Facts In Action

The Columbus Early Childhood Care and Education Consortium has taken the first steps in using outcome measurement. The main outcome that was identified for the programs of the consortium was increasing the number of children who are school ready — that is, "physically, developmentally, and socially ready to learn" — by the time they enter first grade. To many of us, this is a very broad outcome, and one that is certainly not easy to measure. Just how do you know that children are school ready? It often helps to break the outcome down into smaller, short-term outcomes that, once reached, help contribute to the achievement of the final outcome — in this case, school readiness.

To begin, consortium members identified the initial outcome they wanted to measure:

Children are actively engaged in a program supportive of growth and development in five areas:

1. physical well-being and motor development
2. social and emotional development
3. approaches toward learning
4. language development
5. cognition and general knowledge

After the initial outcome had been defined, members decided they would need to further break it down into two questions:

• Is the child engaged?

• What is the quality of the program in which the child is engaged?

Then they were ready to observe the children and the child care environment:

• A child's level of engagement in the five developmental areas was observed and recorded over a period of time using a survey which captured the level of engagement at key times during the day (after meals, during circle time, etc.).

• The child care program environment was measured using the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Early Childhood Classroom Observation Scale.

The Columbus Early Childhood Care and Education Consortium model is one example of how to approach outcome measurement. Very often the outcomes we want or are asked to measure are very broad, making it difficult to know where to start. Breaking outcome goals into smaller, shorter-term outcomes which are easier to measure is a good place to begin.

For more information:
on the Columbus Early Childhood Care and Education Consortium outcomes measurement model, contact Erika Argersinger at (617) 695-0700 X271 or by email, eargersinger@associatedearlycareandeducation.org

Facts in Action, March 2000