Using the Child Outcomes Summary Form

1. Using the Child Outcomes Summary Form March 6, 2008 Presenter: Dina Garcia-Hinojosa

2. What we will cover • State Performance Plan – Indicator 7 • Texas Decisions to Date • Foundation for accountability • Early Childhood Outcomes • Assessing the ECOs • Understanding and using the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) • Next steps for districts

3. The Overall Goal • “…To enable young children to be active and successful participants during the early childhood years and in the future in a variety of settings – in their homes with their families, in child care, in preschool or school programs, and in the community.” (From Early Childhood Outcomes Center, http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pdfs/eco_outcomes_4-13-05.pdf)

4. SPP Indicator 7

5. Indicator 7 • State Performance Plan • Page 27-29 • Percent of preschool children with IEP’s who demonstrate improved: • Positive social-emotional skills • Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills • Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs

6. Indicator 7 • Three ways to measure progress • Percent of preschool children who reach or maintain same-aged functioning • Percent of preschool children who improve functioning • Percent of preschool children who did not improve functioning

7. Texas Decisions to Date

8. Texas Decisions • TEA developed Entry and Exit Definitions • On-line data collection system • Big 14 Districts submitted in December 2007 • All districts and charter schools will submit data to TEA in Spring, 2008

9. TEA Entry Definition • New Student • Entry data collected on COSF form • Assessments must be conducted and results recorded on the COSF after a student (ages 3,4,5) has been found eligible and placed in Special education

10. TEA Entry Definition • Transfer Student from another district • Entry data collected on COSF form • Assessments must be conducted and results recorded on the COSF after a student (ages 3,4,5) has transferred into Special education from another district

11. TEA Entry Definition • Transfer Student within district • For a transfer student who has existing entry data and moves between campuses in the same district, “new” entry data are not required to be reported on the student by the receiving campus

12. TEA Entry Definition For a student with an auditory and/or visual impairment enrolled in a school receiving special education services prior to age 3: • Upon the child’s enrollment in a PPCD program at age 3, an assessment team will complete the COSF using current assessment data reflecting the child’s current functioning levels as he/she prepares to enter the PPCD program. The assessment date used will be the date the assessment team meets and completes the COSF.

13. TEA Exit Definition PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SLIDE WAS UPDATED SINCE PRESENTATION ON 03/06/08 Exit Data Collected on COSF Form for a student with • entry data • in the program at least 6 months Assessments must be conducted and results recorded on the COSF not earlier than 30 calendar days before a student, ages 3, 4, or 5, has: • left the district (school personnel has prior knowledge of the withdrawal) • been dismissed from special education by the ARD committee • If a 5 year old turns 6 during the school year and the ARD committee has determined the student will continue receiving special education services in the PPCD program, then the assessment must be conducted and results recorded on the COSF not earlier than 30 calendar days before the end of the school year.

14. Exit Data not reported PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SLIDE WAS ADDED SINCE PRESENTATION ON 03/06/08 Exit data are not reported for student with entry data who: • Left prior to 6 months in the program • Were in program for 6 months and withdrew without district’s knowledge • Died School personnel will report the reason that exit data for those students are not reported in the SPP 7

15. Special Considerations for Children turning Six • Turns 6 during school year, exit data is taken no earlier than 30 days before the student exits the program(6th birthday) • Turns 6 during the summer, then exit data must be completed and reported during the last 30 calendar days of the 07-08 school year

16. Foundation for Accountability

17. Why do we have to collect data? The content on www.expectmore.gov is developed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and Federal agencies. Together, they assess the performance of every Federal program and hold everyone accountable for improvement. Texas did not collect data to show progress or slippage within this area.

18. Data Collection is required • To improve programs at all levels • To document program effectiveness • To improve programs • To better serve children and families

19. Early Childhood Outcomes

20. SPP Indicator History

21. Three Child Outcomes • Children have positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships) • Children acquire and use knowledge and skills (including early language/communication [and early literacy]) • Children use appropriate behaviors to meet their needs

22. ARE Functional Meaningful to the child in the context of everyday living Integrated series of behaviors which allow the child to achieve the outcome Behaviors that cross domains ARE NOT A single behavior Discrete behaviors Only 1 domain (communication, gross motor, etc…) Early Childhood Outcomes

23. NOT just… Know how to make eye contact, smile and give a hug Know how to imitate a gesture when prompted by other Use fingers in pointing motion Show a skill in a specific situation But does he/she Initiate affection toward caregivers and respond to others’ affection Watch what a peer says/does and include into own play Point to indicate needs/wants Use a skill in actions across settings and situations to accomplish something meaningful to the child Think functionally…within age-expected bounds

24. Children have positive social relationships • Involves – relating with adults and other children • Older children – follow rules related to groups or interacting with others • Includes areas like: • Attachment/separation • Expressing emotions/feelings • Learning rules/expectations • Social interactions/play

