ELEA Renews Relationship with Harcourt

Gayle Denny, Executive Director, ELEA

     Testing:  It’s such a big topic—so many opinions, so many options, so many parents to please . . .

     By the time you read this newsletter, ELEA member schools and early childhood centers will have already received packets of ordering materials and instructions from Harcourt Educational Measurement.  Elementary schools are offered the:

Stanford Achievement Test (SAT10)

Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT8)

Stanford Writing Assessment Program, 3rd Edition

Stanford Diagnostic Reading and Math Tests

a host of ancillary products, such as Lexile Scores, Keylinks, and ERDA

     As many of you are aware, some ELEA member schools had difficulties last Spring in receiving SAT and OLSAT testing scores in a timely manner from Harcourt.  There were several reasons for the problems that occurred, but the staff at Harcourt has assured us that new procedures have been put in place that should eliminate future difficulties.  Harcourt now has a list of the ELEA membership I.D. numbers, which were issued to you when you renewed membership (or joined for the first time) after July 1 of 2004.  This I.D. number will be used to identify schools and should eliminate concerns about schools with the same names (i.e. First Lutheran, Trinity, Redeemer, etc.). 

     This year’s elementary testing dates are March 28-April 28, 2005.

     Harcourt has renewed their commitment to serve us in the most professional manner possible, and brought Mary Ann Pollock, ELEA National Board President Elect; Alan Feddersen, Director of Lutheran Schools of Southern California & Hawaii; and myself to their headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, for two days of planning meetings to ensure that the Spring 2005 testing runs  as smoothly as possible.  We were very impressed with their efforts to establish protocol which will serve our schools effectively.

     Early Childhood Centers have two exciting products available for screening young children:

FirstSTEp:  Screening Test for Evaluating Preschoolers

Greenspan Social-Emotional Growth Chart

     FirstSTEp was offered last year and approximately 12 early childhood centers utilized the screening tool—all with great reported success!  The beauty of FirstSTEp is that it can be used with an entire class—for example in determining kindergarten readiness—or with individual children who you suspect may need a referral for further developmental assessment.  It is hand scored, so it can be used any time of the year and there are “user friendly” reports which can be shared with parents.

     Greenspan is a new offering this year—a brief and reliable questionnaire completed by the child’s parent or teacher to determine overall functional emotional capacities and is used with children 0-42 months, making it perfect for infant/toddler programs.

     I hope that Harcourt’s products and services will serve your program well—I am excited about the possibilities! 

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