Innovation Need Survey: Implementing a Technology Tool to Improve Early Data-Based Decisions to Address and Prevent Learning Disabilities. Technical Report #1602

Identifying and measuring indicators of learning difficulties among young children and implementing effective instructional approaches are complicated, particularly during the transition to kindergarten. Purposeful school-based transition policies and practices support teacher and school decision-making and, thus, can ease the preschool-to-kindergarten transition and improve student reading and mathematics outcomes early in children's schooling. In this technical report, the authors present results from a survey of educators, specialists, administrators, and coordinators, designed to learn more about the field's readiness to implement a tablet-based screening tool to support and improve teacher data-based decision making in preschool and kindergarten learning contexts. In particular, they sought professional opinions from Oregon stakeholders to help identify implementation strategies, including those related to obstacles to sustainable integration, as part of Project ICEBERG (Intensifying Cognition, Early literacy and Behavior for Exceptional Reading Growth), a project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The primary purpose of Project ICEBERG is to develop strategies and resources to guide preschool and kindergarten teachers' instructional decisions and reduce children's risk for reading disabilities through the implementation of a newly developed web-based assessment tool and associated teacher support system. The authors targeted Oregon early learning and kindergarten stakeholders--preschool and kindergarten educators, specialists, administrators, coordinators, and parents--as respondents to the Innovation Need (IN) Survey developed and administered for this study. Findings included: (1) Early screening viewed as critical to identifying and meeting the learning needs of struggling preschool and kindergarten children; (2) 6 primary practice shortcomings (a) Gaps in screening and eligibility processes/policy; (b) Insufficient funding and resources; (c) Deficiencies in teacher assessment and instructional pedagogy; (d) Lack of parental awareness of screening and associated follow-up services and concerns about stigma attached to disability identification; (e) Poor alignment between preschool and kindergarten systems; and (f) Inequitable access to high-quality pre-schooling for at-risk populations; (3) Kindergarten teachers generally perceived as having greater knowledge and skills for identifying risk for early learning difficulties than early learning providers; and (4) Additional funding and ongoing professional development needs identified: (a) Improving teachers' early screening and instructional knowledge and skills; (b) Supporting integration of a tablet assessment for instruction tool into teaching practices to strengthen learning outcomes; and (c) Overcoming contextual obstacles unique to preschool and kindergarten settings. The Innovation Need Survey--Project ICEBERG--Fall 2015 is appended.