CFSRP Contributions to School Readiness

The CFSRP also measures its success in terms of children’s school readiness upon entering FWISD prekindergarten or kindergarten and continued academic progress through third grade. Using results from FWISD assessments already in place, the evaluation examines student performance comparing cohorts of CFSRP children currently in grades Pre-K through three to demographically similar groups of children who did not attend a CFSRP center. The comparison groups were randomly selected and matched for school, grade level, socioeconomic status and gender. For prekindergarten and kindergarten students, the evaluation compares results of assessments administered at the beginning of the year. For each subsequent grade level, the results are from assessments administered at the end of each year. Where a sufficient number of students in the Camp Fire group is available (≥40), statistical analyses were used to determine if any observed differences are statistically significant. Additional information about each assessment is included in the sections below and in Appendix D. Appendix D also describes the matching process. Appendix E shows the demographic characteristics of the CFSRP students and their comparison groups.

PREKINDERGARTEN LITERACY SKILLS (FALL 2022)

FWISD administers the Circle Progress Monitoring Tool (CIRCLE)26 to prekindergarten students at the beginning of each year to identify specific early literacy skills that the children have (or have not) developed. Teachers use the CIRCLE results to plan instruction targeting individual student needs.

Figure 12 shows comparisons of the CIRCLE results for the children who attended a CFSRP center in the year prior to entering prekindergarten and their demographically similar comparison group. When interpreting these results, it is important to consider the small number of children in the CFSRP group. Discussion with FWISD staff highlighted a lingering COVID-19 impact as a potential reason for the small group number. COVID-19 and the RSV virus were both prevalent in the community throughout fall of 2022, and parents may have simply been reluctant to send their children to school.

Descriptive analyses revealed higher percentages of CFSRP students on target for Letter Naming and Rhyming skills and similar ratings for Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, and Syllabication. These findings are similar to prior years (see Appendix F), also showing higher ratings for the CFSRP group in the areas of Letter Naming and Rhyming.

CIRCLE is a criterion-referenced assessment that identifies students who are on-track, need monitoring, or need support for their early literacy and social emotional skills. CLI Engage (2017). CIRCLE Progress Monitoring System. https://cliengage.org/public/tools/assessment/circle-progress-monitoring/