Introduction to Early Childhood Education

Assignment Steps and Directions
1. Visit the web site https://ican.doe.state.in.us/beta/
2. On the Left side of the page, click on ISTEP+
3.Center of Page click on Resources
4. Print the following ISTAR-KR assessments (matrices charts). Look each chart over. Then answer the 10 questions below. You can type your answer right beside each question, or number 1-10 below the questions and type your answers. ISTAR – KR : English/Language Arts||||

ISTAR – KR : Math||||
ISTAR – KR : Personal Care||||
ISTAR – KR : Physical||||
ISTAR – KR : Social Emotional||||

1.What do the letters NCLB stand for? No Child Left Behind 2.What do the letters DOE stand for? Department of Education 3.What do the letters ISTAR-KR stand for? Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting of Kindergarten Readiness 4.What ages is ISTAR-KR for? Birth – 5 years old

5.Is the ISTAR-KR only for children with special needs? No, this assessment can be used with any child or group of children. Now think about a child you know between the ages of birth-5 years old that you might want to assess. 6.In your opinion, which matrices would you start with and why? I would begin with the English/Language Arts assessment for the simple fact that the very first assessment involved changes in facial expression due to sounds the child hears (or fails to hear) in the environment. Because my father is deaf, this is one area I’m more sensitive to, and although I’ve never had a deaf child in any of my classrooms, I do know that the inability to hear clearly will change the entire learning the child either learns, or fails to learn. 7.In what kind of setting could you do your assessment? I would perform this assessment in whatever the child’s natural daily environment is. In my home daycare, I would simply observe the child as he interacts naturally, making notes as necessary.

8.As you look over the other matrices, do you think they would all be necessary to get a complete “picture” of what this child knows and can do right now? Why? No, I would focus on one aspect of the assessment at a time. Due to the fact that I have several children in my care of the same age, I would take note of what each one is accomplishing, and limit my notes to one matrix at a time. 9.Do you think a parent would be able to use this assessment with their child? Yes, the assessment is simple for any adult, including parents, to be able to use with their child. This would be highly beneficial, as the parent could then compare notes with the child’s teacher, and perhaps see that the child is perhaps doing more/less in the school environment than at home. Both parent and teacher would be better informed as to what the child’s actual performance is. 10. If you know a child over 5 years old, who has special needs, what assessment would you use? For a child over the age of 5 years, I would use the ISTAR assessment, which aids public schools in developing an IEP or IFSP. (Public schools also use the ISTEP + assessments.)