Empirical Evidence Shows, K-3 Universal Screening Helps Educators Improve High Stakes Achievement

MS | serving ~500,000 students in PK – 12

SUMMARY

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has been making great strides to improve achievement. In 2009, the state adopted a K-3 universal screening program in order to proactively identify and meet student needs in the earliest grades. The MDE chose the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment (CPAA) for this purpose through an RFP process.

The results of a recent state-wide empirical study show that Mississippi third graders who use the CPAA perform significantly better on the state’s 3rd grade high-stakes test, the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition (MCT2) than those who do not have access to this program.

If we know what the areas of difficulty are in kindergarten, we can help children before they reach grade 3… I have been looking for a tool like this for my district. I have been an early childhood educator, so I didn’t want children to be subjected to assessment that was inappropriate. The CPAA was enjoyable for students, provided valuable information for teachers, and made it really easy for us to view our data immediately.

Dr. Ann Harsh
District Test Coordinator & ELL Coordinator
Hattiesburg Public School District

CHALLENGE

Having implemented revised language arts and mathematics frameworks and developed new 3-8 criterion-referenced assessments, the MDE sought to add one final piece to its assessment program – a K-3 universal screener (pursuant to Mississippi state law § 37-23-16). The aim of this legislature-driven initiative was to complement the revised frameworks for older grades as well as help early educators identify students in need, track progress and make informed instructional decisions.

Mississippi serves 151,545 students in K-3. This diverse population is spread across 490 schools that use a variety of means to evaluate learning in the early grades.

To coordinate efforts before high stakes testing begins, the MDE sought to implement a program to track performance and progress in K-3 and help educators respond with timely actions at the school, district and state level. In order to find a developmentally appropriate tool that would not be stressful for students or time-consuming for teachers, the MDE released an RFP outlining its specifications.

SOLUTION

Through the RFP process, the MDE selected the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment (CPAA) to provide schools with immediate results to inform decision-making. Implementation began in the spring of 2009 with 35,000 students. To date, the CPAA has been administered to more than 90,000 students state-wide.
The MDE worked closely with Children’s Progress to develop a tailored implementation plan to meet the state’s needs, including:

  • In-service professional development to prepare educators across the state to use the CPAA and train their colleagues
  • Data transfer and account setup for all participating schools
  • Facilitation of software distribution and installation at each site
  • Surveys to monitor satisfaction with training and assessment use
  • Close communication with the MDE K-3 assessment team, including planning meetings to review data

Collaboration between state leaders, administrators, teachers and technology coordinators has continued to make the program a success at the district, classroom and student levels.

IMPACT

Ease of Use
The K-3 universal screening program has been met with enthusiasm by teachers, administrators and technical personnel. Educators appreciate the CPAA’s developmentally appropriate format and ease of use.

97% of training participants found their experience with training to be good to excellent and 95% felt confident about their ability to make the most of the program. “Thank you for all the time, hard work, and dedication to such an asset to the student and the school district,” said one survey respondent.

Empirical Evidence of Increased Achievement
The results of an empirical study show strong correlations and predictability between the CPAA and the state achievement test – the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition (MCT2). Third graders who completed three administrations of the CPAA received significantly higher MCT2 scores, compared to students who did not use the CPAA.

A total of 35,556 Mississippi third graders were observed in this study. 18,921 students completed a fall, winter, and spring CPAA administration in 2010. The remaining 16,743 students were not exposed to the CPAA. All students were subsequently administered the third grade state achievement test, the MCT2.

The correlations between the CPAA and the MCT2 were high: +0.74 for English language arts and +0.71 for mathematics.

Students who used the CPAA performed better on the MCT2 by a statistically significant margin. On the Language Arts section of the MCT2, 12.1% more CPAA users met standards – scoring “proficient” or “advanced” – than students who did not use the CPAA. On the Mathematics section, 13.2% more CPAA users met standards compared to students who did not use the CPAA. The differences between CPAA users and non-users were significant, with a level of error of 1 in 10,000 (p < 0.0001).