directory System (OEDS) to gain access. It is up to the local organization to determine who will fulfill this role at the local level.

ODJFS Programs: If the program has an open ODE issued IRN, they should assign the role “Assessment Data Manager-Preschool and Kindergarten” in the Ohio Educational Directory System (OEDS) to gain access. It is up to the local organization to determine who will fulfill this role at the local level. If the program does not have and open ODE issued IRN, the program administrator should contact the ELA Help Desk at 844-K12-OHIO (844-512-6446) or visit http://www.ohio-k12.help/, to get started.

Professional Development, Training and Qualifications

How do programs obtain a copy of the ELA?
Electronic materials are available from the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) Professional Development site. For more information on how to access the materials and printing guidance, please click here.

Printed copies of Ohio's Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment (ELA) and/or Ohio's ELA Ten Required Learning Progressions are now available. Administrators, data managers or test coordinators in OEDS or OCLQS can order materials by completing the Early Learning Assessment Order Form.

What Data Manager Resources are available?

The Ohio K12 Help Desk provides technical support for the KReady system ELA. The Data Manager Support page has resources, guides, and tutorials for managing the Ready for Kindergarten Online system, also known as KReady. Go to http://www.ohio-k12.help or call 844-K12- OHIO (844-512-6446) to for specific questions.

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education hosts an electronic learning community for data managers.Go to the Data Manager Site for how-to presentations, guidelines and templates, webinars, common validation errors, and support information.

What Reporting Resources are available to Teachers and Data Managers?

Programs using the Ready for Kindergarten Online system, also known as KReady, can visit Ohio K-12Help Data Manager Support for support on using the KReady system. The Department encourages programs to use the KReady system for entering ratings. The KReady system is open for all licensed ODE and ODJFS programs.

What Training Resources are there for Administrators?

Administrator training needs vary and depend on their role and use of the Early Learning Assessment. Administrators should choose the training that best fits their needs and use of the ELA. The Early Learning Assessment (ELA) Jump Start modules are a good place to start and provide an introduction to the ELA. Registration can be done through the Ohio Professional Registry and are open to all. The Ready for Kindergarten Online system, also known as KReady, also provides professional development and resources, including training modules, electronic copies of the ELA, instructional strategies, and technology guides.

Additional professional development on the use and implementation of the Early Learning Assessment can be found on the Early Learning Assessment for Teachers. Please reach out the ELAHelp@education.ohio.gov for questions on what training will best fit your needs.

Last Modified: 8/10/2023 12:09:10 PM