Introduction
The California Department of Education (CDE), Child Development Division (CDD), has revised its approach to evaluating the child care and development services it provides to move away from a process-oriented compliance model and towards a focus on the results desired from the system. This approach is compatible with CDE's accountability system for elementary and secondary education. It is intended to improve the results achieved for children and families through the child development services provided by CDE/CDD. Desired Results for Children and Families will document the progress made by children and families in achieving desired results and will provide information to help practitioners improve their child care and development services. The new system is designed to:
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Identify the measures that demonstrate the achievement of desired results across the development areas for children from birth to age 13 in child care and development programs,
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Provide information that reflects the contributions made by each of the various types of CDE-funded child development programs in achieving the desired results,
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Hold programs accountable to Program Standards that support the achievement of desired results and are used to measure program quality,
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Provide a data collection mechanism for evaluation of the quality of individual child development programs, and
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Create a base of information on the relationships between processes and results which can be used to target technical assistance to improve practice in all child development programs.
At the state level, the intent is to identify successes and areas for improvement so that CDD can provide support and technical assistance to increase program quality. At the program level, the extent to which children and families are achieving the desired results will be determined so that quality improvement activities are effectively targeted to directly benefit program participants. Differences in the structure and objectives of individual programs will be acknowledged and the system will be culturally sensitive and linguistically responsive to the diverse populations of children and families served.
The primary objective of the Desired Results approach is to encourage progress toward the achievement of desired results by providing information and technical assistance to improve program quality. The system has been built on existing processes and procedures, with an emphasis on the coordination of programs and services to support the continuum of children's developmental progress from birth to twelve years of age.
The Desired Results System also interfaces with a concurrent project, the Desired Results: Access for Children with Disabilities Project (DR Access). This project is funded through the California Department of Education, Special Education Division's (SED) Early Education Unit. The DR Access Project coordinates with desired results in two ways. First, DR Access staff worked with the Child Development Division and their contractors during the development of the desired results framework in order to make the Desired Results Developmental Profile as inclusive and appropriate as possible for the assessment of progress for young children with disabilities. DR Access staff have also developed a system of adaptations and guidelines for the Desired Results Developmental Profile that will allow practitioners to assess children with disabilities in an appropriate manner within the structure of Desired Results.
Through these two approaches, the DR Access Project ensured that the Desired Results framework considered the needs of young children with disabilities and is applicable to all settings where children with disabilities and their families are served, including both regular and special education placements. The vision that is held by the contributors to the Desired Results and the DR Access Project is that through this collaborative effort, a continuity of outcomes will be achieved for all children in CDE programs.
The training and implementation phase of Desired Results for center-based programs and family child care home networks is being carried out with a series of regional training sessions for local program administrators. Assisted by the Center for Child and Family Studies, CDD is providing a comprehensive training designed to facilitate implementation of the Desired Results System in programs at the local level and to build the capacity of local programs to train the staff who work directly with children. Participation in the trainings is by invitation only and sites are selected one year prior to when they are due for a Coordinated Compliance Review or Contract Monitoring Review.
Components of the Desired Results Structure
There are six basic components of the desired results structure: the results themselves, indicators, themes, measures, criteria for success, and measurement tools. The six desired results to which all CDE-funded child care and development programs are expected to contribute are listed below.
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Children are personally and socially competent.
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Children are effective learners.
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Children show physical and motor competence.
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Children are safe and healthy.
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Families support their children's learning and development.
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Families achieve their goals.
The Desired Results for children encompass the four developmental domains, i.e., cognitive, social-emotional, language, and physical development, which are reflected and integrated throughout the indicators, measures, and examples of the measures.
A Desired Result is defined as a condition of well being for children and/or families (e.g., Children are personally and socially competent.), expressing the positive impact of the entire system on the development and functioning of children and on the self-sufficiency and functioning of families.
An Indicator is a specific measureable developmental dimension within the overall Desired Results. For example, an indicator of the desired result, Children are persnally and socially competent, Children show self-awareness and a positive self-concept. Each of these is an Indicator of progress toward the Desired Result.
A measure is the individual assessment items in the Desired Results Developmental Profile-Revised (DRDP-R). The developmental continuum along which a child's observed behavoior is assesed.
A definition is a statement that defines a measure by specifying the developmental achievement (knowledge, skill) that is being measured.
Developmenal level is a point along a developmental progression for a particular measure.
Descriptor is a description that defines the behaviors that would be observed for a child at that developmental level.
Example is a specific behavior you might see that would demonstrate that a child has reached mastery of a particular developmental level.
Mastered Developmental level is behavior that is considered typical if the child demonstrates them:
- Easily and confidently
- Consistently over time
- In different settings
A measuremental tool is the actual instrument or procedure used to capture or track information on
indicators and standards of achievement (e.g., the Desired Results Developmental Profile-Revised (DRDP-R)).
- July 31, 2006
Desired Results-related Acronyms You May Encounter
Organizations:
CDE - California Department of Education
CDD - Child Development Division
Desired Results (DR):
DRDP-R - Desired Results Developmental Profile-Revised
Desired Results Developmental Profile-Revised (DRDP-R) Indicators:
SELF - Self-Awaremness & Self Concept
SOC - Social Interpersonal Skills
SELF - Self Regulation
LANG - Language
LRN - Learning
COG - Cognitive Competence
MATH - Math
LIT - Literacy
MOT - Motor Skills
SH - Safety and Health
Environment Rating Scales (ERS):
ITERS-R - Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (revised)
ECERS-R - Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (revised)
SACERS - School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale
FDCRS - Family Day Care Rating Scale
Self Evaluation Processes:
CPM- Categorical Program Monitoring
CMR - Contract Monitoring Review
Text-only version of the Desired Results Model
Download the Desired Results Model (W - 33kb)