25. Involves Thinking Reasoning Remembering Problem solving Using symbols/language Understanding physical and social worlds Includes Early Concepts – symbols, pictures, numbers, classification, spatial relationships Imitation Object permanence Expressive language and communication Early literacy Children Acquire and Use Knowledge and Skills

26. Involves Taking care of basic needs Getting from place to place Using tools (fork, toothbrush, crayon) Contributing to their own health and safely (older children) Includes Integrating motor skills to complete tasks Self-help skills (dressing, feeding, grooming, toileting, household responsibility) Acting on the work to get what one wants Children take appropriate action to meet their needs

27. Each outcome is a snapshot of The whole child Status of the child’s current functioning Functioning across settings and situations Rather than: Skill by skill In one standardized way Split by domains Outcomes reflect global functioning

28. The Bottom Line … Early intervention strives to achieve all three of the outcomes for all of the children receiving services

29. Assessing the success of the three child outcomes

30. What is assessment? • Assessment is flexible and collaborative • Involves multiple sources (family members, professional team members, service providers, caregivers) • Involves multiple measures (observations, criterion or curriculum based instruments, interviews, norm-referenced scales, informed clinical opinion, work samples)

31. Assessment instruments • Inform us about children’s functioning in each of the three outcome areas CHALLENGE!! There is no assessment tools that assesses the three outcomes directly

32. When looking at assessments • Each instrument carries its own organizing framework, or lens • Many are organized around domains • But the content in the domains isn’t always the same, even if the names are

33. Currently Available Assessment Tools • Each assessment tools sees children through its own lens • Each lens is slightly different • There is not right or wrong lens

34. Assessing Functional Outcomes • What does the child usually do? • Actual Performance across settings and situations • How the child uses his/her skills to accomplish tasks • Not the child’s capacity to function under unusual or ideal circumstances • Not necessarily the child’s performance in a structured testing situation “noncompliant”

35. Making Use of Assessment Tool Information • Formal Assessment • Useful • Apply in context to three outcomes • Informal Assessment • Information gathered can be different • Team carefully considers ALL information

36. Remember this • Flexibility is required in applying assessment tool results to the outcome • Teams need to decide what information from an assessment tools is relevant for this child

37. Crosswalks • The ECO center has “cross walked” assessment tools to the outcomes • Crosswalks show which section of assessment tools are related to each outcome • Having many items does not necessarily mean the assessment captures functioning across settings

38. Using the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF)

39. Why is the COSF needed? • No assessment instrument assesses the three outcomes directly • Different programs will be using different assessment instruments, and outcome data will need to be aggregated across programs

40. Features of the COSF • It is not an assessment tool • It uses information from assessment tools and observations to get a global sense of how the child is doing at one point in time • 7-point rating scale • Rating is based on the child’s functioning: • What the child does across settings and situations • Compared with what is expected given the child’s age

41. Important Points to remember • Over time, some children will move farther away from age-expected functioning • By providing services and supports, programs are trying to move children closer to age-expected functioning • Children can be described with regard to how close they are to age-expected functioning for each of the three outcomes • Most children in the general population demonstrate the outcome in an age-expected way • Some children may never achieve this

42. Critical knowledge for completing the COSF • Team members must: • Know about the child’s functioning across settings and situations • Understand age-expected child development • Understand the content of the three child outcomes • Know how to use the rating scale • Understand age expectations for child functioning within the child’s culture

43. The COSF form • Cover page + three outcome pages • Two COSF Questions • a – to what extent does this child show age-appropriate functioning, across a variety of setting and situations, on this outcome? 1-7 • b– has the child shown any new skills or behaviors related to outcome since the last outcomes summary? YES or NO

44. Child Outcomes Summary Form

45. Summary Ratings (1-7) • Provide an overall sense of the child’s current functioning in three areas • Reduce rich information from assessment and observation into ratings to allow a summary of progress across children • Do not provide information for planning for the individual child • Ratings 6 or 7 indicate age appropriate functioning across all or almost all settings • Rating 1 indicated the farthest distance from age-appropriate functioning

46. 7 – Completely • The child shows behaviors and skills expected in all or almost all everyday situations that are part of the child’s life • Home, store, park, child care, with strangers, etc. • The child’s functioning is considered appropriate for his/her age • No one has significant concerns about the child’s functioning in this outcome area

47. 6 – Between Completely and Somewhat The child’s functioning generally is considered appropriate for his or her age, but there are somesignificant concerns about the child’s functioning in this outcome area

48. 5 – Somewhat • The child shows functioning expected for his/her age some of the time and/or in some situations • The child’s functioning is a mix of age-appropriate and not appropriate functioning • The child’s functioning might be described as like that of a slightly younger child

49. 4 – Between a 5 and a 3 • Child shows some age appropriate functioning some of the time or in some situations or settings but most of the child’s functioning would be described as not yet age appropriate • The child’s functioning might be described as like that of a younger child

50. 3 – Emerging • The child does not yet show functioning expected of a child his/her age in any situation • The child’s behaviors and skills include immediate foundational skills on which to build age-appropriate functioning • The child’s functioning might be described as like that of a younger child