Independent Research Study Demonstrates That the Teaching Strategies GOLD® Assessment System Yields Highly Valid and Reliable Results

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recently released technical report based on extensive research conducted by The Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation (CEME) concludes that the Teaching Strategies GOLD® assessment system is highly valid and reliable. "Our research strongly demonstrates that educators can use Teaching Strategies GOLD® to make valid and reliable ratings of the developmental progress of children across the intended age range from birth through kindergarten," said Dr. Richard Lambert, director of CEME at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  

Teaching Strategies GOLD® is an authentic observation-based assessment system for children from birth through kindergarten. It may be used with any developmentally appropriate curriculum. It is grounded in 38 research-based objectives that include predictors of future school success and are aligned with state early learning standards, The Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, and the Common Core State Standards for kindergarten. The primary purpose of Teaching Strategies GOLD® is to document children's development and learning over time, to inform instruction, and to facilitate communication with families and other stakeholders. Teaching Strategies GOLD® can be used to assess all children, including English-language learners, children with disabilities, and children who demonstrate competencies beyond typical developmental expectations.

The final sample used to evaluate the validity and reliability of Teaching Strategies GOLD® retained a total of 10,963 children. This extremely diverse group of children received educational services in 618 different programs at 2,525 early childhood centers located throughout the United States. These programs included Head Start, private child care, and school-based sites. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia were represented in the final sample. A total of 4,580 teachers were selected to administer the assessment. The final sample used in this research was large, broad, and highly representative of young children in the United States. The sampling procedure was used to match the U.S. Census Bureau 2009 estimates for children in the relevant age range.

To determine whether Teaching Strategies GOLD® is a valid assessment tool, several analyses were conducted related to six areas of child development measured by the tool (social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math). These included Rasch Scaling and analyses of rating scale effectiveness and item difficulty. Several analyses were also conducted to determine whether Teaching Strategies GOLD® is a reliable measure of early childhood development and learning. These included person and item reliabilities, internal consistency reliability, and interrater reliability. In all cases, results revealed a high degree of validity and reliability. Additionally, results showed that the assessment instrument is equally valid and reliable for assessing children whose home language is not English. The researchers also found that Teaching Strategies GOLD® is equally valid and reliable for assessing children with disabilities.

To learn more about Teaching Strategies GOLD®, please visit http://teachingstrategies.com/GOLD.

To read a technical summary of the study, please visit http://teachingstrategies.com/GOLDTech.

For a copy of the full technical report, please email Jennifer Mosley, Director of Research at Teaching Strategies, at [email protected].

About Teaching Strategies, Inc.

Teaching Strategies is a dynamic educational publishing company that serves the early childhood community exclusively, bringing curriculum, assessment, professional development, and family connection resources to programs serving children from birth to age 6. Its mission is to provide the most effective early education resources to support the critical work of early childhood educators.

CONTACT: Jonah Stuart

(301) 832-6697

[email protected]

SOURCE Teaching Strategies, Inc.