TEACHING STRATEGIES (TS) GOLD SAL TRAINING

2014-2015

What Will Be Covered• Role of the SAL• Why TS Gold – CAP4K• State Windows & Deadlines• Training Requirements & Opportunities• SPF • Proficiency bands• Reports• Resources• Website/App overview

Housekeeping• Please sign-in• TS Gold accounts• Agenda• Handouts• Rosters!• Data Privacy

Data Privacy• DPS is committed to protecting student data

• TS Gold is an approved vendor and DPS has negotiated a contract that includes FERPA-compliant language.

• Be mindful when sharing student data• how you share it• who you share it with

• Never share your password!

• More information: http://www.dpsk12.org/studentdataprivacy/

Role of the Site Assessment Leader (SAL)Assume an assessment leadership role at the school

• Serve as the primary contact for the ARE Department.• Represent the school at required in-services.• Meet regularly with the principal and teachers (e.g., individually, grade level teams, departments, data teams etc.) about assessment to

provide them information about assessment requirements and the use of assessment results.• As required, keep records of staff attendance at assessment in-services.

Communicate assessment information with school and district staff• Provide training for teachers about the procedures for administering assessments, keeping test materials secure, and preparing

materials for return.• Share pertinent information regarding assessment with school personnel regularly at faculty meetings.• Communicate and demonstrate ethical testing procedures.• Report all testing irregularities to your principal and designated central staff.• Recognize that violations of testing guidelines can result in serious consequences for the student, test administrator, and/or school and

act proactively to prevent them.

Use all available sources of information in role as SAL• Check district email at least once a day.• Work with your office staff to notify you of assessment deliveries to avoid lost items• Know your mail pick-up and delivery days in the week in order to meet assessment pick-up deadlines• Verify access to the school’s electronic folder and distribute information to staff as needed.• Access and use the ARE website for updated information and distribute to staff as needed

Be familiar with all aspects of federal, state, and district tests, including  Coordinate the administration of federal, state, and required district assessments  

Why TS Gold?

Senate Bill 08‐212, Colorado’s Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K):

• passed in 2008 with the goal of aligning Colorado’s preschool through postsecondary education system

• includes provisions related to school readiness• school readiness describes the status and ongoing progress a

child makes within the domains of physical well‐being and motor development, social and emotional development, language and comprehension development, and cognition and general knowledge

• information gathered from school readiness assessments is to be used for supportive and instructional purposes and cannot be used to deny a student admission or progression to kindergarten or first grade

Why TS Gold?

CAP4K Requirements:•Beginning in the fall of 2013, local education providers are required to ensure all children in publicly‐funded preschool or kindergarten receive an individual school readiness plan.•Local education providers must administer the school readiness assessment to each student in kindergarten.•The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is advising districts to phase‐in this provision of CAP4K in either the 2013‐14 or 2014‐15 school year.

Why TS Gold?

CAP4K Requirements:•In approving school readiness assessments, CAP4K directs the State Board of Education to consider assessments that are research‐based, recognized nationwide as reliable instruments for measuring school readiness; and suitable for determining the instruction and interventions students need to improve their readiness to succeed in school.• The first approved assessment tool for the menu is Teaching Strategies GOLD.  •More information can be found on the CDE website at http://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolreadiness

State “Windows” & Checkpoint DeadlinesFALLObserve & document: August 26 – October 20Make final determinations (observation & documentation continue): October 20 – October 27Checkpoint decisions finalized online: October 27, 2014

WINTERObserve & document: October 28 – January 26Make final determinations (observation & documentation continue): January 26 - February 2Checkpoint decisions finalized online: February 2

SPRINGObserve & document: February 3 – May 4Make final determinations (observation & documentation continue): May 4 – May 11Checkpoint decisions finalized online: May 11

Teacher Training: Required1) Teaching Strategies GOLD® Basic Course (online)

Module 1: Introducing Teaching Strategies GOLD®Module 2: Looking Closer: Teaching Strategies GOLD®Module 3: The Assessment CycleModule 4: Exploring the Features of TS GOLD® Online

Completion due date: December 19, 2014

•Each module is interactive, taking you through a guided, self-paced learning experience. You will type in individual reflections, view video clips, and complete short activities and quizzes. •We recommend that you complete the modules in order from Module 1 to Module 4, but you can choose to view any module in any order. You must complete all 4 modules to receive a certificate of completion.•The modules do not save your answers, and there is no scoring for correct answers. If you close the module and return at a later time, you will not see your answers from a previous session. •Each interactive module includes audio. You will need speakers or headphones to hear the audio. A transcript of the audio can be viewed under the Transcript tab.

**A clickpath on how to access this training can be found on the ARE TS Gold webpage.

Teacher Training: Required2) Teaching Strategies GOLD® ‐ Inter Rater Reliability Certification (online)Completion due date: January 15, 2015

•Interrater reliability is the extent to which the ratings assigned by two or more individuals (observers/raters) agree. It addresses the consistency with which a rating system is used by multiple persons. •Being awarded Teaching Strategies interrater reliability certification means that your ratings of children’s knowledge, skills, and behaviors agree (within an acceptable range) with the ratings determined by Teaching Strategies GOLD® developers.•To be awarded interrater reliability certification, at least 80 percent of your ratings in each of six areas of development and learning must agree with the master ratings (within the acceptable range of ±1).

3) Facilitated trainings (Led by Early Ed Coordinators)

Basic Course Modules•October 20 (TBD)

Documentation training•October 21•January 5•February 17•April 13

4) App training…coming soon!

