Understanding Behavior through Observation with the Child Behavior Rating Scale As we move into the spring, children have been in school for several months; they’ve had a chance to adjust to the classroom environment, form friendships with peers, and learn how to engage in classroom tasks. Their behaviors tell us a story about their development, their needs, and their adaptation to the classroom throughout the year. You have had a chance to observe children’s behaviors across different contexts and during different classroom activities which makes the spring assessment window a good ti ..read more

Educators Share Strategies for Successful VKRP Spring Term Ah, spring-the season that brings flowers, showers, and… assessments! You and your students have worked together all year learning new concepts and skills. Spring brings the opportunity to assess student growth and address where additional instruction may be needed before the school year ends. This week’s blog highlights strategies and tips shared by teachers and administrators across the Commonwealth to practice, plan for, and implement assessments. While not every strategy shared will work for every school/program, we hope yo ..read more

Preparing for the Spring 2024 VKRP Term Spring has arrived! The trees have started to bud, the flowers are blooming, and soon students will demonstrate their academic growth through their end-of-year assessments.  The VKRP team is excited to work with educators in Virginia this spring to help with assessments and to provide data and resources for teachers that will aid in supporting students’ development. Our VKRP spring assessment term is scheduled from April 8th – May 17th. To aid educators in their assessment preparation, implementation, data utilization, the purpose of this bl ..read more

Take the Time to Review the VKRP Online Training Modules It’s hard to believe that spring is just around the corner! A great way to prepare for the VKRP spring term is to take a little time to review the VKRP Online Training Modules. In this blog, we highlight 5 training modules on the VKRP webportal. The VKRP Online Training Modules are designed to be quick overviews of the multiple facets of VKRP. Although many educators have completed these training modules in the past, we highly recommend that you review each module prior to delivering the assessments. In addition, most of the modu ..read more

Teacher Input is Powerful! We’d love to hear from you. 2023-2024 VKRP Teacher Survey Recently you received a personalized email generated from Qualtrics with a unique link to the 2023-2024 VKRP Teacher Survey. From the beginning of VKRP, educator feedback has been critical to the development and growth of the assessment system. In this blog, we want to outline the topics of the current survey questions and highlight aspects of the VKRP that have been impacted based on educators’ responses about their experiences and insights. This year’s Teacher Feedback Survey includes questions on ..read more

VKRP Family Resources It takes a village to help children learn and grow!  When families and teachers work together, it helps to foster authentic home-school connections that can last far beyond early childhood. Families are children’s first and forever teachers, and family involvement in education can make a profound difference in early learning outcomes. Working together ensures that teachers understand each child’s needs and home environment. Good communication provides families with information about what their child is learning in the classroom so they can reinforce those ski ..read more

The ECE Resource Hub Educational Resources to Support Young Learners The VKRP fall assessment term recently wrapped up in November, and the ECE Resource Hub has resources to support you all year long! The ECE Resource Hub provides tools, examples, and guidance to help you target your support for students’ developing skills. It also provides strategies and resources to help you stay focused on your instructional goals throughout the year. New to the Hub? Developed through funding and partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, the ECE Resource Hub is a website that ..read more

VKRP 2023 Pre-K and Kindergarten Reports If you are a public pre-k or kindergarten teacher in Virginia, chances are that some time over the last month you finished your VLP and VKRP assessments of literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, social skills, and mental health well-being. If you haven’t already, soon you’ll be reviewing reports and talking to your colleagues about how to interpret and use the data. What can the reports tell you, and how can you use the information to drive instruction in the coming months? The Basics VKRP is not just a set of assessments. It is also a repor ..read more

Strong Family-School Partnerships Supporting Children’s Social-Emotional Learning Authentic partnerships between families and teachers has been recognized as a key component in supporting children’s social-emotional learning (CASEL, 2023). When teachers and families team up, families can have a voice in social emotional learning programs at school and can engage in activities at home that reinforce school content. But, it’s not always easy to form and cultivate effective partnerships. There are time constraints, and sometimes families don’t feel empowered to engage with schools. In t ..read more

High-Quality Early Mathematics Web-based Resources Did you know that children’s early math skills are a strong predictor of not only children’s later math skills, but also their literacy and executive function skills? Research shows that promoting strong foundational math skills in early childhood is a great way to promote children’s future success. There are lots of math resources available on the web, but how do you know which ones will best support children’s math skills, and are based on a strong understanding of children’s development? There are several research groups, housed wit ..read more