Early Learning Assessment for Administrators

ECE-Teacher-with-Two-Children.jpgOhio’s Early Learning Assessment (ELA) is an observational assessment consisting of skill progressions aligned to Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards. The Early Learning Assessment covers seven domains of school readiness: Social Foundations, Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Well-Being and Motor Development, and Fine Arts. 

RESOURCES

Assessment Data Manager Role

A Data Manager is the individual who has access to teacher and student demographic information for the Early Learning Assessment. It is this person’s responsibility to add teachers, students, and enrollment data to the Ready for Kindergarten Online system.  To establish a Data Manager account in the Ready for Kindergarten Online system, an individual must be selected by the program or district to serve in this capacity. For all ODE licensed programs, the OEDS administrator must assign an Assessment Data Manager-Preschool and Kindergarten in the Ohio Educational Directory System (OEDS).  

Directions: ​Assigning Roles in OEDS

ODJFS licensed programs with an open ODE issued IRN should also assign the role “Assessment Data Manager-Preschool and Kindergarten” in the Ohio Educational Directory System (OEDS) to gain access. If an ODJFS licensed program does not have and open ODE issued IRN, the program administrator should contact the ELA Help Desk at 844-K12-OHIO (844-512-6446) or visit http://www.ohio-k12.help/, to get started.  


NEW FOR 2023-2024

For the 2023-24 school year, any program using the Early Learning Assessment (ELA) as part of the requirements for Early Childhood Education Grant (ECE) and/or Preschool Special Education (PSE) funded children, must enter all student ratings in the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system. Programs will NOT report ELA results in EMIS or EAS as they have in previous years.
 
For the 2023-2024 school year, there are two options to meet the requirement for ECE and PSE programs:

Option 1: Assess children funded by ECE or PSE  using the set of Ten Required Learning Progressions (including 24 skills, or SKBs) in the fall and spring and report ratings in the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system. This is the same set of SKBs that ECE and PSE programs have been using for many years.

Option 2: Participate in an optional Early Learning Assessment Pilot. Assess

children funded with a set of 25 SKBs in the fall and spring and enter ratings in the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system. This is a different set of SKBs derived from the comprehensive ELA and includes a new Oral Motor progression.

See this 2023 ELA Pilot Overview document for a list of SKBs included in the pilot.

OPT IN to 2023-2024 ELA Pilot

Programs that would like to opt in to the 2023-24 ELA Pilot should notify the department by September 30, 2023 of their intent to participate. Here are some additional details about the pilot:
  • A separate, simpler data collection in the KReady system with about half of the SKBs (only 34).
  • The full set of 34 SKBs in the pilot data collection meet the SUTQ comprehensive assessment.
  • The priority filter will show the pilot alternative to the Ten Required Learning Progressions for children participating in ECE and PSE. The pilot priority set includes 25 SKBs.
  • There is separate data collection in the KReady system.
  • There is a new Oral Motor progression.

Fill out this form to let us know if your program is choosing to participate in the Pilot. We have extended the timeline to opt in. We will be sending separate communications to Pilot participants throughout the school year. You will be asked to identify a primary point of contact and your data manager when completing the form. Please discuss this opportunity with the classroom teachers and building administrators in your program before deciding to opt in to the pilot. We strongly recommend that programs opt in at the organization level (e.g., an entire district) rather than at the classroom or building level.
 
Reach out to ELAHelp@education.ohio.gov to inquire about the ELA Pilot.


Data Manager Training

KRA and ELA Data Manager Training  
Tuesday, August 1st // 9 – 10:30 a.m. 
This live online training for new and returning data managers will prepare you to upload teacher, student, and enrollment data in the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system so teachers can participate in professional development and administer the KRA and/or ELA. 

In this live virtual training session, you will learn and review: 

  • Information about the KRA and ELA, including the technology system used to support it 
  • What KRA and ELA implementation looks like for this upcoming school year, including any new updates 
  • How to upload teacher, student, and enrollment data through multiple methods 
  • How to handle student transfers within the KReady system 
  • Ways to access KRA and ELA district level reports
  • Resources and supports available to you in this role 
ELA Data Manager Training: Data Prep and Loading
Wednesday, August 16 // 10 – 11 a.m. 
 This session is for all ELA data managers and will provide important program information about new updates to the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) system, system functions such as adding, updating, and managing student/user data, initiating, and responding to transfer request, generating, and exporting reports and other details for the Fall 2023 Early Learning Assessment (ELA) administration window.  This session will also feature a live demo of the system and a Question and Answer segment. 
 

Archived webinars for Data Managers are available here.  


Assessment Windows

The Early Learning Assessment can be used at any time throughout the calendar year. The year is divided into four assessment windows:

Fall:

Aug 15 - Nov 14

 Required for reporting

Winter:

Nov 15 - Feb 14

 Ongoing for best practice

Spring:

Feb 15 - May 14

 Required for reporting

Summer:

May 15 - Aug 14

Ongoing for best practice


Each school year, programs that receive ECE or PSE funding must report assessment ratings during the fall and spring windows. Programs are encouraged to use the assessment during the winter and summer windows. 


Early Learning Assessment Training

There are several professional development opportunities for early care and education professionals to learn about the Early Learning Assessment.  Administrators may find the Early Learning Assessment (ELA) Jump Start modules are a good place to start. The ELA Jump Start is a set of on-demand modules that provide an introduction to the ELA and are a resource for educators and administrators that would like to know more about the purpose, and general implementation of the ELA. Registration can be done through the Ohio Professional Registry and are open to all. Please visit the Early Learning Assessment for Teachers for additional training opportunities and registration information.


Early Learning Assessment Materials

Electronic materials are available from the Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady) Professional Development site. For more information on how to access the materials and printing guidance, please click here.

Printed copies of Ohio's Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment (ELA) and/or Ohio's ELA Ten Required Learning Progressions are now available. Administrators, data managers or test coordinators in OEDS or OCLQS can order materials by completing the Early Learning Assessment Order Form.

The Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment  is the full version of the ELA tool, including seven domains of growth and development, 32 learning progressions, 72 skills, knowledge and behaviors (SKBs); this version also includes the embedded adaptations. 

The Ten Required Learning Progressions is the version of the ELA tool that includes a subset of the 10 learning progressions (24 SKBs) that are required for ECE grantee and PSE programs. 

The Early Learning Assessment - Adaptations follow the same Learning Progressions and level descriptors as the full ELA and can be found in the Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment . The Adaptations is a subset and provide examples of possible observational variations of each SKB for children with identified disabilities and for children who are developing differently from expected norms and not yet identified as having a disability. These examples include the use of alternate communication techniques and assistive devices, providing those implementing the ELA with a broader scope for the SKBs exhibited across all domains of the ELA. Early learning professionals are encouraged to refer to these adaptations when interpreting observational evidence, recognizing that children with disabilities might display the developmental SKBs in a different manner. 

Access Ready for Kindergarten Online (KReady)

Registered ODE- and OJDFS-licensed programs access the system at http://ohio.kready.org/login.

If your program is new to using the KReady system, the program administrator should contact the Help Desk for assistance on getting started.  Please call ELA Help Desk at 844-K12-OHIO (844-512-6446) or visit http://www.ohio-k12.help/.

Last Modified: 9/15/2023 8:23:25 AM