Resource Library
Authentic Assessment in UPK: Case Studies on Utility, Fidelity, and Applications to Practice
Description
Multiple case studies will be used to find answers to questions about the use of authentic assessment tools, including Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG), Work Sampling (WS), and High Scope Child Observation Record (COR), in PreK for All programs. Researchers will primarily work with head teachers and assistant teachers to gain insight on how the assessment tools influence teachers' daily practices, the decisions made about curriculum design, and to examine how teachers use assessment to develop a deeper understanding of children's individual needs and interests. Researchers will also seek the perspectives of program administration, and parents/primary caregivers to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how the assessment tools are used for other purposes within a PreK for All learning community. Please see the resources section below for the final report.
Design
Participants:
- Administrators
- Lead teachers
- Assistant teachers
- Other support staff
- Parents or primary caregivers
Data Collection:
- Intake surveys: Intake surveys will be collected from teachers, assistant teachers, site directors/administrators, and parents/caregivers to provide demographic information, as well as information on educational background, qualifications, and experiences in early childhood care and education (of education personnel).
- Initial & ongoing interviews with directors, head teachers, assistant teachers, parents/caregivers for case study data: Interviews with teachers, assistant teachers, program directors, and parents/care givers will use various inquiry strategies to better understand the use of assessments to inform work with children in UPK classrooms and use of assessments to inform practice and communication between teachers, parents, and administrators to triangulate beliefs about the use of assessment in UPK classrooms.
- Classroom Observations: Observations of teachers during various instructional periods to obtain a full picture of instructional practices across content and domains. Observations of children will be conducted during instructional and free play.
Researchers
Sherryl Browne Graves, Ph.D., Professor of Psychological Foundations; Acting Senior Associate Dean, School of Education
Lacey Peters, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education Department of Curriculum and Teaching
Contributing Institutions
Hunter College at the City University of New York, School of Education
Resources
Lacey E. Peters, Sherryl Browne Graves, Eva Liang, & Sanae Akaba
This poster was shared at the New York City Early Childhood Research Network Research symposium on December 6, 2019. The poster previews background information and insights from the study of Case Studies on Authentic Assessment: Perspectives on Fidelity, Utility, and Applications to Practice.
Lacey E. Peters & Sherryl Browne Graves
This presentation was shared at the New York City Early Childhood Research Network Research symposium on December 6, 2019. The presentation previews background information and insights from the study of Re-envisioning Professional Learning to Account for and Include Teachers’ Brilliance.
Lacey E. Peters & Sherryl Browne Graves
This report highlights findings from a study on Authentic Assessment in UPK. It includes information from interviews conducted with head teachers in PreK for All (PKA) settings. These were a part of a multiple case study project that sought to examine the adoption of authentic assessment systems (AAS) in PKA settings. A purpose of this work is to demonstrate how teachers find and use effective assessment strategies to support their pedagogical decisionmaking.