Overview of the naeyc early childhood program standards

Evaluating Program Quality

Overview

This Assessment is a Work Product that is divided in to two parts. In Part I, you will describe the “NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria” (Document #3) and “NAEYC Engaging Diverse Families Project Program Self-Assessment Checklist” (Document #4), and explain how these tools can be used in assessment, and in the case of the Accreditation Criteria, to support program quality.

In order to complete Part II, in which you evaluate an early childhood program, you will need to arrange a visit to a NAEYC-accredited program and interview the director. The Walden University Letter (Document #1) is a letter you can provide to the director explaining the purpose of your visit. You can find a list of accredited programs in your community here.

Explain that you are learning about program standards and practices supporting families and how to evaluate early childhood programs. Share the “NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria Overview” (Document #2), the “NAEYC Engaging Diverse Families Project Program Self-Assessment Checklist,” (Document #4), and explain that you will be looking for evidence of Standard 7 and two additional standards you choose. Ask the director to meet with you to review the documents and to explain why s/he believes the accreditation process helps to ensure quality in early childhood settings. Obtain permission to spend a day at the school, visiting in classrooms and observing children and teachers in action. Explain that you will not identify the program or any personnel or children by name, nor will you take any pictures. As you conduct your observations, take notes about what you observe and mark your findings on the “NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria” (Document #3) and the “NAEYC’s Engaging Diverse Families Self-Assessment Checklist” (Document #4).

Remember, early childhood programs are not evaluated based on a single visit. You will not be able to observe evidence of all criteria during your observation. The goal of this assessment is to provide you with practice in identifying evidence related to program quality. Please keep this in mind as you conduct your observation and complete this Assessment.

Your response to this Assessment should:

1. Use the Assessment documents provided.

2. Reflect the criteria provided in the Rubric.

3. Adhere to the required assignment length.

4. Use the APA course paper template available here. All submissions must follow the conventions of scholarly writing. Properly formatted APA citations and references must be provided where appropriate.

Professional Skills: Written Communication and Collaboration are assessed in this Competency. You are strongly encouraged to use the Writing Checklist and to review the Rubric prior to submitting.

This Assessment requires submission of one (1) document that includes Part I and Part II of this Assessment.

Instructions

Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively.

Rubric

This assessment has two-parts. Click each of the items below to complete this assessment.

Part I: Program Assessment Tools

Access the following to complete this Assessment:

· Document #1: Walden Field Letter. You may wish to provide the program you choose with this letter from Walden University’s Program Director for the Master of Science in Early Childhood Studies.

· Document #2: NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria Overview

· Document #3: NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria

· Document #4: NAEYC’s Engaging Diverse Families Self-Assessment Checklist

· Website: NAEYC Accredited Program Search

Review the “NAEYC's Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria” (Document #3) and the “NAEYC Engaging Diverse Families Project Program Self-Assessment Checklist” (Document #4) provided as part of this Work Product. In a 1- to 2-page paper:

1. Explain the purpose of the “NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria” and the importance of using them to for assessing program quality.

2. Explain how the “NAEYC Engaging Diverse Families Self-Assessment Checklist” is a useful tool in program evaluation.

Part II of your Assessment requires that you use the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria and the NAEYC Engaging Diverse Families Self-Assessment Checklist to evaluate an early childhood program. Using the NAEYC Accredited Program Search, begin researching and contacting NAEYC Accredited programs in your area to determine if you can complete your assignment at that facility. Your local NAEYC Affiliate Groups may be beneficial, if you are having difficulty connecting with a program.

PART II of your Assessment requires that you complete Part 7 of the “NAEYC's Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria” and two other portions of the Assessment instrument. To complete this instrument and the “NAEYC Engaging Diverse Families Self-Assessment Checklist,” you will need to both observe within the early childhood environment and conduct staff interviews to determine compliance with factors that can’t be observed. Be sure to carefully review Part 7, the additional criteria you have selected, and the Checklist prior to arriving at the program.

Note: When completing the “NAEYC's Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria,” you will mark “Yes” or “No” for each criteria—based on whether it is present or absent. For the Checklist, you will need to record program responses in the corresponding sections of the instrument.

Part II: Using Accreditation Standards to Evaluate an Early Childhood Program

After identifying an NAEYC accredited center and conducting your observations and interviews, you will develop a compilation of strengths and opportunity based on your results. Develop a list of what was marked as “Yes” and “No” across each instrument, and compile and overall list of what you see as the programs overall strengths and areas of opportunity.

Share your evaluation with the director of the center or a colleague. The colleague could be another student engaged in this competency or a colleague in the early childhood profession. Collaborate with him or her to develop at least tworecommendations to strengthen or improve this program. Based on your interviews, notes, observations, and collaboration, write a 6- to 8-page paper that includes the following:

1. A narrative evaluation of the program’s quality in relation to Standard #7, “Families,” and the two additional standards you chose. Your evaluation should describe areas of strength and opportunity for this program. Support your evaluation with specific evidence related to “NAEYC Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria,” your observations, and your interviews.

2. At least two recommendations you have for this program based on the standards. Your recommendations must be grounded in the professional knowledge base.

3. An evaluation of your collaboration experience, including a description of the skills or tools you used to collaborate. How did your work with the director or colleague inform the development of your recommendations?