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EDUCATION Ashland kindergartners on track with letters, sounds ODE report shows Ashland kindergartners on track with letters, sounds Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@ADTsports DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@ADTsports Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 8:22 PM Updated Feb 10, 2016 at 8:23 PM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@ADTsports Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 8:22 PM Updated Feb 10, 2016 at 8:23 PM » Social News Ashland children entering kindergarten exceeded state averages in both early math and literacy tests and are on par behaviorally, according to the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment report, released Monday by the Oregon Department of Education. The assessment, administered to all kindergartners within six weeks of starting school, used timed tests to measure students’ grasp of letter names and sounds and untimed tests to measure math skills, including counting, simple addition and subtraction and recognition of number patterns. Local educators also measured students’ self regulation and interpersonal skills on a 1-to-5 scale, with 1.0 to 2.9 rated “developing,” 2.91 to 3.99 “approaching” and 4.0 and higher “demonstrating and above.” Approximately 40,000 students — numbers varied by subject — were tested statewide, including 187 in Ashland. The 2015-16 Oregon Kindergarten Assessment marks the third year the test has been administered in Oregon. Its purpose, according to the ODE’s six-page overview, is to provide state-level policy-makers with data, reveal strengths and identify opportunity gaps in the development of academic skills and to provide a snapshot of “systemic opportunity gaps” that will be used to measure Oregon’s progress over time. Ashland students tested particularly well in the early literacy tests, which tallied how many English letters and sounds each student could name in one minute. Ashland students named, on average, 24.7 letters and 10.1 letter sounds, exceeding state averages of 18.5 letters and 7.4 letter sounds. “I do see quite a few kids coming in knowing their letters — sounds and names — and then there is a group of kids that doesn’t know them yet, and so for the majority of the year we do spend time working on letter sounds and names with them,” said Walker Elementary kindergarten teacher Teresa Yurchis. Is it possible for youngsters who don’t enter kindergarten with a strong grasp of letters and sounds to catch up before the end of the school year? Yes, says Yurchis, so long as they get help at home. “There are some kids who haven’t been exposed to a ton of letters and sounds,” she said, “or they’re not necessarily up to par, but there’s reading at home and there’s parental involvement and … with those children we can give the tools they need to know the letters and sounds and they can get caught up. The kids that aren’t read to at home or there’s not a lot of additional support in academics, it’s really difficult to have them catch up without a lot of intervention.” So what can parents do at home to ensure that their children are ready for kindergarten? Yurchis and fellow Walker kindergarten teacher Kouba Sayre say it’s as simple as opening up a book and passing on the joy of the written word. “Read to their children,” Yurchis said. Sayre agreed: “Read every night. And make the activities fun and enjoyable. Play together, sing songs together.” As for math, there are plenty of ways to spark a child’s interest that have nothing to do with fact sheets and flash cards. “Simple things,” Sayre said. “Surrounding dinner in the kitchen, how many forks do we need at the table? How many plates do we need for our family? How many friends are in the car? How many people are on the side of the road? Just counting items around you.” In the “approaches to learning” tests, which were administered in the first six weeks of school, teachers observed the students during regular activities and routines and used those observations to complete a 15-item child behavior rating scale, a measure which, according to the report, “has been used around the world and has been found to predict academic achievement.” Ashland’s kindergartners averaged a 3.7 in self regulation and 3.8 in interpersonal skills. The state’s average was 3.5 for self-regulation and 3.8 for interpersonal skills. “You can work on sharing, get them playdates,” Yurchis said. “That one is a little more challenging to give parents advice on,” Sayre added, “because that is definitely reflective of what kind of home environment they’re coming from. … Sometimes it’s innately within the kid — they’re more outspoken, an introvert or extrovert — but those are dynamics they’re learning at home. So communication is big.” The report also noted that, since students develop at different rates, “variance is to be expected in the skills that students demonstrate upon entry into kindergarten.” The report referred to its limitations as well: “The Kindergarten Assessment is not intended to be a comprehensive assessment of children’s readiness for school and should not be used for placement purposes. The Kindergarten Assessment should not be used to exclude or prevent children from starting kindergarten.” Joe Zavala is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@ADTsports DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@ADTsports Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 8:22 PM Updated Feb 10, 2016 at 8:23 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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