Learning & Development
Policy Brief/Analysis
Early Learning Scale
Technical Report
Date
September 1, 2010
By Shannon Riley-Ayers, Kwanghee Jung, and Ellen C. Frede
(September 2010)
This technical report from NIEER researchers on the Early Learning Scale, a performance-based assessment measure that uses student data collected through observation and work sampling, offers information on the use and reliability of the instrument and on the validity of the data. The Early Learning Scale was developed by NIEER in response to requests by educators for a “comprehensive, standards-based assessment system capable of informing instruction and making an impact on teaching and learning.”
The Authors
In her work, Dr. Frede applies what she has learned throughout her varied career in early childhood education, including experience as a teacher of ages 0-8, curriculum and professional development specialist at the HighScope Foundation, teacher educator at The College of New Jersey, researcher, pre-k administrator for the New Jersey Department of Education, education lead in a large Head Start grantee and early learning lead at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Kwanghee Jung, an assistant research professor, brings to NIEER expertise in quantitative data analysis and is working on studies that analyze the effect of participation in state-funded preschool on children’s learning and development.