Teacher Training: Optional

TS Gold Assessment

What is TS Gold?• Authentic, observational assessment system for children from birth to kindergarten (1 st grade

is coming soon)

• Shows what children can do as well as their strengths, needs, and interests. With this information you can scaffold children’s learning

• Collects evidence of children’s knowledge, skills and behaviors during meaningful everyday experiences

• Inclusive of children with disabilities, children who are developing typically, and children who are above expectations

• Fully aligned to the Common Core (crosswalk posted on ARE TS Gold webpage)

• Designed with early childhood teachers and caregivers in mind

• Based in the latest research and proven valid and reliable

• Available in English & Spanish

• Formative (preliminary data) AND summative (checkpoint data)

What is TS Gold?Primary Purpose:•Observe and document children’s development and learning over time

•Plan instruction and scaffold children’s learning

•Identify children who might benefit from special help, screening or further evaluation

•Report and communicate with family members and others

•The information obtained should be used as just one part of a larger system of collecting data for decision making

What is TS Gold?• Covers 10 Areas of Learning

• Social-Emotional• Physical• Language• Cognitive• Literacy• Mathematics• Science and Technology• Social Studies• The Arts• English Language Acquisition

• 38 Objectives (a statement of expectations of knowledge, skills, and behaviors)

• 21 Dimensions (specific aspect or subskill of an objective)

What is TS Gold?

Areas of Learning• Literacy

Objective• 15: Demonstrates phonological awareness

Dimensions• 15a: Notices and discriminates rhyme

Is it objective?• When teachers and staff members use the tool with fidelity and collect appropriate documentation within each dimension of learning, it is an objective measure of student growth

Who is assessed?

A minimum of 5 students in each kindergarten classroom must be assessed. ECE will continue to assess all students.

Whenever possible the 5 students should be:•3 students with historical data•2 students new to DPS or TS Gold•1 student perceived to be above grade level•1 student perceived to be at grade level•1 student perceived to be below grade level•1 Student classified as an ELL and/or having an IEP

Documentation & Preliminary Data• Documentation should be ongoing and uploaded in a continuous, timely manner,

and preliminary data should be entered for each child on a weekly basis.

• Preliminary data will help guide instruction. Without preliminary data, you can’t gain any formative information. THINK: SLOs

• ECE: A minimum of 1 piece of documentation is required for each objective and dimension per child at each checkpoint. The more documentation you have, the better!

• Kinder: A minimum of 1 piece of documentation is required for each objective and dimension (1-23 only) per child at each checkpoint. The more documentation you have, the better!

• The Documentation Rubric guides teachers on documentation that meets expectations. (posted on ARE TS Gold webpage)

• Do NOT wait until the week before the checkpoint to upload documentation!

Documentation & Preliminary Data

Documentation includes:• observation notes• photos• video clips• audio clips• scanned work• on-the-spot checklists• assessment opportunity cards

**Use the TS Gold App to make documentation easier!

**Documentation trainings will be offered throughout the year!

Proficiency Levels

SPF• 2014-2015 TS Gold KINDER data will NOT be included in

the SPF for any schools.

• Early Ed Centers will continue to use ECE data for the Early Ed SPF.

TS Gold Online

Home page

http://teachingstrategies.com/

Home page

http://teachingstrategies.com/

Finding Classes/Students

TS Gold Documentation App

Download the App:•Open the App Store icon on your iPad or iPhone•Search for “GOLD Documentation”•Download the app to your device—it’s free! •All you need is an Apple ID and password.

**A more detailed guide on how to use the app can be found on the ARE TS Gold site.

Reports

Finding Reports

Recommended Reports

For Family Communication:• Family Conference Form• Development & Learning Report

Advantages:• Family-friendly language• Concise• Allows teachers to focus on child strengths and specific next steps

• Narrative summary for families

• Highlights students strengths & areas of support

Recommended Reports: Family Conference

• Provides recommended activities to promote the next level of growth

• Can be shared with families

• Some districts use this as a report card

Recommended Reports: Development & Learning

Recommended Reports

For data team discussions & planning for differentiation:• Class Profile Report• Individual Child Report• Snapshot Report

Advantages:• Easy to generate at any point during the year• Visual representation of color-bands and widely-held expectations

• Groups students for differentiation

Recommended Reports: Class Profile

• Compares data from checkpoint to checkpoint

• Some districts use this as a report card

Recommended Reports: Individual Child

• Shows outcomes data at any given time

Recommended Reports: Snapshot

Recommended Reports: Individual Learning Plan

NEW!

A new Individual Learning Plan has been added for Colorado users.  This plan meets the CPP requirements for an Individual Learning Plan as well as the CAP4K requirement that every state funded preschooler have an Individual School Readiness Plan. 

**More information coming soon 

Resources

TS Gold Resources: ARE Site & Email

http://testing.dpsk12.org/resources/tsgold.html

tsgold@dpsk12.org

TS Gold Resources

TS Gold Resources

TS Gold Resources

TS Gold Tech Support:•Phone: 866-736-5913

•Email: techsupport@teachingstrategies.com

•Hours:• Monday-Thursday: 6:00am-5:00pm MST• Friday: 6:00am-4:00pm MST

What’s Next

What’s NextWhat to do next:

• Make sure all of your teachers have a TS Gold log-in and have downloaded the app (if they have an ipad mini)

• Present this training to your ECE and kindergarten teachers. Things to highlight:• Training opportunities and deadlines• The importance of preliminary data and documentation requirements• State checkpoint deadlines• Resources

• ARE and the Early Ed Coordinators will send updates on training completion, documentation and other important information including deadline reminders and new/upcoming training opportunities

Tool Overview