Great Expectations:
How can assessment and quality systems support states’ learning goals for young children?
One -day symposium • Wednesday, January 24, 2007 • 8:30 am to 3:30 pm • luncheon included
preceding the Opening Minds conference: Hyatt Regency McCormick Place • Chicago, Illinois
States have recognized the importance of preschool learning by publishing early learning standards and by funding programs in schools and child care centers. However, it is not clear how states and educators can work together to ensure that children in those schools actually learn and gain the skills called for by their standards. This pre-conference symposium will explore that question, with presentations from four nationally-known experts and guided discussion among attendees. Presenters will address:
o Major issues associated with measuring young children’s learning and using the resulting data appropriately
o Research on teacher behaviors that correlate strongly with child learning, and the support and data systems that foster those behaviors
o Uses of child assessment information to support teaching and inform professional development
o A framework for considering some of the choices states must make in designing quality assurance and accountability systems
Featuring:
Samuel J. Meisels, Erikson Institute
Jacqueline Jones, New Jersey Dept. of Education
John M. Love, Mathematica Policy Research
Robert C. Pianta, University of Virginia
Presented by Chicago Metro AEYC & Erikson Institute
Co-Sponsors: McCormick Tribune Foundation & Illinois State Board of Education
Samuel J. Meisels , Ed.D., is president of Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the assessment of young children, and is co-author of the Work Sampling System, the Early Screening Inventory-Revised, and The Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention. His research focuses on the development of alternative assessment strategies for young children; the impact of standardized tests; and developmental screening in early childhood. For 21 years he was on the faculty of the University of Michigan, where he is now a professor of education emeritus.
Jacqueline Jones, Ph.D., oversees the Office of Early Childhood Education and the Abbott preschool program in the New Jersey State Department of Education. Prior to state government, Dr. Jones worked for 15 years as Director of Early Childhood Research and Development at Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ. She is particularly interested in the development of effective early childhood assessment systems, and in the role of documentation and assessment in the ongoing professional development of early childhood educators.
John M. Love , Ph.D., is Senior Fellow at Mathematica Policy Research (MPR). He has engaged in research and evaluation of programs for young children and their families for some 40 years. Recently, he directed the first phase of MPR’s evaluation of Head Start’s National Reporting System implementation. Before joining MPR in 1992, he was director of research at the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, and headed the Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at the RMC Research Corporation in New Hampshire.
Stay for the conference!
Great Expectations is a pre-conference symposium on state early learning systems that will take place immediately prior to Opening Minds, the Chicago Early Education, Child Care, and School-Age conference. Opening Minds includes dynamic and relevant workshop tracks such as Advocacy & Public Policy, Observation & Assessment, Cutting Edge Trends, and Administration. You can register for the entire 3-day conference for an additional $50 on the reservation form or when you register online!
Download the registration form [.pdf]
Print form and fax or mail it to Chicago Metro AEYC)
Learn more about the Opening Minds conference
Reserve your room at the Hyatt
Questions? Call 312.427.5399.